Fallout: Equestria - Project HIVE

by Cascadejackal

Flutter Valley

---

PROJECT HIVE

Flutter Valley

Damsel galloped forwards, throwing herself into the open air with a buzz of her wings. Behind her, Lorikeet scrambled to keep up, taken by surprise by his companion's sudden movement. Together, wings glittering in the sunlight, they began a slow spiral downwards, towards the nearest of the islands, the tunnel to the outside world nothing more than a small gap in the cliff wall that soon vanished from sight.

Lorikeet marvelled at the changes in Damsel's demeanor, the typically calm changeling practically alive with energy and excitement, broadcasting her joy at returning home to across the hivemind for anyone who might be listening. There was no response, none that the young flutterypony could hear, but it did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm.

During their long, slow descent, the sheer size of the hidden world began to dawn on Lorikeet. Whole minutes passed and it seemed they had barely begun to approach the nearest island in the sea of red, while the wall behind them remained as imposingly tall as ever, continuing on to each side and curving out over what he was beginning to realise was a massive distance, meeting on the far side and completely enclosing the inland sea.

The Roc's Wall was fittingly named.

Gradually, the ground grew near and Lorikeet began to notice something odd about the red surface. He turned his attention to it fully, now only half-listening to Damsel's calls as he scrutinised what lay below. He, like most of the Stable's inhabitants, had never seen a body of water larger than the pond in the orchard, and as such had nothing to draw on to compare the odd sea to.

Still, something about it bothered him. It wasn't moving like the waves in the orchard pond, or the ripples in the sietch wells. Great bands and streaks moved slowly across the surface, leaving trails of different shades in their wake. Trails that didn't spread out and settle like waves or ripples, but remained as they grew still, like strokes in an enormous painting.

Another minute passed, the pair descending further towards the nearest island before Lorikeet gave up and, darting closer to Damsel, called out to her. "Ma'am, the Rosedust Sea... what is it?"

Damsel paused in her calls to glance towards her companion and, with an enigmatic smile, say "It's exactly what it sounds like, Lorikeet," before pressing her wings flat against her back and diving quickly downwards. Yet again, Lorikeet was left behind for a moment before closing his own, larger, wings as tight to his body as possible in pursuit.

The young flutterpony wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was starting to find his companion's newly playful and teasing behaviour quite bothersome.

---

"It's not water," Lorikeet stated in surprise as he ran his hoof through the deep red stuff in front of him,"it's sand."

Damsel nodded with a small smile. "Sand and silt, Lorikeet." She lowered her own hoof into the fine sand and lifted it, letting the grains fall in a shower that sparkled, glassy particles catching the afternoon light as they fell.

Lorikeet drew circles with the tip of his hoof, watching them slowly be swallowed by the sand again, then paused. "I get it now."

"Hmm?" Damsel hummed, having moved a few steps away, stepping from the beach and into the 'sea' properly, her hooves sinking into the fine sand.

"What you said before. I get it." Blinking, Lorikeet raised his head to watch his companion as she swished her hooves, letting the sand move through the holes in her legs with a faint look of delight. "It's not just the Rosedust sea, it's the rose dust sea. Because of the red sand... right?"

"Mmhmm..." Damsel just hummed again, letting her approval of Lorikeet's deduction be felt through the hivemind as she began to scoop up hoofulls of sand and rub them against her chitin, particuarly her formerly wounded forleg. "That's right, Lorikeet," she affirmed with a nod, "but it's also named after the First Queen, Queen Rosedust." She paused in her ministrations to glance at him. "Although," she continued with a thoughtful tone, "She may have been named after the sea... hmm..." Another pause, this time to smile slightly. "The Queen will know for sure. When we find Her, you can ask, my little flutterpony."

Bemused, Lorikeet watched Damsel rubbing the sand against her shell and thought about what she'd said before closing his eyes and reaching out to the hivemind, searching, feeling looking for anyone else who may have been in the area. There was nothing there, just tantalising echoes that vanished as he grasped for them, and the sense that there was something there, if only he could find it.. "Ma'am, are you sure the Queen is here? I can't hear anything at all, and..." He opened his eyes again and saw, with some surprise, that Damsel had begun rolling around in the sand, a look of pleasure clear on her face as she wriggled around on her back. "Ma'am... what are you doing?"

Damsel didn't even look up in response to the question, continuing her squirming for a few moments before rolling to her hooves and flicking her wings open, buzzing them with a sigh of contentment. Finally, she looked to Lorikeet, sand falling in small streams from the gaps in her carapace and the hole in her legs. "All of us who go beyond the Wall bathe ourselves in the sea before returning to the valley proper. It leaves us purified, cleans us of everything from the world outside, ready to return to our home and our Queen." She paused, a small smile growing as she examined her formerly wounded leg, the limb now glossy and smooth. "The sand here is also quite good for your shell, Lorikeet."

"Ma'am, I have a coat," Lorikeet deadpanned.

Damsel just shrugged as she continued examining her newly cleaned shell. "At least clean your hooves, brother." She gave him a cheeky smirk. "It wouldn't do to meet the Queen with dirt in your steps, would it?"

"I suppose not, ma'am..." With a sigh, Lorikeet stepped forwards himself, off the more stable beach and into the looser sand his companion had bathed in. He immediately felt his hooves sink a couple of inches and fought the urge to spread his wings in response, instead reluctantly shuffling his hooves in the fine substance. After a few moments, and finding the sand much finer and less coarse than he'd expected, he hesitantly scooped some up with on hoof and rubbed it on his leg, just above his hoof. Much to his surprise, it didn't cling to his coat or clump together. It didn't even leave the gritty feeling he'd expected. Soon, he too was rolling around in the sand, kicking up clouds of dust as he scrubbed the remains of their journey away.

Feeling oddly renewed, he got his hooves under himself again and shook the loose sand from his coat before giving Damsel a sheepish smile.

"Feel better?" Damsel asked, a knowing look on her face. Lorikeet simply nodded.

"Yes, ma'am." He moved back onto the beach, shaking once more to get the last of the fine sand free before pausing to examine his coat. It wasn't as shiny or clean as shampoo could make it, but the worst of the dirt and grime from their journey had come loose, scrubbed away by the fine, almost glassy sand. "Will we reach the valley tonight?"

"No. We're staying here for the night." Damsel shook her head, causing Lorikeet to look up at her in surprise.

"No?" Lorikeet gestured over the greenery of the island they were on, at the towering, mountainous island that he'd been told held Flutter Valley. "But ma'am, we're so close! We could be there in an hour!" His confusion was plain to see as he questioned the decision. "I thought finding the Queen was our priority..."

Damsel just shook her head again. "Be at ease, brother, and follow me." Turning, she waited just long enough for Lorikeet to catch up, before heading up the beach and into the center of the island. Around them, what could only be described as a small jungle rose up from the rich soil. so different from the bare, rocky beach. Thick, lush plant life was everywhere, vine-draped trees with broad leaves and fan-like bushes, roots snaking deep into the surprisingly fertile soil. Insects buzzed and chirped from out of sight, or rustled through the decaying leaf-litter on the ground. Odd-looking lizards, the largest not more than two hooves in length, chased each other about, launching themselves into the air and gliding between trees on brightly-colored flaps of skin before vanishing into the canopy. Small pools of water could be seen, bubbling up from between the rocks, supply the precious liquid to the surface creatures and plants.

They walked in silence for several minutes, Damsel with her eyes half-closed in contemplation, Lorikeet looking everywhere in surprise at the amount of life on the small island, before they emerged once more onto a beach. Damsel raised her hoof and pointed. "Flutter Valley is right there. It doesn't seem so far away, does it?"

Lorikeet looked where she was pointing and shook his head. "No, ma'am." Indeed, their destination seemed well within reach, a mass of joined mountains rising into the sky, their bases thick with what he assumed to be a jungle like the one they were in.

Damsel chuckled. "Your eyes betray you, Lorikeet." At the flutterpony's confused look, she continued. "We're still hours away. Look closer, you can tell."

"It looks so close, though..." Lorikeet mumbled as he squinted, wishing he had the eyesight of a pegasus so he could see what Damsel meant. There was a beach, a narrow strip of grey stone and sand that ran from the red sea to the cliffs at the base of the mountains... there was the jungle, growing atop the cliffs... small pockets of greenery could be seen growing from the sides of the mountains, although the distance made them little more than blotches of color.

His eyes went wide as he realised how far the island would have to be for the jungle to be so featureless, and how large the island and its mountainous crown would have to be for it to seem so close.

Damsel laughed at the awestruck expression on Lorikeet's face. "As I said, your eyes betray you." She gave the stunned flutterpony a warm smile. "It's getting late. We will depart tomorrow morning, but for now, we should eat." With that, she turned and trotted towards the nearest bundle of plants, once more leaving Lorikeet to catch up.

"We-we could still make it, ma'am," Lorikeet stuttered, still bewildered by the scale of the mountain and, by extension, the sheer size of the sea. His mind refused to even think about the size of the Roc's Wall. "If we leave soon-"

"Then we'll still be flying when night falls," Damsel interrupted as she took several large palm fronds and inspected them, "and we'll never reach the valley if that happens." She paused and looked up from her work. giving her helmet a tap. "I was a fishermare before the Queen chose me for Her Guard, Lorikeet. I know the hazards of the sands better than most." Turning away from the flutterpony, she continued her work, deftly manipulating the fronds with her magic.

"What do you mean, ma'am?" Lorikeet looked out over the almost still sands, broken only by slowly moving streaks. "It looks so... peaceful... and I can't feel anything out there..."

"Here, take this." Lorikeet didn't have time to speak before the end of a palm frond was shoved in his mouth, Damsel taking him by surprise.
"I'm going to teach you my art, brother. Do as I say, and you may be a fishercolt yourself some day." She smiled, before taking the other end of the broad leaf in her own mouth, letting Lorikeet see that she'd woven several leaves together into a small net.

Lorikeet repeated his question over the hivemind, but Damsel just urged him to be patient, that she'd explain her unwillingness to fly over the sands at night once they'd eaten, and it would make more sense then.

Instead, the pair took to the air and flew a short distance from the beach, the crude net held in their teeth. Damsel showed her young companion how to fly in tandem so the net wouldn't come apart or tangle, Lorikeet slowly growing in confidence as they practiced diving, skimming the surface of the sea before rising again.

All the while, Damsel watched the moving sands carefully, decades-old skills rusty but still reminding her of what to look for.

There.

A thought was all the signal needed, Damsel broadcasting her move before she made it, diving towards an upwelling of sand with Lorikeet a her side. The pair skimmed the surface of the sea, their net sinking into it and sliding easily through the loose sand. They rose again, trailing sand and heading for the beach again as something moved in the net.

Setting the net on a rocky outcropping on the beach, Lorikeet got a good look at what they'd caught as Damsel stuck her hoof into the net with a look of delight. The things in it squirmed at her touch, most of them twice the length of her hoof at least, with tiny black eyes stuck on pointed heads and long, fat bodies that ended in small fins. Dozens of long, feather-like legs stuck out from the mottled brown-and-red bodies, wriggling like feelers, helplessly trying to move the things along. Their sides were lined with odd, raised streaks in muted reds, greens and blues. They didn't look like something that a self-respecting flutterpony had any business eating.

Lorikeet could only look at them with a sense of mild repulsion as Damsel sorted through the catch. "Ma'am... what are they?"

"Krill, Lorikeet!" Damsel answered happily as she scooped up a particuarly fat one and sniffed it. "Sand krill, much better than rock krill. Larger, better meat, not bitter or tough at all." The krill was set aside, and another quickly joined it. "A good catch for your first try," she added, sniffing at a smaller specimen before tossing it over her shoulder and into the sea. Lorikeet watched it go, shuddering slightly as the long, feathery limbs scooped at the sand, quickly burying it out of sight before the small lump, all that remained to show where it was, began to move away from the beach and vanished entirely in moments.

"What," he asked hesitantly, "are we doing to do with them? Ma'am?"

"Eat them, of course," came Damsel's reply, caught up as she was in sorting the catch. Some, the largest, were set to one side, while others joined the first in being returned to the sand. She paused for a moment, looking wistfully towards Flutter Valley. "The kitchens made the best krill stew..." She shook her head and returned to the net.

"Eat... them...?" Lorikeet swallowed nervously. He wasn't looking forward to trying to eat the things, looking as they did like overgrown bugs.

"That's what I said, isn't it?" Damsel paused again, looking sidelong at Lorikeet. "They're fine raw, but we should save some for when we get to the valley." She smiled and got a far-off look in her eyes. "Fishermare's stew... fresh vegetables from the jungle, freshly caught sand krill, sometimes spices from the Pony Lands..." Blinking, she shook her head and motioned her companion over. "Lorikeet, come. Help me sort them, and I'll tell you how I became a Queen's Guard."

Lorikeet struggled with the decision for a moment, torn between his dislike of the wriggling things and his desire to hear how Damsel had risen to such an enviable position. Inevitably, the chance to hear another story won out, and he approached, settling beside the nest and hesitantly reaching a hoof in.

With a nod, Damsel cleared her throat. "I was a little younger than you are now, brother, and just a humble fishermare." She paused and pointed at one the squirming krill. "Take that one out, throw it away. It's too small." Lorikeet did so, tossing it towards the sand with a shudder and a grimace. Its legs had touched the frog of his hoof. "My partner at the time, Leppy, had gotten her hooves on some small nets from the pony lands." Damsel let out a chuckle. "Oh Leppy... my friend... she wanted to be the best fishermare she could..." She shook her head with a small, sad smile. "Leppy was learning to take the role of lead fishermare when I left the valley." She shook her head again. "Ah... where was I?"

"The nets, ma'am," Lorikeet supplied as he tossed another small krill away. He was getting used to touching them, and the thought of that was oddly unsettling.

"Right, right," Damsel continued. "The nets. Leppy wanted to see how many krill we could bring in with a net each, instead of our shared one. Word got out, and the rest of our team took it as an excuse to make our day more exciting." She chuckled. "I believe that the going bet was a half apple..." She shook her head again and continued sorting absent-mindedly. "Leppy took one half of the beach, I took the other." She cast a sidelong look at her flutterpony partner. "Would you like to know what swims in this sea, Lorikeet?"

"Yes, ma'am." Lorikeet nodded, glad to finally be learning what was so dangerous about the seemingly peaceful sands.

"Sand krill, mostly," Damsel said, holding one of the larger specimens up before setting it with the others. "Rock krill, in some places. Smaller than sand krill, not nearly as nice to eat and not worth the trouble to weed them out from the rocky areas they prefer. The most dangerous things, though..." She paused, noting how intently Lorikeet was listening now, "are the eels."

"Eels?" Lorikeet parroted.

Damsel nodded, although she couldn't stop herself from grimacing. "Eels." She paused again. "I believe the Equestrians have something similar... quarray eels, perhaps..." She shook her head. "Like a snake, but longer than a changeling is tall, with a mouthful of teeth as long as my horn... and those are the young ones." Her eyes narrowed and she half-turned to glare at the sea. "Completely mindless, always hungry... they'll try to feed on anything that comes near... they stay in the deep sands for the most part, following the krill swarms, but sometimes one makes its way closer to the shore."

Baring her fangs, Damsel returned to sorting the catch, picking up the slack for the fascinated Lorikeet. " That day, Leppy and I were in luck. A large krill swarm was passing, just a trot from the shoreline. That's why Leppy thought we should try her new nets. We'd made a few passes already, bringing back a respectable catch each, when I thought I saw an offshoot swarm forming closer to shore." She shook her head and snorted. "I didn't realise what I had until I'd dragged it out of the sand. An eel. Just a young one, mind, not much longer than me, but it fought like a cornered pony." She turned again and hissed at the sand, the memories of the day coming back quickly. "I never realised how hard their hides were... I chipped a tooth biting it. Had to dash it against the rocks, and it just wouldn't die." She shook herself, her displeasure clear. "It almost got hold of my leg at one point. If it had..." A deep shudder ran through her body at the thought. "I brought it down, though. It took a while, but I did it... and when I looked up... there She was." Sighing, Damsel poked idly at the remaining krill in the net. "The Queen Herself." A proud smile crossed her muzzle. "Queen Chrysalis... and Captain Gossamer... they'd heard that someone had caught an eel and come to see if we help... the look on their faces when they saw that I, just an apprentice fishermare, had managed to bring it in by myself..."

Lorikeet waited for Damsel to continue, entranced by the story and how proudly the changeling was holding herself. After a minute, though, it was clear she was lost in her recollections, so Lorikeet cleared his throat. "Is that when you were chosen for the Guard, ma'am?"

"Huh? Oh." Damsel shook her head and smiled sheepishly. "No, not then. The Captain asked me at the feast that night." She chuckled. "The kitchen prepared the eel, and I presented it to our Queen." A faraway look crept into her eyes and she sighed again. "Eels are so rarely caught... so hard to take safely... they're a privilege and a treat." Another chuckle. "The Queen took the first bite, offered the second to our Captain, and the third... the third was offered to me, and a position in the Guard."

"Wow," Lorikeet breathed. "And that's really how you became a Guard, ma'am?"

Shrugging, Damsel returned to sorting the last few krill with a small smile. "No Guard is chosen without good reason, brother. We all earn our place, and we all perform our duties with everything we have, though only the Queen knows why she chooses who she chooses sometimes." The last of the small krill was thrown back into the sea, vanishing into the sand without a trace, and the pair was left with only a few each. Damsel smirked and lifted one in her hoof. "Do you know how to eat a sand krill, brother?" When the flutterpony shook his head, Damsel's smirk grew. "You're in for a treat, then. First, take it in your hoof... that's right, just like that. Now, bite the head off." With a crunch and a tear, Damsel's fangs stopped the thing's wriggling before swallowing the head whole. "Well?" She gave Lorikeet an expectant look.

Swallowing nervously, Lorikeet eyed the thing on his hoof, not at all sure about what he was about to. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes, brought the krill up to his muzzle, and bit down. It was crunchy, like a crisp apple, but with a meaty texture that he couldn't decide if he liked or not. Hesitantly, he chewed, his flat pony's teeth having some trouble at first. It wasn't bad, he thought. Just... different.

When he opened his eyes, he found Damsel smiling at him. "Well done. Now, we can get it ready to eat." She held up her decapitated krill, showing him how to remove the legs easily, and how to grab the tail in his teeth and tear it free, taking the inedible guts with it before tossing the mess towards the jungle. The pair repeated their action with most of the catch, leaving a small number of krill intact, set aside to take into the valley.

It didn't take long before they were all prepared, and Damsel held one out. "To a succesful journey, brother, and the waiting Queen."

"To the waiting Queen, ma'am." Lorikeet, seeing her intent, held up a krill of his own and bumped it against hers. He watched her bite into the creature's underbelly and copied her actions until he'd eaten all of the tender meat inside. Holding up the remains, he asked "Ma'am, what do I do with this?"

Damsel paused in sucking the last of the meat from her own krill. "Eat it, of course. Waste nothing." Demonstrating, she sucked the entire krill into her mouth and started to chew. With a shrug, Lorikeet did the same, grimacing as he bit into something that burst and filled his mouth with an oddly tangy liquid.

He didn't notice Damsel spitting something out and grinning slyly.

---

Lorikeet held a hoof over his mouth as he let out a small belch. "Ooh... those were tastier than I'd expected..."

Damsel nodded. "Oh, yes. They're even better when the kitchens prepare them properly." She watched Lorikeet out of the corner of her eye, smirking slightly and doing her best to hide her anticipation from the flutterpony.

Around them, the evening was falling, turning quickly to night, and they idly watched the small jungle lizards scavenging from their scraps. As the world grew darker, Damsel spoke up. "The krill are the reason it's so dangerous to fly over the sands at night, you know."

"Oh?" Lorikeet blinked in surprise. "But... they don't look dangerous..."

Damsel shook her head. "No, not themselves, but it's so easy to get lost because of them. Look, it's starting." She pointed out over the dark sands.

"I don't see anything, ma'am," Lorikeet replied. "What am I meant... to... see..." He trailed off and his jaw started to drop. "Wow."

The sea was coming alight, great bands of dazzling colors starting to glow in the darkness and sweeping across the sands. Reds, greens and blues painted in great strokes, moving slowly through the darkness, with sudden bursts of faster-moving yellow errupting for moments and cutting swathes through the slower streaks.

"The krill have a special liquid in their bodies that makes them glow," Damsel explained. "Trying to fly at night, it's easy to be disoriented, especially without the Queen to guide us back to the valley. They're aways moving, so it's difficult to place yourself..." She paused and grinned, this time openly. "It's also quite spicy." As Lorikeet blinked in confusion, she pointed at her fangs. Her plain, white fangs. "The glowing teeth suit you, brother."

"What?" Confused, Lorikeet bared his teeth and held his hoof up to them, realising there was a faint, multi-colored glow coming from his mouth. "But, you... your mouth isn't... glowing..." He looked where she was pointing, at the faintly glowing spot on the rocks where they'd cleaned and prepared the krill. He frowned as Damsel began to chuckle.

"Your face, brother! Priceless!" She laughed, broadcasting her amusement to him. "Oh, don't look so serious! It's an old fishermare's joke, we always do it to the new changelings on the team!"

Lorikeet managed to hold his frown for a few more moments before giving in and joining Damsel in laughing. It wasn't mean-spirited, and it was funny. Kinda.

Soon, though, their laughter died down, and they watched the rippling sea of light in companionable silence until tiredness overtook them.
The pair retreated to the jungle, bedding down beside one of the small pools of water that bubbled up from below the surface. Sleep came to them both quickly that night.

---

Sleep. Rest. Wait. We wait. We dream. Dream with us.

Dream with us.

---

Lorikeet yawned, barely able to open his eyes or form a clear thought through the haze in his mind. He forced himself to wake up enough to find his saddlebag and pull it over, feebly dragging out a half-empty love crystal and draining it slightly, needing the boost of energy to fight through the unusual lethargy that had overtaken him.

He sat there for several minutes, the morning moving on without him as he tried to put his mind in order. He couldn't remember his dreams from the night before, just voices, whispers and a warm, inviting presence that called to him to just sleep...

With a shake, he turned his bleary eyes to his companion, surprise slowly making itself known to his foggy mind. Damsel was curled up and still fast asleep, looking as comfortable as if she'd spent the night on the softest bed in the Hive, not even waking up for the lizard that was sunning itself in the morning light on her face.

"Ma'am..." Lorikeet stuggled to say, shaking himself to try and clear his mind a little. "Ma'am, you need to... to wake up..." He yawned, almost falling asleep on his hooves, then shook his head. It didn't help much, so he braced himself and slapped himself. "OW!" Now wide-awake and rubbing his sore face, he reached out and started shaking his companion. "Ma'am... ma'am! MA'AM! Wake up!"

"Hrrmmph..." Damsel weakly swatted at her tormentor, but he didn't stop. The lizard had scuttled away already, but the changeling just refused to wake up. Taking a deep breath, Lorikeet muttered a preemptive apology and raised his hoof.

One hard smack later, the jungle ringing with the sound of hoof on chitin, Damsel was sitting bolt-upright and rubbing her sore cheek, her eyes wide with shock. "What-who? Lorikeet? What's happening?"

"You... you wouldn't wake up..." Lorikeet managed before yawning again. "I think... I think something's wrong..."

"N-no..." Damsel yawned as well, covering her mouth with a hoof. "I remember... I remember voices..."

Lorikeet nodded and shook his entire body, forcing himself to his hooves. "There were voices... in my dream..."

Damsel stood as well, though more unsteadily than the flutterpony. "It was... it was the Hive..." She mumbled, her eyelids drooping. "They... they're in hibernation..." A smile crept across her sleepy face. "They're there, brother... the Queen... the Hive... they're just sleeping... we need... we need to wake them up... that's all..." She stared blankly into the distance, to where Flutter Valley lay hidden, not moving from her spot.

Struggling to stay awake, Lorikeet grabbed a canteen from their supplies and upended it over Damsel's head, leaving the changeling spluttering and finally aware of what was going on. "L-Lorikeet!"

"S-sorry... ma'am... but you... you weren't..." The flutterpony shook his head again, drawing a huff from Damsel.

"The Queen is in hibernation, Lorikeet," she stated simply, buzzing her wings and shaking the water from her carapace. "I heard Her, calling for me to rest with Her... with the hive..." A determined look entered her eyes. "We need to get to them and wake them up."

"O-of course, ma'am..." Lorikeet couldn't stop himself from yawning, and Damsel frowned at him.

"Wake yourself up, brother... and refill the canteens..." She stifled a yawn of her own, quickly checking the discolored patch of chitin on her foreleg. "I'm going down to the beach... a good scrubbing should wake me up... meet me when you're done."

"Y-yes, ma'am," Lorikeet acknowledged with a shaky salute. Damsel just murmered a quiet reply before making her unsteady way away from their campsite, leaving her flutterpony companion to stare stupidly at the now-empty canteen in his hoof. After a minute, he remember what he was meant to be doing and dunked the canteen in the small pool beside their camp then, in an effort to wake himself up, dunked his head as well. He surfaced againt with a gasp, the surprisingly warm water matting his mane and coat and going a long way towards waking him up. At the very least, he was awake enough to finish filling the canteens and check their bags, noting that the krill were still alive and not eaten by lizards during the night.

He took his time getting everything squared away, still feeling lethargic from the Queen's sleeping influence, before settling Damsels pack beside his own on his back and making his own way through the jungle, towards the beach and the drowsy-feeling changeling there.

Barely a few steps from the camp, however, a scream pierced the air, pain and alarm flooding the hivemind.

---

Lorikeet burst from the jungle in a panic, fluttering with all the speed he could manage, eyes wide as he searched for the source of the distress, finding it quickly.

Damsel was thrashing around in the sand, screeching harshly and biting at the long, writhing nightmare of teeth and hunger that had attached itself to her foreleg, its muscular body whipping back and forth as it tried to drag the changeling back into the sand.

Frantic, Lorikeet charged forwards slamming his hooves into the thing's head, then again, as hard as he could. From his strikes and Damsel's bites, the pair quickly drove it off, the eel letting go with a wet hiss and slithering back into the sand, its prey proving too troublesome to be worth eating. Free, Damsel slumped to the ground, her whole body shaking.

"M-ma'am! Your leg!" Lorikeet cried out, rushing to her side and frantically searching his pack for medical supplies. Damsel just kept shaking, not saying a word. She was going into shock, Lorikeet could feel it, and it made him hurry as much as he could. "D-don't worry... I can fix this... I can... I can..." He swallowed nervously as he pulled her wounded leg away from her body and got a good look at it. "I can't fix this..." His stomach turned. The chitin was cracked and torn, missing entirely in places, exposing things that should never have been exposed. "No." He steeled himself. "I can do this. Ma'am, I'm... I'm going to have to clean your leg... it... it's going to hurt..."

"D-do it," Damsel hissed, her voice filled with pain. "J-just... do it..."

Taking a deep breath, Lorikeet readied their supplies of potions and bandages, hoping it would be enough.

---

"How is it, ma'am?" Lorikeet asked. Bits of removed chitin littered the small clearing they'd made camp in, spattered with blood. Lizards had already started to creep from the underbrush and scavenge, drawn by the smell.

"Hurts," Damsel hissed, her eyes glazed with pain. "Eels... Queen damn them..."

Lorikeet didn't answer at first, occupied with checking his work on her wounded leg. Most of their potions and bandages had gone into stopping the bleeding, the remainder of the bandages being used a base for the resin he'd coughed up. He hoped he wouldn't have to redo it, his resin glands were empty, aching slightly from being drained so completely. It was the best he could do, however, he didn't have much confidence in it. The potions had done very little beyond stopping the bleeding, the eel's bite apparently dangerous even beyond the initial wound. He had the disturbing thought that it may have been venemous, but he wasn't sure. "Ma'am, we need to get you to a proper healer..."

"Valley..." Damsel forced her aching body to stand, her companion moving to her side and supporting her. "Healers... in... the valley..."

"You're in no condition to fly that far, ma'am!" Lorikeet's protests went ignored, Damsel staggering forwards and forcing him to move with her.

"No... choice..." she panted. "Fly... or... die..."

Reluctantly, Lorikeet nodded. "Very well, ma'am..." Quietly, he prayed to the Queen that they could reach the valley before Damsel's condition grew worse.

It would be a long flight.

---

Damsel was shaking when she landed, barely able to stand without Lorikeet's help, panting and grimacing. Her entire body felt like it was burning, and even a quickly drunk healing potion from their decreased supplies did little to help. Speaking was difficult, all communication spoken through the hivemind, her directions terse as she pointed Lorikeet towards a tunnel in the nearest cliff-face, one marked by a clearly carved archway.

The pair made their way slowly into the darkness, leaving the afternoon light behind them.

---

The tunnel was longer than expected, taking several long minutes to pass through. But, it wasn't as dark as had been expected. Ivy grew wild on the insides, flower bulbs hanging from it, rich with some strange, dimly glowing nectar. It made the path easy to follow, at least.

Eventually, the tunnel opened up, and Lorikeet felt his breath catch as he looked around, taking the chance to let Damsel rest for a moment.

All around them, Flutter Valley was revealed. A series of canyons and ravines crossing one another, with homes and paths carved into the living rock. Glowbud ivy grew in wild curtains, draping everything in an ethereal light that seemed almost unreal. Carved statues and reliefs depicted changelings of the past, while countless centuries of work turned simple paths into works of art lined with delicate-seeming arches and elegant pillars. There were few truly enclosed places, everything open and airy, with the closest thing to a door being the occasional cloth curtain that had remained intact or hadn't fallen in the two decades since anyone had walked the silent streets.

Lorikeet could only marvel at it, even as Damsel recovered enough to urge him onwards, towards where she said the Queen's Throne was. Resin had been used sparingly, if at all, not a trace of the dark substance on any of the walls or carvings. The streets were worn smooth by the passage of countless hooves, countless changelings walking through the courtyards and gardens that filled the hidden valley. Plants grew everywhere, a riot of life and color, filling the air with a heady, soothing perfume. Pools of water bubbled up from hidden depths in some places, surrounded by benches and ledges for lounging on, always with a humid mist of steam around them.

If only circumstances were better, Lorikeet would have loved to simply explore and take it all in. As it was, however, all the streets and houses were empty, the only signs of life the cries of creatures in the jungle far above and Damsel's laboured breathing, a constant reminder of the need to hurry.

The walk seemed agonisingly long, stretching for far longer than it should have before they arrived in a large, open plaza, with an enormous stone flower in the center, petals spread open as though it was meant to be stepped on. Damsel drew in a hissing, pained breath as she look around. "The... Sunstone... it... should be here..."

Lorikeet's eyes went wide. "The Sunstone is real?!"

"Y-yes... our Queen... She took it back... from the Sun..." Damsel managed a slight grin before wincing, her wounded leg held tightly to her barrel. "The ponies... never knew... They thought we attacked... for love... Didn't know... what... they had..." She staggered and shook her head. "Tired... so tired... need to rest..."

"Don't fall asleep, ma'am," Lorikeet urged, bumping his head against her shoulder. "The Queen must have the Sunstone... we'll wake Her up, and ask Her if we can see it..."

"Yes..." Damsel shook her head again, more slowly this time, but she took a sluggish step forward, towards what seemed to be a large room, seperated from the plaza by pillars carved to resemble dancing changeling queens. Lorikeet was right by her side, urging her onwards and keeping her steady. "The Queen... our Queen... the Sunstone would... would have kept Her strong... kept us strong... as we slept... so tired..." She murmured, her eyes drooping as she led the way across the room, past a broad bench surrounded by musty pillows, and towards another archway.

"Tell me about the Queen, ma'am," Lorikeet pleaded as they walked, moving through the arch and onto a narrow staircase that descended into the earth. "What is She like?"

A sleepy smile grew across Damsel's fanged muzzle. "So... so beautiful... and kind... and cunning... She defeated the Sun... fooled them all..." She blinked slowly and looked at Lorikeet, her faithful companion. "Flutterpony... I think She'll like you... call you Hers... not Her changeling... Her flutterpony..." She looked ahead. "Oh... the Queen... the hive... they're in there..."

Lorikeet looked ahead. They'd come to the end of the staircase and found themselves in a short hall, just a trot's length from another archway, this one carved to look like a pair of Queens guarding the way. Behind them, though, was what drew his attention. A wall. An entire wall made from resin. Even from that short distance, he could see it was thick, too thick to get through. Beside him, Damsel took a hesitant step forwards, stumbling.

"So... tired... need to sleep... need to... need to rest..." She pulled away from Lorikeet, almost asleep on her hooves, not registering his pleas or atempts to stop her, to keep her awake as she curled up beside the resin wall, her back pressed to it.

Lorikeet could only look on helplessly as she fell into a deep sleep, called by the siren-song of the hive and dreaming Queen.

"Ma'am? Ma'am! MA'AM!"

---

We sleep. We rest. We wait. We dream.

Dream with us.

Dream with us.

Author's Note:

Changelings are like chinchillas. They like sand baths.

Typing this was a bit of a pain. I'm still not used to my new laptop and there's a lot more to do before it's entirely up to scratch, but I didn't want to make you guys wait anymore.
Somehow, I resisted the urge to put "Make us whole" in there.

Oh, and the AMA is still up and running, if anyone's interested. I'm gonna leave it up a while longer, since I'm still getting this laptop to a really useable state and that's slowing down actually working on things.

Comments

[Razzy]

Me likey, nice world building.

No, Damsel, be strong!

I hope they really can wake up the Queen and other changelings there.

[Mr B]

Damn son, I'm worried how Chrysalis will react to pony/changeling hybrid. As for Damsel, I hope she pulls through. It would be difficult talking to Chrysalis without someone she knows backing him up.

[Reese]

"at returning home to across the hivemind"
Ought that "to" to be there?

Ah, interesting. Fine red sand...

"searching, feeling looking for anyone"
"feeling, looking"?

"could find it.."
Was that meant to be a period or an ellipsis?

"rich soil. so different"
"soil, so"?

"between the rocks, supply the precious liquid"
"supplying"?

Hazards of the sands? Hm. Not just dead dust then, it sounds like. :)

"are we doing to do with them"
"going"?

"while others joined the first in being returned to the sand"
The first wasn't returned, though, unless I'm misreading.

"" That day, Leppy"
That space shouldn't be there, I assume?

"see if we help"
"we needed help"?

"into her eyes and she sighed again"
"eyes, and"?

"surfaced againt with a gasp"
"again"?

"before settling Damsels pack beside"
"Damsel's"?

"charged forwards slamming his hooves"
"forwards, slamming"?

"bandages being"
Extra space?

"to redo it, his resin glands"
"it; his"?

"he could do, however, he didn't have "
"do; however" or "do, however, and he still didn't"?

"communication spoken through the"
"communication done through"?

"But, it wasn't as"
"But it"?

"had remained intact or hadn't fallen in the"
"intact and hadn't"?

"open plaza, with an"
"plaza with"?

"breath as she look around"
"looked"?

Ohhh, nice explanation for the attack on Canterlot. :)

"She murmured, her eyes drooping"
"she murmured"?

...You end there. HOW CAN YOU END THERE?! :D

Also, I liked the scenery in Flutter Valley. I didn't mention it at the time due to being busy reading. :)

My apologies, but what is "Make us whole" from?

Good luck with your new laptop!

[Cascadejackal]

7294612

My apologies, but what is "Make us whole" from?

Dead Space. I'd link a clip of it, but they're all spoilery for the series.

Good luck with your new laptop!

Why do you think so much needs editing? I swear it's lagging while typing sometimes, and the keyboard is a slightly different shape that messes with several years of muscle memory from using my old laptop.

[Reese]

7297274
Ah, thanks.

Lagging while typing? Eugh. Well, a second good luck, then.

[Winter Storm]

I get the feeling that things won't be quite as nice and easy as it seems when it comes to the Hive.

[Doomande]

I do not really know why... But I was not really a fan of this chapter. I saw in the authors note that there was a mention of a new laptop and some other elements that could affect the quality, but this did not at all feel like the rest that you have written

" they'd heard that someone had caught an eel and come to see if we help" I think you are lacking a "needing" here... or some other word, there are something missing, that I know.