Day 4 - Shipwrecked?: 3/7
99380 has to admit it’s feeling a little anxious about sending 36658 to 99111, but it has to admire 99111’s novel concept of facing its fears. Drones normally don’t face their fears, because their fears are monsters capable of killing them in a myriad of painful ways, and the only way to survive in the tunnels is to face the other way and flee as quickly as a drone can. A surviving drone is one who learned to watch out for the telltale signs of various fears and successfully managed to avoid meeting the source of fear itself on painfully too often repeated occasions.
Despite that, 99380 is now carrying its own makeshift umbrella made from leaves and sticks, less and less sure why it’s doing it with every step, towards the trio of paladins resting in the shade. It barely even registers Ten and Bright Star watching it as it shuffles towards Sun Hammer, shaking more and more. The massive mare, in contrast, seems busy repeatedly scribbling something into the sand with a levitating stick. To 99380, it looks vaguely familiar to the shape of the hive mind map of the cruise ship.
The stick suddenly flicks through the air, and 99380 locks up, unable to make a sound, when she hears her quietly mumble:
“-force focused outwards. Which cabins-?”
“Acting Grandmaster? I believe you have a visitor,” says Ten, sitting up straight from his previously slouched position against a tree.
“I’d try being a little less intense, Acting Grandmaster, or we might have a repeat of this year’s recruitment day,” Bright Star snickers, forelegs crossed under his head and watching the sea.
Hearing that, 99380 breathes out in relief:
“Acting Grandmaster? Oh holes! Did I get the wrong pony? Miss Acting, do you know someone by the name Sun Hammer? Looks exactly like you but a lot bigger and spookier.”
Sun Hammer sits up, which makes her easily twice 99380’s size, and the drone realizes it made a huge mistake.
F-F-F- Face. F-F- Fear.
“Isforyou!” it stretches out a trembling foreleg with the flimsy umbrella stuck in a leg hole, staring ahead at Sun Hammer’s chest and not daring to look upwards at her face.
Sun Hammer leans in to examine 99380 up close, making the drone whimper and its eyes tear up.
“You’re the ice cream one, aren’t you?” she asks in a carefully measured voice. The stick levitating around her traces several lines along 99380’s carapace, “The pattern of scars is unique, and your carapace is chipped here and here,” the stick taps behind 99380’s ear and left hind thigh, “I won’t hurt you, so stop shaking and explain why you’re here. Is there a problem?”
“Shade!” is all 99380 blurts out, jabbing its umbrella hoof towards Sun Hammer again.
Her face goes blank.
“Sunny, I think you have a not so secret admirer and they brought you a present,” Bright Star’s telekinesis deftly catches the stick thrown his way like a crossbow bolt.
Ten gasps, looking in horror from Sun Hammer to Bright Star who rolls his eyes and casually tosses the stick back to Sun Hammer.
“We’re off duty, Ten. Pull that stick out of your ass,” in a whisper that only the two present changelings can hear, he adds, “...you’re worse than Sunny. At least she’s just unaware…”
“You… brought me… a parasol?” asks Sun Hammer slowly, “Why?”
“Umm- I- well- High Score once told 10013 something about, umm, facing your fears… and then 10013 told 99111 about it when it saved 99111 from drowning… and then 99111 told me about it… and I thought it was, umm, impressive and… I thought High Score would like us drones to be, uhh, better like 36658 always says,” 99380 wipes its eyes, “And 10013 and 65536 made an umbrella thingy for the Queen and she seemed to like it, so I made one for you. It’s not as big and I couldn’t find the right leaves but-”
Sun Hammer’s stick gets plucked out of her telekinesis by Bright Star’s, and it writes ‘say thank you’ in the air in smoky letters visible only for a brief moment.
“Thank you,” says Sun Hammer. When 99380 looks up in surprise and its face brightens up, the not socially awkward paladin breathes out a sigh of relief, “but I have to refuse.”
“...so close… ” Bright Star facehoofs.
“That’s okay…” 99380 hangs its head, “I’ll try harder next time.”
“You misunderstood me,” Sun Hammer shoots a glare at Bright Star before the full force of her look lands on 99380 whose head is tucked between its shoulder blades and ears splayed back, “This shape is inconvenient, that’s all,” she telekinetically lifts the umbrella, careful not to tug at 99380 along with it, breaks off the handle, and leaves it floating over 99380’s head like a hat, “Much better,” she says, scratching the drone behind the ear, “Don’t worry about me. This temperature doesn’t hinder me at all. I advise you to keep this one for yourself if you intend to walk around in the sun. Heat stroke is no laughing matter and you changelings are at risk because black color absorbs the most of sunlight. I can point out some leaves for you to use as a source of liquids to stay hydrated if you need.”
“I- thanks- thank you,” 99380 stutters out.
“Sunny appreciates your bravery,” Bright Star butts in, “We had three new recruits faint this year when she looked at them, so if this is all just about facing your fears then good job.”
99380 finally allows itself an exhausted smile.
“Phew…” it wipes its forehead, “But I still… I kinda wanted to give you the umbrella Miss Acting Sunny, but since you gave it to me I now faced my fear and got a hat and you got nothing out of this. Can I help you somehow? It just doesn’t feel right and dronelike to not be helpful.”
“Unless you know whose cabins numbers 121 through 124, 221 through 224, 321 through 324, and so on were on the ship I doubt you can help,” Sun Hammer’s stick pokes the sand in several places in her picture.
“We can ask for the cabin assignment once we get to the resort, Acting Grandmaster,” says Ten, “There’s no point in guesswork and-”
99380 smiles and its eyes light up.
“Oh, this was next to the kitchen where 36658 and 20100 helped out! It’s just storage space,” it interrupts Ten, “But you’ve got the floor plan wrong. There should be stairs up here,” it pokes Sun Hammer’s picture before turning around and facing three pairs of suddenly extremely interested eyes, “Uhh, I’m not 20100, but I can draw a bit too.”
“Oh? Please, keep going,” Sun Hammer’s tone grows much more curious but 99380, happy that it’s being useful, doesn’t notice.
***
Hiding from the barely moving sun under a tree deeper in the jungle but within a clear line of sight of the beach, 387 eats a piece of unknown fruit rationed by a Quest Security member and follows it by chewing on a plump, hoof-sized leaf serving as a source of water.
He doesn’t particularly need the physical food nor the muted atmosphere due to the good old love-eating and the ability to simply turn his ears off, but it feels more comfortable to remain connected to the world even when he needs to think. Despite being a changeling for a long time, to understate it just a tiny bit, one’s nature finds its way to the surface, and 387 still prefers acting like a pony on occasion instead of simply using changeling solutions for everything. Not feeling like an artificially-created love sucking monster for a few moments can help one retain their sanity. Besides, unlike the situation on the ship when he felt like he was in a much more immediate danger, his current environment doesn’t pose such a threat in his mind.
However, after talking with 10013 and 65536, it’s clear to him that there’s something more going on that’s definitely not part of ‘the cruise experience’ and that changelings are somehow critical to it, otherwise no one would go through the trouble of forging a ticket and making sure that the hive changelings can get on the ship.
Is it connected to my blackout on the maintenance deck? Judging by 10013’s memories, the ship certainly wasn’t struck by lightning. Was the security guy lying when talking to the angry Captain? Unlikely. There wasn’t anyone on deck to see the explosion and the lightning strike IS the most logical explanation.
Was I following someone who set up explosives in the maintenance section of the ship? If so, the memory wipe makes sense and the suspects capable of doing it would be changelings and unicorns. Changeling passengers confirmed by Chrysalis and 93 are “Ten”, 1313, 65536, and us. I know that none of them are even remotely as good as Chrysalis at mental stuff. No, I went over this earlier. Maybe I thought about my own mind wrong, though. Since the uniqueness of my mind means I’m not easy to access through changeling abilities, my past as a pony might mean that unicorn magic could find a way without as much customization as I thought before.
A unicorn then? There are dozens of unicorns all over the place and I know only a few of them. This path will only be guesswork, so maybe I should focus on the method rather than the culprit here? Could a unicorn blow the ship up using magic? Definitely, there seem to be several of a sufficient caliber, but hiding it from Sun Hammer, Shining Armor, or the security detail? Magic leaves a mark, and those are exactly the kind of ponies who would notice even under pressure and despite the chaos of the evacuation.
There’s one more thing - the entire outer shell of the ship exploded simultaneously but the cabin doors weren’t damaged on any deck, which means that no unicorn just shot a disintegration beam from the hallway through all floors. Maybe they just shot upwards from the maintenance deck? Possible, but would still leave a magical trail. Plus, could the magic simulate an explosion on all floors with the same effect of ripping the metal of the ship outwards?
Hmmm, I’m getting nowhere if I just say that magic can do anything.
Let’s ponder the zebras for a moment, potions and chemistry, and all?
I didn’t see any zebra delegation during my scouting, so 1313’s guys? Maybe, he would be able to forge his own ticket and say it got lost, but from 10013’s conversation with him he sounded like he wanted to see us even less than Ten.
Zebra alchemist? 65536 lied about Gem at first, but it felt like it really did trust her. Throughout all the drone encounters with her, she was sort of suspiciously friendly for a non-changeling, but she clearly has experience with 65536 so that could translate to the others.
Would someone from Canterlot castle itself be allowed to bring explosives on the ship? We were thoroughly checked.
With a sigh, 387 opens his eyes and heads back to the beach, mentally preparing for a potentially unpleasant conversation. After a brief search, he finds what he’s looking for.
“What do you want?” Ten tenses up, narrowing his eyes as 387 approaches close enough for the infiltrator and paladin in training to know that 387 is here for him.
“I just wanted to ask a few questions, 436-”
Hearing his rank spoken out loud, Ten immediately interrupts 387 and his voice goes from cold to straight up hostile.
“And with that I’m going to ask you impolitely to buck off right the hole now,” he growls.
“Ten?” Bright Star, lying on his back in the sand with his head in the shade, opens one eye and uncrosses his hind legs.
“No, Bright Star, just no,” Ten shakes his head, glaring at 387, “Those ranks mean we still belong to Chrysalis. I’m Ten, I’m a paladin trainee, and the only changeling I answer to when called is… you know,” for a reason 387 can’t even begin to guess, he glances towards Sun Hammer who is listening despite trying her best to look like she’s entirely absorbed in studying some pictures in the sand. 387 avoids getting closer and escalating the situation.
“Look, Ten,” 387 corrects himself, “We don’t even have to talk in private. I just wanted to ask if anyone performed a sweep of the ship for hazardous materials.”
“The Security did it on the first day, Manehattan port has its own inbuilt alarms, and Bright Star and I performed a full sweep separately while the guests were enjoying the cruise on day two,” replies Sun Hammer instead.
She knows more than she lets show. Why? Do I just show my cards? She could be behind it too, something along the lines of hive changelings being a threat. International water, lack of laws, and so on.
“Understood,” 387 nods and backs off with a sigh, “I guess asking if someone could have avoided the scans would be pointless, right?”
“Nothing is impossible,” Sun Hammer shrugs but that's all she says.
“It’s unlikely,” Bright Star, eyes closed again, smiles, “They might have fooled me, but Sunny here only looks as if she eats dumbbells for breakfast. She’s quite the magic theory specialist -you don’t get to a Grandmaster level just by being a proficient battlemage- and I doubt there was someone on a guest list who could fool her.”
Sun Hammer only sighs.
“Got it,” 387 nods, “Sorry to have bothered you.”
“Mhm,” Sun Hammer nods and returns to studying her drawings.
As 387 walks away, he almost misses a step when he realizes what was gnawing at him since the beginning.
They didn’t ask anything about me mentioning explosives.
They KNOW.
Which means they know that I know, or at least suspect, and if they’re behind it I should watch my back. Watch my back more, I mean.
If not, though, that means someone created the explosives on the ship, which leads us back to the most obvious alchemist onboard - Gem. Though she spent the whole day making drugs rather than explosives, unless 36658 is in for a nasty surprise the next time it hiccups.
Come to think of it… I’ve seen 65536 around several times, but not her. Where is she?
Stats
Page generated in 0.03 seconds
Total duration
747 users online
658,315 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Didnt the drone who discovered just the wrong way to make tunnel lining goop found out the hardway when they got caught up in the results of their work, which means if its a related method, its someone elses chemistry, magic and build?
Did they all forget about Trixy with her fireworks supply?
There has been a sabotage of it before on the trip.
Can a drone explode twice?
...wouldn't it more accurately be 1313's gals?
I wonder if there's an off switch for 387's rampant paranoia...
I know it's probably the paranoia that's kept him alive for this long, but seriously, in this case I can't help but think sometimes it's being more of a hindrance than a help to him.
11280286
If anyone can find a way to, I'd imagine it'd be a drone. But they'd do it completely on accident, of course.
11280452
I can see it now. They feed one of the drones like a gallon of hot chili with beans, suddenly the place is on fire and when a higher rank asks.. " we fed ###### some of that cold beans that was hot ( mistaking Chili for chilly) and now he is shooting flaming goop!" Then another on adds " Out both ends!" In a happy chipper voice., you have my full permission to use that idea if you like
11279657
If I understood that sentence correctly then yes, it is someone other than the drone that exploded at some point in the tunnels.
11280064
Forget? Do they know anything? From their POV, she choked on smoke bombs and they have zero idea what the traps she used to protect her things were.
11280286
I would assume there's a potential genetic variation for that, but it's unlikely. Did I accidentally use a random drone number generator twice in a row?
11280452
- As everyone knows by now, I'm not a native English speaker, but I thought guys was a general term usable for groups of both sexes or any combination of the current 97853894 genders.
- IT'S NOT PARANOIA WHEN THEY ARE ALL REALLY AFTER ME!!!!!
- I can just imagine a not-entirely-a-suicide bomber drone just repeatedly running into various tunnel horrors, screaming "FOR HIGH SCORE AND MY BUDDY 99229, YOU BADDIES!" (and yes, religious jihad would be inevitable)
11280499
Truly the one and only pinnacle of evolution.
11280612
It can, in an informal, colloquial, conversational sense, particularly when directly addressing a group of people, but I wouldn't recommend using it like that in every instance of the word. In this instance, where you've used it, I personally wouldn't have, for clarity's sake.
But at the same time I wasn't really trying to criticize or anything like that, and more just doing some playful teasing.
I'm confused, who's 10? Are they from a different story or?
11282589
Yes, he is, hence the difference in spelling instead of being numbered. Ten is from my Lovebugs trilogy (Exercise In Management, Halls of the Changeling King, Changelings in Silver Sunlight). Reading list is on my profile page.
11282657
I love that trilogy.
11282589
HIGHLY recommend them.
Also... ten likes cake.
If you read the third one, changelings in the silver sunlight, you will understand.