Amie watched the bugs of her swarm work over the wreckage of their home.
She still remembered the early days after the Transit. Back then, campers believed they were going to be swiftly returned to their homes. They thought of themselves more like victims than people who needed to work desperately to survive.
There was no hesitation this time, no large group of bugs doing whatever they could to avoid being in the same area as hard work. There was no one in Stella Lacus who didn’t want to be part of the camp salvage.
Several large canvas tents stood around what had been camp center, where the majority of human structures had once been. Unfortunately, this was also the most obvious target from the air, and thus where most damage was concentrated. Carts gathered around each one, mining ore carts meant to be pulled by ponies. Many had the markings of the FlimFlam Regional Excavation and Mineral Extraction Company over from nearby Motherlode.
Every bug had somewhere to help—be it digging through wreckage with magic, moving things with a powerful transformation, or just hauling carts around. Though no one said it, all present knew the terrible finality of the event.
Soon they would be leaving the camp behind—when they did, much of what connected them to Earth would be abandoned too.
Some structures had survived the siege, it turned out—the medical building, the camp store, and a few of the staff homes. The rest were basically a total loss. With no supply of raw materials or replacement parts, there was no way to rebuild Stella Lacus exactly as it had been.
Even if they had it, why should they want to? Its population weren’t “campers” anymore—they were the first generation of a new tribe, stolen from their home and given a new world to build. Their needs barely had anything in common with the original facility.
Many of her bugs were too young and small to risk themselves in salvage—those worked in support roles, helping with carts, fresh water, or just running messages for the others. One of those came jogging up to her now, mixture of griffon claws and pony hooves skittering through the gravel road.
“Director? Director, there’s someone at the train tracks to see you.”
They didn’t call her queen. Many of the bugs knew what form she wore under a pony disguise—but however widespread the knowledge, she still chose a willowy pegasus body as her typical around them. It meant giving up unicorn magic, but she needed practice with her wings too badly to give them up. Besides, some of her bugs needed a visual reminder that hands just weren’t required to live a productive life. If their leader could do it, then anyone could.
“The shipping company? I know they want to get us to Maneport. But if they think we’re gonna have this whole place torn down in three days…”
The child flared both his wings, pawing at the ground with clawed forelegs. “I don’t think so. She seemed way more… official. Knew your name and all. Only important aliens know who you are, right?”
That wasn’t quite true anymore—thanks to the Equestrian newspapers, half of the nation knew who she was by now. Surrendered queen, ruler of children and victims. Defender of the destroyed mountain. She’d lost track of the nicknames they used on her in the headlines. Let them use whatever names they wanted, use the scariest photos they could, so long as Equestria kept its treaty.
“What did she look like?”
“Uh… kinda like that.” The kid pointed with his foreleg, directly back the way they’d come. Another habit common to those who still hadn’t fully adjusted to their new form—using a leg you were standing on worked well enough indoors, but on a slippery gravel slope it swiftly meant he began losing his footing. He caught himself by flaring both wings, narrowly avoiding a ride down the path.
Amie turned to follow his gaze and stopped in place. A mare was working her way up the slope, one she had seen walk this exact path before. Her coat was yellow, her mane a mix of blue and pink. Agent Sweetie Drops.
Even at a distance, the mare was far less pained, far less depressed. An undercurrent of guilt followed her, unsettling enough that most bugs kept their distance. One followed close behind her, with a hunting bow over his shoulder. One of Amie’s “guards,” though she knew with certainty just how badly an engagement for him would go if it actually came to violence.
Agent Sweetie Drops looked like an adorable, helpless pony—but she was just as deceptively dangerous as Amie herself. Maybe far more, since she actually spent her life devoted to a difficult job. She had killed people before, which was more than Amie could say.
It might change later, but at that moment…
Amie broke into a trot, hurrying past the messenger to where her new visitor waited on the slope. The mare saw her coming of course and settled back onto her haunches to wait. Not that she was trying to avoid the hike of course—this earth pony could probably scale Everest without slowing down.
“Based on your reaction, I’m guessing I know you,” Sweetie Drops said. Gone was her oppressive exhaustion, replaced with the simple confidence of someone in a difficult job they understood. “Queen Amie?”
“Director Amie,” she corrected, returning the nod with a dramatic bow, flaring both wings. Not that any significant respect was owed to an ordinary pony visitor—but she enjoyed the drama. There were so many little feathers on those wings that one or two usually fluttered off whenever she moved so dramatically. Getting details that precise took skill that few of her bugs could yet imitate. “I could change if it would make things easier. There are some shapes you know better than others.”
The mare shrugged absently. Amie felt her slight undercurrent of resentment—but that was a small part of her feelings, not some overwhelming, obsessive hatred. “I realize who I’m talking to. It’s up to you whether you want to show me the truth.”
Amie tensed as she heard it, and the anger underneath. Their first encounter had come with Amie wearing the false face of a pregnant mare, taking her family to new opportunities in Motherlode. She had been carrying eggs at the time, though no other part of that story was true.
Amie changed. Blue fur vanished, replaced with a shiny black coat. She kept the mane, which changed to her usual deep green, long and braided. Even the style persisted between transformations, so long as she was careful.
In her real shape, Amie was taller than the mare by a few inches, and a head taller than any of the working bugs. Many of those stopped to stare, drawn by the intensity of their interaction. No matter how close her camp tried to simulate their previous human lives, there was no way to ignore the profound differences between pony and bug. Even in anger, Sweetie Drops radiated magical energy. Just because it was useless for harvesting didn’t mean they couldn’t feel it, like rain cascading off their coats they could not drink.
“The truth,” she said. “I don’t like how it makes me look. So different from the other bugs—people might start thinking that I’m lording over them, that I think of myself as more important than anyone else. Where I came from, we got rid of nobility and titles a long time ago.”
Sweetie Drops shrugged to one side. “Amie Blythe. You can cast your mind across continents, transform into impossible shapes, lay hundreds of eggs, and wear the bodies of your bugs like puppets. You are not the same creature.” She lowered her voice to a whisper, scratching wistfully into the gravel. “If you were, I think this camp would be a lifeless ruin now. Commander Path was so determined to make Equestria safe, he would’ve performed atrocities to do it. There would be no survivors to rebuild.”
“You didn’t make it easy for us to survive,” Amie admitted. She gestured past them with her transparent wings—at the wreckage that had once been the multipurpose room. The camp’s covered garage with its various vehicles was now a blackened husk, still smoking in places. Only one jeep survived, the one still parked outside the gift shop. It was the same story with so many other pieces of irreplaceable tech. The battery bank was intact, but most of the solar panels were scrap. “But if we want to move on, we have to give up blaming and making things even. Only thing I want for my bugs now is a chance to move forward.”
“I read the treaty.” Sweetie Drops circled past her, until she was directly in front of Amie. “It’s all noble and aspirational, a look into the future of Equestria and civilized bugs. But we still have to make it real. Writing it all down on a piece of paper is the easy part. In the end, real ponies and real bugs have to build it. Creatures need to stay willing to work with each other. They may not be so trusting.”
Amie waited for her to finish, watching in silence. But a few seconds later, and the mare fell silent too. “What brought you to Stella Lacus?” she finally asked. “Not that I don’t want to be a friendly host. But as you can see, we don’t have a place for visitors right now. We’re still getting ready for our move. Two weeks is the best I can do—I’ll get these bugs ready to ride before the first snow.”
Sweetie Drops started walking again, closing the distance between them and one of the many covered tents. This one had several open carts, each one filled with copper. Most of it was wire, or at least it had been, coiled out of walls or appliances or connecting infrastructure. The material was too valuable to leave behind.
“I’m not coordinating the transfer,” Sweetie Drops said. “You were there for the treaty, you… probably helped write it. I’m the Equestrian liaison. At least I will be until you’re settled into Maneport. Wasn’t another pony in Equestria who understood changelings as well as I did. And… was willing to go anywhere near you.”
Amie tensed, wings flicking open involuntarily. But there was no hostility in those words—the pony only sounded resolved. “I can’t think of a mare I would trust more to do that job.” She gestured at the working bugs, the sound of breaking metal and shifting rubble interrupted only by the distant hum of music from someone’s Bluetooth speaker. Not loud enough to make out the words at this distance. “I’m a little surprised you wanted anything to do with us. After the last time…”
Sweetie Drops continued up the path, until they reached where the gigantic multipurpose building had once stood.
Commander Path’s bombardment had reduced it to rubble so completely that there were only a handful of bugs combing over it, salvaging the heavy cables that had once connected its solar tiles.
Only the huge flagpole still stood, undamaged despite the assault. No spotlight remained on the oversized American flag that hung there. But the flag was also flying upside-down, along with who knew how many other violations of the flag code.
There were probably better places to dig a grave. They still had the rope course, and the fallen campers entombed there under simple wooden crosses. Albrecht’s own memorial was made of the same material, placed just beside the flagpole. With the rest of the camp in ruins, where else could they bury him? His widow was there most days, tending to the flowers, cutting back the weeds. To her credit, Amie knew she did the same for the other graves in camp. These dead would not be forgotten.
There was no longer anyone to care about such things—just one last desperate call for help that their home would never answer.
“I had the chance to go back. To Ponyville—beautiful little town. You should visit sometime, if you get the chance. It’s everything that makes Equestria great. I think the ponies there would’ve treated you different than these. But I refused. I thought—a crazy bug showed me there was another way.
“First, I thought it was impossible, that we would go right back to killing each other as soon as we got the chance. Now I think maybe she was right. SMILE’s vision was never about destroying threats—it’s about making Equestria safe.
“The best way to do that isn’t by breaking something, it’s turning an enemy into a friend. I think after Canterlot… some of us forgot. Including me. If we can make this work, one day I’ll ask for your forgiveness. I hope you’ll think about giving it to me.”
“If we can make this work, I won’t have to think about it very long,” she said. “But there’s a lot left to do before that happens. A lot left to build—and a missing brother I hope I can find.” Not to mention other bugs who might want to kill me for this. Even the orange tribe might not stay allies when it’s over.
“I would offer to help,” the mare said. “But we both know how good a job we’ve done tracking down infiltrating changelings. You should probably do it without our help. But keep in touch about how it goes.”
“The treaty,” Amie agreed. “We’ll keep it. If ponies can, things should work out pretty well.”
I'm sure when she gets ahold of him she will yell him for being so stupid even adults don't just run willy-nilly into the enemy arms. He has a better chance of survival than before because she managed to get peace started but it won't be easy Considering some don't really want to make this work much less get rid of ignorance of the whole truth about changelings. I wonder if twilight will be invited to check it out that the peace is working with the camp. Considering as the princess's student and savior of Equestria on more than one occasion her words carry a lot of weight especially considering she was the one who noticed something wrong with the bride and nobody else bothered to look twice at the situation which might have raised a few doubts about Celestia abilities to understand trouble. Celestia up to then had always seen trouble coming and the fact her niece was kidnapped under her nose didn't make her look good.
And so the reconsutruction begins. Interesting.
So, Wes is still missing in the frozen north, eh? Let's hope he's not run into another faction of hostile bugs...
And yeah, the other hives are gonna be EXTREMELY skeptical of what Amie's doing. She's gonna be target #1 for Chrysalis, even - the ponies now have changelings to collaborate with, to find out all the tricks of the species...
It really sounds like we're in epilogue territory. I'm not sure if we're gonna get any more chapters after this, but just having the one post-mortem conversation with Bon Bon is pretty underwhelming. There may be more after this.
I don't really suppose we're gonna see Wes again. It seems like that's gonna be a plot thread that'll be left open for a potential sequel, which would suck if I'm right about that.
Legally (assuming Equestrian military laws are similar to US ones), of how many crimes can Commander Path be properly accused?
Rather disappointing that so much tech was destroyed. Despite the lack of subject-matter experts it would have been useful. Oh well.
Under the circumstances the Flag being upside down signaling distress is not a flag code violation. The camp was under siege and it residents effectively would be considered missing.
It was disappointing how much tech they lost. At least, they still have the cables, a few panels and a jeep, though not much it's still better than nothing. Most importantly however is that most of them are safe and Equestria is willing to settle them. I'm hoping this one isn't jeopardised.
Nice to see Sweetie Drops again.
Seems like we're getting near the end. Don't know if Wes' journey is still in the scope of this story but we know changeling "reformation" isn't the end-all-be-all to solving this diplomatic problem. Though the other hives will probably not look so kindly to Amie's hive. Still, if humanity can find harmony on this world without relying on Harmony, there's hope they can bring their lost cousins into the fold.
11709671
The undeniable one would be disobeying orders. Also attacking civilians, but his lawyer could argue that due to "Fog of War" he didn't know they were non-combatants and that he totally wouldn't have ordered the attack if he knew they were "people"
Aah, I'm so glad that this is the part I caught up to rather than a tense area. Feels like we're nearing Epilogue territory, but with the option of sequels if you're so inclined. I know I'd happily read way more.
Thank you very much for writing and sharing this! There were a couple fics with surprise toxic elements that left me feeling bereft, and this story did a great job of cheering me up (and inducing a Changeling fixation, apparently).
Feels like the story is ending really soon.
There seems to be a lot of loose strings to wrap up. Too little chapters left to give those ends enough time to knot.
Wes, status of Beth and her BF (I don't remember the name), Amie's eggs and the sire (not enough time is spent to hammer home his name), the princesses, the reason why it is in a FlimFlam universe or interactions with it, Natane's queen reaction or disappearance, Amie's Albrecht after-the-war closure (he was originally a veteran after all), and her camp group.
Just like most of your works, I still dislike how hands off the story is when it comes to character interactions, specifically down periods when the plot isn't moving. But in the end, it is still an interesting story with an alright execution.
11709684
I think Wes's story will be the sequel to this.
Also, Amie is afraid of how Kaya will react, but she may get a bit more sympathy from her once she learns about the purple bugs and what they tried to do. Her hive seems to be the most ambivalent towards ponies after Amie and the campers.
According to the flag code, the u.s. flag raised upside-down means "a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property." Was very appropriate during Path's attack
11709679
for real what is left of their tech is barely enough to get maybe a good power generator going this is a disaster the entire time I was hoping they would try a secure their tech base it was the only hope for them and honestly they would have probably would have been better off dead least they wouldn't be effectively conquered.
and let's be real there is no fucking way they would be allowed any freedom at all especially if they tried to eat anything not green or allowed to try and recreate their tech tree without the ponies keeping control
i wonder Sweetie Drops volunteered for the position out of guilt not just her past interactions with Amie, but for how she was there for first contact when the humans reached out during her exploration of the mountain, and if she done thing differently maybe there be no bloodshed, no army surrounding the mountain in the first place
There’s a joke about AI art in there somewhere. And fingers being hard to get right.
In any case, it does look like things are settling down at camp… which means there’s room to worry about what’s going on in the Empire. We’ll see soon enough.
Huh. And not a single capsized river boat.
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Alot, first acting without orders. Lying to his commanding officers, and not offering mercy.
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Itnwould be pathetic. Basoc recon would have shown the hraves and the fact most of the time the hive was not taking hostile action
11710137
I think he did receive something akin to orders.
11710140
Can’t rly do hostile action when you’re under siege.
Also grammar. Also what do having graves have to do with anything.
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Typing on a phone. Note the seige was started by equestrians. In fact all aggression has been done solely by the Equestrians. The princess likely standing prder was just maintian the perimeter and only engaged if attacked. Path clearly violated. And the graves. Note alot of their number are dying withoit engagement by equestrian forces. That would be the sign of something wrong
Honestly, I think a sequel should be in order. There’s so much that can be done with this scenario. By the way, have you heard of ‘Equestrian at War’?
amazing chapter and yet this is feeling like the story is winding down..
this hole story is awesome.
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Thats casual Siege work.
2 to his knowledge they did. Didn’t he get something saying his home was breached or something?
Also to pony knowledge all changelings belong to one tribe, so to them this is a retaliation.
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I’m pretty sure in canon, there is no multiple kingdoms of one species, beyond stuff over 1000 years ago. Thus the idea is foreign.
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Which is alreqdy being taken care of. And again the sister likely told him do not attack. He did. That violates orders.
I completely forgot about Ami's brother
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Which one is being take care of?
Was early, edit wouldn’t save, but trying again
Did he receive the order before or after he was informed his house was breached.
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it was a standing order and what he would here is that the changeling was captured. situtation resovled.
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Not if you lie.
Also captured doesn’t mean crap.
11712744
he broke orders. end of story.
Nice chapter, good to see Sweetie Drops being less eager to turn to violence immediately
After everything, Amie really needed to hear those words.
The trial and execution of the commander should be priority #1