Chapter 68
"Did we do good, Amie?" Danelle asked, standing in water up to her knees. But this deep underground, every surface was gently warm, kept at a constant temperature by the planet's own heat.
Amie nudged the rocky tunnel, shoving as hard as she could. The wall held, and nothing tumbled down to crush them alive. She settled her leg back down a second later, relieved. "Fantastic, Danelle," she said.
Little remained of the ancient well, save for a few flat stones used to mark the edge. The cavern behind her was now partially choked with debris, all remnants of what her team of excavators had removed. That left a pond of clear water filling the tunnel beyond, along with several deeper floors of the mine.
"Piping the water up from down here won't be easy, but that isn't your job. I have something else for you." She gestured with her wing, then left the well behind. Water was a good start, if they could solve all the associated maintenance questions to get it up to where bugs needed it.
"Anything." Danelle trailed behind her, through the hallway to where the rest of her team was waiting. Half a dozen bugs stood there, covered in dirt and slime from many hours of hard work. "We've got a good group here, Amie. We've been hungry and helpless for so long—lots of bugs just want a chance to help."
Amie stopped at the front of the line, looking between them. She approached the first bug in order, the youngest she dared assign a tough job like this. "What about you, Neil? What do you think of the mine?"
He adjusted his electric headlamp, avoiding her eyes. "I, uh... thought it would be scarier. But the tunnels are big. Lots of room. And the rock is... safe."
The others all nodded their agreement. We wouldn't be the first ones to decide that. Sonoma was mostly underground. Maybe it's instinct.
"I'm glad. Your next job... It's very important. We have to prepare the safest room in our... camp. I saw a good place on my way in, down this way."
She led them back towards the central passage, with its old-fashioned mechanical elevator. But she didn't go all the way, instead turning to a narrow corridor. Amie had no headlamp, but lit her horn to illuminate the path, shining with green light. It reflected off damp rock, brighter than any of their flashlights.
"Are you sure this is the way?" Danelle asked, soon catching up with her. "There's only one thing this way. It's not—"
They emerged from the tunnel into a huge natural cavern. Water reflected off damp walls, dribbling into unseen streams and parts unknown. Living limestone formations grew here, with a prominent bridal veil covering the nearest wall. Its shimmering quartz caught her magical light, reflecting it into the whole vaulted space.
Amie's voice echoed when she spoke, carrying to unknown stretches of the cave. "It's not the mine, I know. It's more important." She focused, illuminating her horn a little brighter. "The place we're building has to be close to water, and hard to reach for an attacker. This is the perfect combination."
"I don't wanna live in a cave," one kid said. Amie didn't know which—they were one of her recent additions. Not from her group. "It's huge. All kinds of stuff could be hiding."
Danelle was a little more tactful. Even if she didn't admit her hesitation outright, Amie felt it radiating from her. "What would we want to build down here in a cave?"
"The nursery." Amie walked slowly through the huge room, until she reached a section where it narrowed, finally terminating in a single passage stretching upward. A slight breeze lifted her mane from behind, continuing up that path. Did it go all the way to the surface? "First thing's first. Collect all the rubble, scrap, and debris you can find, and dump it here, where the tunnel is barely wide enough to crawl through. I want you to stuff it so full that a bug can't even crawl. When you're done, I'll get someone down here with cement."
Danelle saluted. "Sure, Amie. We can do that. Do you really think the youngest campers will want to live here? Making rooms on top seems better."
"Live, no," she said. "But they might work with me. I have a feeling we'll have lots of work to do here soon." She shifted on her hooves, adjusting to be more comfortable. The unicorn body she'd chosen for herself carried no eggs within, of course. But part of her still felt them, even when she used another bug as her eyes.
"You know what you're doing. Just don't make any of my team live down here when we finish. The others shouldn't get to live in real rooms while we use a cave." Danelle gestured back the way they'd come. "Let's get the gear in here!" A few bugs scurried off to obey.
Amie lingered a few seconds more. "I promise. You just... take care of this bug when I'm not using her anymore. Don't push her too hard."
She didn't have to wait for a response—if she couldn't trust Danelle, she wouldn't have put her in charge in the first place.
Amie released the “worker,” returning to her own body. Many floors of solid rock were no harder to penetrate with her magical senses than open air, so the process was almost instant. Suddenly she was reclining on her side, surrounded by old sleeping bags.
The chamber was dark and mostly-empty, aside from an oil lantern burning slowly away at its oil.
Amie stood, shaking herself out. Her belly bulged out to either side, growing far faster than either human or horse ever ought to. She couldn't so much as stand up without a reminder of just how alien she had become.
What happens if we find some way to get home, and I walk through like this? Maybe I should stay behind and get all the eggs out first.
Yet the further she considered it, the more disturbing its implications. Would she leave them behind, let her young starve? Or worse, destroy them before they hatched? Her mind rebelled at the thought, dredging up old instincts that were only partially new.
There was no safe way to consider that question without twisting down to the path of madness. She levitated the lantern up, high enough to check on the locked door. The latch was still firmly settled, and no new notes had appeared underneath.
There was one before her, taking a place of prominence on the only other piece of furniture in the room: a desk stolen from the office upstairs. Along with growing ledgers and inventory, the desk held a letter, already open.
Ivy and the Rent-a-Friend felt like a lifetime ago, when everything was simple. If only Albrect was the one to turn into their queen, she might still be doing that job, focusing on her simple responsibilities and the growing, genuine friendship that followed.
She had kept the message short and obscure, obviously worried about other hooves intercepting the letter before Amie could get it. It hadn't felt tampered with when she opened it, but there was no knowing that for sure.
"Amie,
I have something big. Come to canterlot and we can talk about it. Turns out Equestria has experimented with magic looking at other worlds before. We can go talk to her together and see what she knows.
Canterlot is as boring as I expected, maybe worse. City ponies are awful. I could really use some company.
- Ivy Path"
What followed was an address, different from the return address. Amie took this for a clever security measure, though she couldn't figure out what Ivy meant by it.
"Will you be needing more of the record today?" a voice asked from the darkness, so quiet Amie almost missed her. She turned to where Natane sat with her book. The bug had been so still and quiet that she forgot she wasn't alone.
Amie shook her head once. "I expect my attention will be elsewhere until morning. You're welcome to go if you want."
She stood up, hefting the oversized book onto her back as she did so. Whatever else could be said about that nervous little bug, she was dedicated to her charge. "I will. But my queen thinks you don't have much longer, noble Amie. You will need a nest within the week."
Amie bit back a wave of uncomfortable profanity. She couldn't keep her wings from revealing her real feelings even so, buzzing with nervous energy. "Fantastic. I'll... review the nesting instructions again at sunrise. You can come back to me then."
Natane bowed, then let herself out. She locked the door behind herself, levitating the latch across from the other side. Using a purely mechanical design for security. Good thing she trusted the bugs outside to protect her.
Amie stared back at the note for a few seconds more, before opening the lantern in her magic. She levitated the note directly over the flame, then withdrew it, charring and smoldering before her. She held it still until it was charred beyond recognition, then stomped away any ember that remained.
"Guess we'll be meeting some of you soon," she whispered to no one in particular. To the eggs? Or... larva? She wasn't sure which was grosser.
It must be her imagination that she felt anything in return. That warmth emanating from within—she had seen it on the faces of human mothers before. She wanted to feel it too one day—on two legs, in a world that made sense.
Looks like I don't get what I want. One more week.
Amie settled back onto her soft bed of sleeping bags and pillows. The hardest part about farcasting wasn't the magic anymore, it was getting comfortable enough to leave her body behind. Instinct kept her from leaving when she was in too much pain. If she kept bloating at the current rate, that threshold would soon be crossed for good.
Have to make this count.
Amie focused on the flame, letting her attention drift through rock and stone. Her power stretched, but her focus had grown stronger. It only took seconds.
Amie opened her eyes in her Agate apartment. She reclined in a very similar position, tucked onto a couch. But this body was already a pony, wearing a disguise she had crafted for her before leaving. The “worker” could never transform on her own, just as she could do almost nothing beyond following simple instructions.
"We've already gone beyond all possible duty," said Pachu'a, from a short distance away. "Escorting a worker here was madness. Now we cannot delay any longer. My apprentice and I will depart this place—if you are wise, you will all do likewise."
For all his wisdom, the orange hunter couldn't sense her farcasting magic. She might use that against them—but no. He had been nothing but helpful since their first encounter. He deserved her trust in exchange for all he had offered.
"I'm here now," she said. She changed, growing older and more mature—into the bat she had preferred while with Tailslide. That made her shorter than some of her students, but not many.
The room was packed full of bugs, a dozen in all. Pachu'a and Si'tsi lingered near the door, wearing traveling clothes and fresh pony forms. Her own bugs clustered on the other side, close to the sealed window. Rick and Beth of course, along with their new colleagues in Agate. Some would stay as hunters, while others would be traveling back to the hive with their harvested glamor.
They had to, or her food would be depleted before the first snowfall. "I apologize for the delay. I... see you're all here. Something wrong? Looks like you got back without trouble."
"We did," Sydney said, projecting confidence and pride. "They kept us under the trees the whole way. Picking fall-colored ponies was a good idea. Living camouflage."
"Be still." Pacuh’a stepped past her, spreading his pegasus wings as he closed the distance. That cut her view of the other bugs, leaving only the orange hunter. "It is even worse than I feared. You must evacuate your tribe at once, or they will all die.”
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Hopefully things in Canterlot won't go downhill for Amy but you never may know what will happen, say for example Bon Bon aka Sweetie Drops showing up unexpectedly and it all hits the fan etc.
Keep up the good work.
Great she will have to move them to rent a friend as soon as possible and check out canterlot.
Hopefully everything will work out. Leave the director for the camp. He got himself into a mess even when shown that his way was not the right answer.
Broooooooooooooo
Oh boy. Does this mean the guards are making their move?
And of course left at that note
It's kinda funny they thought they were making living spaces for everyone in the nursery. It's not technically wrong, but they didn't assume they would be living in the well itself so what made them think this would be that? We thought it was going to be love storage before the reveal.
The orange bugs need to chill. Understanding their concern, but the constant refrain of distrust and non-confidence is getting annoying. They've seen demonstrable results proving the alternatives that exist beyond their own beliefs. Yet still they speak in absolutes. Disappointing.
Wait, evacuate from where? The Rent-a-Friend, or the mine?
11594520
Oh shit, now I'm wondering about the Rent-a-Friend too. What if Pachu'a and his hunters discovered Bonzer or Tailslide and thought they should kill them? What if they've already done so?
Edit: If the elder's visions are reliable, I'm going to guess Bonzer and Tailslide are still alive. Can't really imagine either the ponies or more importantly, Amie forgiving the orange lings if they killed Tailslide or even Bonzer.
I don't think that's such a good idea, to be honest. Low oxygen (or other gas buildup) is a very real danger in caves and mines. Having airflow through a mine or cavern is a good thing as it helps keep the air breathable.
It is great to read a new chapter of this story, from the first chapter I was hooked, too bad that the chapter ended so quickly, also it left us in suspense as always, good chapter
11594516
They still see Amie as weak-minded, or at the very least naive. They haven't seen much to prove them wrong yet. Give it time ;)
11594545
The orange bugs know about Tailslide already.
11594520
Probably the mine. They may be spying on the captain, and found out about an imminent attack... He is in the area, after all. And they're meeting inside the very building that would be targeted in a raid...
So, she really has no intention at all of telling Tailslide that he's going to be a father, huh?
I don't like that. Has he even heard from her at all since she left with a promise to not take over the camp yet? First she leaves him suddenly with very little explanation when she visited Sonoma, then when she returned she barely saw him long enough for a short conversation about being a biological Queen and a quickie in the shower, before leaving again to take over the camp, lying to him and saying she wasn't going to do that. And she doesn't seem to have considered telling her boyfriend that she's pregnant as even a possibility, and she's just demonstrated an ability to magically pop her mind over to Agate instantly whenever she wants. I understand she's busy and all, and that she's probably being driven by her new Queenly instincts which might be built around having multiple varied mates, but still... I imagine he'll still want to help out the camp, but I don't think it's going to be as her boyfriend for much longer, the way she's treating him.
Maybe I'm overreacting. I dunno. It just really rubs me wrong.
11594737
I completely agree. Though I do give Amie credit, she is in a hostile world and dealing with like 5 life changing revelations within a week. The lying is probably gonna backfire though.
11594682
Well, they know Tailslide is one of Amie's valuable prey, I suppose, but they don't know he's in on the secret. I guess they would just pod him or Bonzer if they felt threatened. Could still be bad.
What do you mean they're in the building that would be targeted in a raid? They're in Amie's Rent-a-friend room right now, not the mine.
Oh no, what's happened?
Well this drama accelerated wildly.
The only thing I could imagine that would cause this level of alarm in Pachu'a would be if the Equestrian army was starting to make their move on Stella Lacus. Not good. I feared that this might happen, but I thought it would take until after Amie confronted Albrecht and took at least some level of control over camp. This is really just throwing impossible odds in Amie's way. There's no way a bunch of kids with guns stand any chance against an organised army, technological superiority notwithstanding. If the army makes contact with the camp, this story's over.
Already!? Was that Sweetie Drops!? Dammit, she must've accelerated the plans of the Royal Guards.
11594970
I very much doubt starscribe would end the story on a complete massacre, there is something we don't know yet, I am certain.
Albrecht or the Equestrians? Either way is bad but it was ultimately inevitable. Time to bunker down. It might be war.
The entire relationship between changelings and ponies could change on this fact alone. Much suffering was caused by misunderstanding. It's really time to parley and set the record straight.
Of course they need to evacuate. What self-respecting changeling queen isn't dealing with at least three different crises at once?
Canterlot's a tantalizing possibility, but first the situation needs to stabilize... and by the time it does, Thorax may have already metamorphosed. Hopefully Amie can send a reply to assure Ivy she isn't dead. We'll see what happens.
11594737
In Amie's defense, she has hive design, peace negotiations, the eggs, and now whatever's going on at Rent-a-Friend to worry about. Leaving Tailslide out of the loop is bad, but unlike many other issues demanding her attention, neglecting it won't get anyone killed.
11594737
To be fair she has a lot on her plate and will probably deal with that as soon as things calm down.