They're... ON HOLIDAY?

by Nameless Narrator

Day 6 - Worky time cancelled!: 1/8

They all wake up at the same time, hearing a faint, soft tune.

10013 yawns, eliciting the same squeaky noise from an overturned paper bin by a table under the window, and from a bulge in the middle of the bed. Having slept inside the top part of the wardrobe like last night, the drone likes the place - it’s cozy and it gives a great view of the room.

“How’s the bed, 36658?”

The bulge shifts and shakes until a black head peeks out from the tangled sheets.

“Too soft!” complains 36658, “Wouldn’t protect you at all if a scaly swatter found you and smacked you. I gotta try stuffing all this into that wardrobe of yours next sleepy time. A proper hard shell and this amount of stuffing should make you survive being bounced around by anything we’ve seen so far on the surface. Even the sticky biters,” it shudders.

The paper bin shakes again and rolls over as 20100 stretches its forelegs over its head.

“I guess that creatures around here can afford to sleep inside soft things because the surface gribblers aren’t that spooky. Not even sticky biters,” it says, “Speaking of spooky things, did a weird tune wake you up too? I liked it and it’s gone now. Was I dreaming?”

“You too?!” 36658’s ears perk up.

“Same here,” 10013 flies down from its spot, “So, what should we do today?” it looks at the other two, “After cleaning up, obviously,” it adds, nodding sideways towards the bed.

20100 definitely has it easier, simply turning the paper bin back the right way up while 10013 and 36658 make the bed again. While their form is fantastic, working off of a changeling memory of how the bed looked before sleeping in it, no one can deny it now being fairly disgusting, smudged with dirt and sand.

The concept of regular showers might be way beyond the understanding of drones.

Leaving things almost as they were when they first arrived in the suite, the trio leave for the living room. 99380 is sitting in the armchair by the corner table with the radio playing so quietly it can’t be audible to anyone further than a few pony lengths. Smiley is squeezed under said table on its back, watching the situation unfold upside down.

99111 and 99526 arrive shortly, the latter one with a greeting:

“Morning, guys! Did you hear the humm humm mmm ding too?”

“-and this concludes the morning news segment,” announces the radio, audible from this up close.

The tune plays again, this time from the speaker.

“Hey, that’s it!” 99111 points accusingly at the radio.

99380 nervously giggles.

“Yeeeah, I kinda wanted to try something,” it looks at 10013, “You know how we experimented with what the drone hive mind section can do yesterday, right? So, I figured out that I can set a reminder for myself to do something in case I forget because I’m too caught up in digging or something.”

“Wow, you’re getting good at this,” 10013 sounds genuinely impressed.

“Thank you,” 99380 smiles, “I set up a reminder for myself to wake up and I made it be the tune I heard from the talky box yesterday, but I must have been accidentally broadcasting and I woke up all of you. Sorry,” it rubs its head nervously and looks at the floor.

“No no, that’s actually super useful. We really need to take some more time figuring out all the things we can do with the hive mind now,” 10013 looks around, “Anyway, now that we’re all awake, how have you been? We haven’t seen each other since last morning, so did anything happen that we should know of?”

“Not to us,” 36658 shrugs, glancing sideways at 99526, “We spend half of the day looking for 387 and the other half walking back once we did.”

“You and 99380 were already asleep when we returned and we didn’t want to wake you up,” adds 99526, sitting on the carpet and rubbing its hooves, “But whoa! My leggos are still sore. I think I might have burned a lot more love than I guessed.”

“I think it's from walking in the sand all day. The way it kept shifting and giving in under my hooves was unusual to say the least,” 36658 nods, “But as I said, I just had something I had to talk with 387 about and 99526 decided to come with me. We made really good progress on our Scufflestick factions.”

“Yup!” 99526 beams, “You’ll love it!”

“Nice!” 10013 smiles back and looks at 20100, “What about you and 99111?”

20100 nudges the newbie who gives it a surprised glance before clearing its throat.

“Umm, we found the Tricky unicorn lady again, and we spent the whole day helping her. I learned a lot about stuffing!”

“Stuffing?” 10013 tilts its head, “You mean shoving things into other things?”

99111 scrunches its muzzle in thought as it checks the hive mind dictionary, eventually coming out with:

“Oh…” it scratches its chin, “No, not that. I mean like making stuff out of other stuff - you know, stuffing. We made a box out of pieces of wood that weren’t really wood, but ground-up wood remains.”

“That sounds useful for carrying stuff,” 10013 nods.

“Uh huh,” 99111 continues excitedly, “I’d like to keep learning from Miss Tricky. It would be neat to return home and be able to build something that would help us drone better.”

“Definitely!” 10013 agrees, “Anything else, 20100?”

“A whole bunch!” the drone perks up, “Miss Tricksy needed some shinies, and I figured out that there’s a casino in this place too, so I tried to multiply a shiny she gave me and it worked!”

“Ooooh, alrighty!” 10013 pats 20100’s head, “So if we find something we need shinies for we’ll ask.”

*Nod nod nod!*

“And when I brought back the shinies, Miss Tricky said she needed something she couldn’t get at the workshop -I didn’t really understand most of the words but she promised it would be shiny and flashy- so we went up the long mountain road and it turns out there’s a griffon city on the other side of the island! We helped Miss Tricky- ha, Trixie! That was the name. Well, we helped Miss Trixie carry a bunch of boxes she traded for the shinies back to her room and she promised us she’ll let us watch her make more stuff or help. The trip took a long time, though, and we arrived last when it was dark. Oh, and one final thing!” 20100 concentrates, and all the other drones receive a mental image, “This is a picture of the whole island, not just the resort. It has markers!”

“99380, you know what to do,” 10013 nudges 99380.

“Huh, do I?” the drone looks around nervously.

“Save the image into our hive mind space.”

“Ohhh!” 99380 giggles, “Sorry. I’ll get right on it.”

“So, well done, everyone!” 10013 nods in appreciation, “99380, Smiley, and I figured out what Smiley’s goop does - it can make goop that can make temporary drawings on pretty much anything.”

“Wooooow!” 20100 jumps at Smiley, hugging it, “That’s so useful! I wish I could make my own drawy stuff too.”

*Hurk!*

Smiley chucks out a glob of goop, rolls it between its hooves into a stick, and gives the rapidly drying out piece to 20100 who immediately draws a simple smiling face on Smiley’s chest.

“Eeeeeee! This is so useful!” 20100 hides the drawy goop stick in its leg hole and happily clops its hooves together.

“And that’s not all,” 10013 pats 99380’s back, “We spent the whole day figuring out how 99380 does the hive mind things it can do and I think I could teach you what little I learned. So far, it’s not much, because a lot of what 99380 does, like the long-range broadcasting, is just its special talent and some manipulation that’s natural to it is exhausting for me. That’s why we fell asleep so early,” 10013 scratches its head, a bit ashamed of its weakness.

“And 10013 gave me its only point for this! But don’t worry, if you wanna learn something you don’t gotta give me yours too,” 99380 beams, “By the way, you should all see the island map now.”

Everyone cheers.

Well, almost everyone. 36658 looks at 10013, eyes wide in shock.

“How could you…” it breathes out.

“Huh?” 10013 returns a look of surprise, “Do you want me to teach you how to do it? Sure, it’s not that difficult.”

“No!” 36658 shakes its head, raising its voice, “How could you do this to High Score?! They’re trying to have the memory of it erased!” it points one by one at 99526, 99380, and stopping on 99111, “Do you want High Score to be forgotten? You both always said that drones stick together, but I guess only one of you meant it!”

“Yes, drones stick together!” retorts 10013, its legs starting to shake, and for the first time in its life it might not be in fear, “Because the world is terrifying and dangerous and we are tiny and delicious! Drones don’t split up against each other!” it pauses briefly, “Maybe in a game, obviously, but never for real!”

“BUT THEY DID IT FIRST!” 36658 keeps pointing and jabbing its leg towards 99111.

“SHUT UP!”

The annoyed voice of Queen Chrysalis rings through every drone mind at once.

“Seriously,” she continues, quieter but no less annoyed… and slightly slurred, “I’m having the mother of all hangovers here and you’re yelling on an open link. You try partying with griffons who take shots out of your holes all evening. So much fun, but it’s been so long since last time that I forgot how well those absorb alcohol.”

“I carried a hee hee drink for Mister Shiny in my leg hole,” replies 99526, “Should I be more careful next time?”

“Legs? Who said anything about legs?” Chrysalis groans, “Nevermind. Since you’re so annoying this early, you’re forbidden to work today.”

“Huh? How are we supposed to get points then?” asks 36658.

“Look, if someone directly asks for help, feel free to do so, but don’t spend your whole day running around asking for work. You’re not cheap labor for other species to abuse and you need to learn that just like everyone else,” Chrysalis huffs, “Figure something out and stop bothering me! This resort is full of fun attractions for you to explore and relay your experiences back home. Discussion over!”

They feel Chrysalis’ link withdraw and forcibly disconnect itself, the sudden lack of hive mind access making everyone wince.

“Do you have any orders for us?” asks 36658 flatly, staring directly into 10013’s eyes.

“N-Not really, after what the Queen said. We could go visit Mister Shiny, but we should do that later because he might be as hung as the Queen and if we make him angry he might not want to help us with Scufflestick-”

“Then I’m going out,” not waiting for an answer, 36658 opens the door to the balcony and, without looking back, adds, “I need a hole to crawl into now that even you’re against me. Call through 99380 when you want to go play with Mister Shiny.”

“36658-” 10013 croaks, its voice getting stuck in its throat, but 36658 has already jumped over the railing.

*…wibble?*

When not even that helps, 10013 hangs its head and sighs.

“Buddy?” 20100 shuffles close enough to lean against 10013’s side.

“36658 is right,” mumbles 10013, “Drones would never turn on each other with High Score around.”

“Umm, how come you are the one in the wrong?” peeps 99380, “I dun get it…”

“Because it isn’t,” 99111 speaks out, “10013, I know you veterans are supposed to be smarter and more experienced than us, but 36658 for sure isn’t making a case for it.”

“Don’t badmouth 36658. I know that drone and you simply don’t,” 10013 turns its still lowered head towards 99111, “It’s smarter than any of us here. I doubt I can put into words how much I respect it, and if there ever was someone I’d want watching my back in a tough spot it would be 36658,” 10013 glances at 20100, “No offence, buddy.”

“None taken,” 20100 chuckles, “I doubt I’d be able to dig a sticky biter to death like 36658,” it boops 10013’s nose, causing it to look up in surprise, “But you gotta cheer up. Moping won’t get us anywhere and the Queen herself ordered us to have fun so that we could tell the guys back home. Remember the old days when we had no idea if ponies were even real? I mean, it’s not like the newbies who aren’t here with us on the trip have ever seen one.”

10013 closes its eyes, breathes in, and slowly breathes out.

“You’re right,” it says, “We gotta do this for the guys back home. We’ll bring them Scufflestick and all the fun things we can find here,” forcing a smile, 10013 boops 99380, “And you’ll be the most important.”

“EEEP! SO MUCH RESPONSIBILITY!” 99380’s jaw drops as it starts trembling.

“Yup, but I believe you’re the right drone for the job. What I want you to do is to memorize images of various places around here and store those in our hive mind space. And not just places, creatures or stuff they eat as well. Anything you find interesting. Sharing our full memories would be too much of a drain, but we can show everyone pictures and talk about those. I’ll try to do the same based on what you taught me yesterday and when we manage to teach everyone else we’ll all have something to share.”

*Eager face!* *Nervous face!* *Eager face!* *Patient face!* *Distorted face* *Puzzled face!* *Glitchy face!* *Eager face!* *Eager face!* *Eager face!*

“Are you, umm, waiting for anything specific?” guesses 10013.

Smiley nods and points to the balcony.

“Well, since we’re not supposed to be working, I guess you can go outside and do whatever you want,” 10013 shrugs.

*Happy face!*

After licking 10013’s face, Smiley trots outside and jumps off of the balcony.

“You know what? I think Smiley had a point,” says 10013, and a now familiar picture flashes through everyone’s minds, “With worky time being cancelled, we should explore all the numbers on the resort map to see what fun things they’re supposed to be. Pick some at random, and I’ll go find where Mister Shiny’s place is so that we know where to meet up later. How about that?”

“Uhh?” 99111 rubs its head, “Can I go see Miss Trixie again? I would like to learn more about stuffing. I feel like it can be super important for the guys back home.”

“I guess the Queen would be okay with that,” replies 10013 with visible hesitation. However, what’s a leader’s role if not making the decision and taking the responsibility for the result, good or bad? “And if not, it’ll be on me. Alright, guys. We know what to do today, so let’s go!”

Comments

[Skarsnik]

Lovely chapter :)

[StuffBuddy]

Poor 36658. It's misguided but wow, do i feel bad for it. It must feel so betrayed and i wanna just hug it better.

[Booster Spice]

Chryssy gets hammered but then complains about letting the Anvvils Ring the next day?

Well, Im sure theres nothing the drones can get into trouble with in Entertainment.

I mean, they already have Walter Cronkite on the radio?

[Nameless Narrator]

11360419
I do the least I can to succeed- I mean I do my best.
11360450
Someone's taking loss harder than others.
11360502
The most trusted drone on the talky box!

[Scyphi]

“I’d like to keep learning from Miss Tricky. It would be neat to return home and be able to build something that would help us drone better.”

Imagine they learned how to put on a magic show like Trixie: "Behold, the spectacular feats of the Great and Powerful 99111!"

“99380, you know what to do,” 10013 nudges 99380.

“Huh, do I?” the drone looks around nervously.

“Save the image into our hive mind space.”

“Ohhh!” 99380 giggles, “Sorry. I’ll get right on it.”

Just don't forget the file directory you stick it into!

"Drones don’t split up against each other!” it pauses briefly, “Maybe in a game, obviously, but never for real!”

...I supposed it would be kinda hard to play hide and seek without splitting up first.

"Sharing our full memories would be too much of a drain, but we can show everyone pictures and talk about those."

Like a slideshow, except instead it's all in the heads of the drones, save maybe the one drone who's standing there and narrating about everything that's happening in the picture in question--this is a required feature with a slideshow, you can't ever escape that.

[Nameless Narrator]

11361120
- it made a box out of nothing! Spoooookyyyyyy...
- and the right compression format.
- they play against gribblers. It's called hide and hide more.
- and the drones would LOVE IT.