Chapter 8: The Mute, the Mime, and the Maimed
“There ain't no sin and there ain't no virtue. There's just stuff people do.”
We ran. As soon as the Prince’s words were finished, Rolling and Surprise bolted. I was with them only a second later. I glanced back as we galloped and saw that we were not being pursued. Gleaming Armor was holding Boss underneath him while the other unicorn approached the wagon to arrest the remaining slavers. I did not hear any gunfire.
* * * * *
It was Surprise who first slowed, a long time later. I gladly followed her, and checked to see if we were being pursued. Nothing.
"What... the hell... was that?" she panted.
"That was..." Gleaming Armor. I had had plenty of time to think about what we just witnessed. So he was the Prince of New Canterlot? I smiled despite the fear that had been pushing us all forward. Part of me wanted to turn around, even. I had hope now. Hope that I could take the power he held. When he had spoken I’d heard zeal in his voice, zeal that had at once terrified and enthralled me. Zeal like that could be bountiful, I knew. Zeal like that could be used.
Zeal like that could kill us.
"That was New Canterlot," I said.
"I know that! But what the hell are they doing here? Why... the hell.. " Surprise squeezed her eyes together suddenly, having lost her breath. She stayed that way for a moment, frozen and almost hyperventilating.
"Uh... are you... okay?" I took a few steps forward, reaching out a hoof. She flinched from my touch, jumping back and splaying her wings defensively.
"Ah! Get away, I—ugh, just give me some space. Fuck, I did not need that..." She trotted around in circles, muttering to herself as she slowly calmed. Behind us, Rolling watched the horizon like a hawk, and I glanced nervously between the two. I didn’t like standing still out here. I needed to move. I had a new target now: Gleaming Armor and his princess, whoever she was. I needed to get information on her. On the NCs. I would replace her. Take his love and zeal. Get more power. Simple. Direct. An easy goal. But where to start? I couldn’t walk back there. The slavers knew about me. I would need to wait until he had dispatched them. Then I could find a way to get near him. To replace his princess. Maybe... I could do it in Bulbs. I hadn’t seen the rest of his army. They might still be there. I could go there, wait for him to return, and then... then I would take his love. Yes. That was a plan. Go there. Wait for the right moment. Then feed. It was good we had not been caught.
Feed.
"So what now?" I asked neither in particular. I was impatient to keep moving. Surprise stopped her pacing, turning to me. “We can’t stay here. We have to get to Bulbs.” She gave me a confused look. “Er—somewhere safe.” I glanced back at Rolling. He shrugged, frowning.
"I... I might know somewhere we can rest,” Surprise said after a pause. “Over there." She nodded to the west and slightly northward. I frowned.
"Where?" I didn't see anything nearby, and following her would take us farther away from Bulbs.
"What I just said: over there, about a few miles. There’s an old town there."
“I don’t....” Rolling trotted past me, nodding his approval. I chewed my lip. I wanted to get back to Bulbs, to spy on the NCs, but now that the exhilaration from before was wearing off and I knew I couldn’t go running off right away. The sky was red, and it would be dark soon; a mile or two detour for shelter wouldn’t hurt. I needed to rest. I was tired from the marching, and the running... and the killing. My legs ached. My jaw was sore. My stomach was churning. All the little pains rose to the forefront of my mind now that the thought of rest had entered. “Are there ponies there?”
“Not anymore. Nopony’s lived there for years. We should be safe.”
* * * * *
It did not feel safe, but it was abandoned, as promised. Half of the town was rubble and ash. What houses still stood were all ransacked and strewn with debris. I saw several skeletons in the streets and buildings, one with a wooden pike driven through its skull. Surprise walked by them without pause.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"Zebras. This was one of the first towns hit when they started rampaging across the Fields." She turned left down a side street, and trotted to a small doorway. "This was my dad’s place—the front is blocked off—we can sleep here tonight." She held it open with a wing and Rolling trotted in, giving her a big smile. She nodded awkwardly in response.
“Thank you,” I said, following him.
“Right, uh... I figure I owe you.”
The place was dusty and dark, with only a little light filtering in from the alley and all the broken windows. We were at the back of a living room, which connected to a kitchen and a small stairwell. There was a closet opposite the kitchen, as well as an old bathroom. Most of the furniture was rotted away along with a large chunk of the floor. Even the concrete below it was being slowly eroded by a pool of water. Rolling Stone immediately began to search through what little was still here.
“Don’t bother,” Surprise said. “The place’s empty.” Her comment didn’t dissuade him. She frowned and started up the stairs. I followed her. She turned around when she heard me.
"Uh, no offense,” she said, “but don’t come up here.” She glanced behind herself. I tried to see what was upstairs, but the angle was too shallow. All I caught was a crumbling ceiling.
“Ah... alright.” I backed down, and she nodded her thanks before disappearing. I glanced over at Rolling as he emerged from the kitchen. “Did you find anything?”
He shook his head, and plopped down on the dry edge of the concrete. I joined him, watching silently as he took out some of the food we’d managed to scavenge from the winery. He offered it to me, but I refused. I did not think I would be physically hungry for quite a while. He ate, and I scraped off little bits from what pleasure that brought him. It was only the small gratitude of eating, but love was love, and food was scarce for the both of us. A minute or so later Surprise came back down looking more relaxed, though her expression was still on the angry side of neutral. She trotted over to us.
“So,” she said, sniffing and brushing some dust from her nose as she sat down across from us, “you said you’re a... changeling?” She raised an eyebrow. I nodded. “And you’re trying to spy on the NCs. What’s that all about?”
“Well, it’s kind of a long story...”
“I’ve got time.”
* * * * *
When I was finished with my tale darkness had descended. Surprise was quiet, contemplating what I’d told her with a neutral expression. I’d left out a few parts, especially the... recent mistake, but otherwise I’d been truthful. Rolling had done his best to contribute to his parts of the tale, and he was once again quite flattered by my description of him. He nuzzled me when I referred to him as my savior, and I nuzzled him back. Surprise had briefly glanced away.
“So what’s your plan now?” she finally asked.
“I figured we would go to Bulbs, get some information for Pitch, and then... see where that takes us.” I glanced at Rolling, and he nodded. I’d decided not to mention any of my deeper plots or the vision of my Queen’s scheming. I didn’t want to give these ponies any reason to fear me. I wanted them as my friends. I turned back to Surprise. She stared at me, and there was a long silence.
“So—”
“Can I come with you?” she blurted. “I—it’s just—I haven’t met any nice ponies... in a very long time.” She looked at me with desperate eyes, and for the first time I felt a small drop of feeling from her: hope.
“You’re welcome to come with us,” I said.
“Thank you.” She breathed a sigh of relief, and I felt her gratitude. This was a precious thing, I felt. When I had found her in that dark place she had been nothing to me—a black body of emotion. Now there was a small crack in the shell she had built up around herself.
“So then, what’s your story?” I asked, hoping to bring down more of the barrier. “You’re the first pegasus I’ve ever seen. Are you from that, uh... Encalve? Is that what it’s called?”
“No. I’m not from the Enclave.” She ran a hoof through her mane nervously. “Like I said, this was my dad’s house, it’s where I grew up. I’ve never been up to the clouds. Never been able to fly.”
“Really? Why?” She’d told me she couldn’t fly, but I had assumed that she’d just been injured recently. “Your wings look fine to me.”
Wrong comment. I felt her close down immediately. Rolling jabbed me as her gaze fell to the ground. Another grimace was on her face.
“Er, sorry,” I muttered. There was another silence. Finally, she looked back up.
“I was just never taught, is all. My parents were Earth Ponies.” I raised an eyebrow at that.
“Then how—?”
“Then how am I a pegasus? Yeah, I get that a lot... I just am. Some great grandparent fucked a different race or something. Wings just took a while to get to the top of the gene pool. It happened a lot before the war.” She gave a small shrug. “Dad said I could fly when I was little—I’d buzz all around the ceiling, he said—but that doesn’t keep going unless you practice right. It’s dangerous to be out in the open, outside of town, and nopony in town knew anything about flight training.” She held up her wings, flexing them weakly. “The right muscles never got strengthened or whatever.”
“Hmm.” I thought of my own wings, and how flight had come so naturally to me. It was odd that something so innate in their nature needed to be practiced and developed. “That’s unfortunate.”
“But they’re still useful though!” She held up a hoof defensively. “I use them for pretty much everything—they’re like a pair of hands!” She fluttered them around in the air for us. I blinked at her. After a moment she slapped them back to her sides. “Uh, I’m... sorry. Not used to talking about this. Like I said, I haven’t met many nice... ponies.”
“That’s okay...” I said, feeling awkward. “I, uh... I haven’t met too many either.” There was another pause. Rolling yawned.
“It’s getting late,” Surprise stated. “I’m going to go to bed.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“Well... goodnight then.”
“Goodnight,” I replied. She nodded to us, and then trotted quickly back up the stairs. I frowned, but when I turned to Rolling and asked what he thought about that he just shrugged and yawned again. I yawned too, feeling a deep weariness. I needed a good sleep.
Surprise did not show herself again, but I heard some movement above us as Rolling and I settled down. It had started to drizzle outside, and I cuddled up to my savior as the temperature dropped. Thankfully, the rain did not last long, and I drifted off to the slow rhythm of his breathing, the heat of his body keeping me comfortable. I smiled. I could feel he liked this. I could feel he was happy with me here.
...oooOOO===OOOooo...
“What did you say?” our Queen demanded. She stood at the edge of the cave. She and Fugax. I peered out at them, the light of early morning blinding me to everything but their silhouettes. I felt a few others watching with me. We had not heard what Fugax had said, but it angered our Queen. This confused us. She should be happy he had come back. We were happy. I was happy.
“Fugax!” Maggy shouted, scampering over us. She almost stepped on my head. We were clustered together here. There was not much room, but it was an isolated shelter. Safe from the Wasteland’s monsters. Both Fugax and the Queen looked toward Maggy as she approached. I could not see their faces. “Fugax, you’re alive!” She stopped suddenly, and we felt her confusion. “Fugax, what—?”
“Fugax!” Chrysalis shouted, taking a step forward. “You have closed your mind to me. What is this? What are you doing?"
A dark shiver ran through us. I felt Maggy’s confusion melt into fear.
“Answer me!”
"I am sorry my Queen,” Fugax finally said, “for letting you worry. I was gone on for quite some—”
“Five years! Five years without so much as a murmur from you. I thought you were dead!”
“I was on quite the journey—”
“To where? Doing what? You’re dressed... like that, and what you said...” I felt a sudden darkness rise in my Queen. She was petrified. My eyes widened, and I edge forward. What was wrong? What did she mean?
“Fugax,” she demanded, “what have you done?”
We chittered nervously in the silence.
“I have fed,” he said with a ragged intake of breath. “I have fed on hate.”
“You what?” our Queen spat. I frowned. That was impossible. “That is poison!” We all knew it was poison.
“No!” Fugax said, his voice raspy. He was excited. Exhilarated. “It is not poison—not anymore! The world has changed, and so must we. We must adapt. There are more feelings to feed on than love and joy!” Fugax shifted, bringing a hoof up to his chest to stand proudly. “I have learned to drink the spice of hatred. I can teach you—” He coughed. “I can teach you all!"
He stepped forward, and I gasped. His armor hung loosely on his undisguised form, caked in dark red and brown blood. It was lined with spikes and hooks, and cracked in several places. I saw hints of the white it had once been in those cracks. A bulky gun and several rusty blades hung from his sides. He reeked of death and years of unwashed grime and gore. My eyes watered, and I felt my stomach churn. I was almost thankful it was empty. His skin was stretched thin over his bones, and his eyes were dim though they should have glowed in the dark. Lines of yellow had crept into their edges, the same color as his rotting teeth. He was smiling.
“Fugax...” I whispered.
“I can teach you!” he repeated. “I have fed—”
“Silence!” Chrysalis snapped. She moved, and was suddenly towering over him. “You... you cannot eat hate. I have tried. In those early days I tried everything—you cannot!” I felt the command pound into my mind. Into the mind of every one of us save Fugax.
“But I have,” he insisted. “For the last five years I have fed off of ponies and their hatred. I have fed, I... I will show you!”
He opened his mind before we had time to react.
I saw ponies in front of him bloody on the ground crawling begging—I saw ponies around him laughing taunting like he was—I felt him eat I felt their fear and their hate I felt him drink and drink and drink I felt it in my veins in my very core—the energy and POWER and finally the release from this ever present hunger—it felt so good to be full again, to revel in the emotions of those around us. I saw the blood I felt a mare below me begging and begging but I didn’t stop in fact I laughed as I felt her squirm around me—the other raiders were hollering and whistling, and I fed from their frenzy as I fed from her shame and fear. Why stop? This pony was my prey in one way why not all? She was nothing but sustenance and I was hungry so hungry always hungry—she was sobbing, sobbing and it felt so good so good so good so good good—good! I laughed again and the others fell on her and I kept feeding, drinking and drinking—I urged them on and on and on why search for crystals when I had this? This was food this was survival this was POWER—they killed her and kept going but I knew tomorrow we would do this again and again and I would feed and feed on these new emotions and I would drink and drink until finally we had POWER again and—I would share this. I would spread this. They must know. They must follow—I saw blood on the stallion below me and I felt him claw at my hoof but still I pressed it deeper and I felt his guts squish and I heard him scream—
“Stop!” bellowed our Queen.
I collapsed, my mind reeling. I felt sick. We had all felt that. We felt everything he had done. I shuddered. The taste. We had tasted it. Tasted hate. Tasted poison. It was not good. It was not good...
“See?” Fugax asked. “Do you not see? Here, try it!!” His horn lit up, glowing not green but a sick, faded yellow. I saw now it was splintered, a tree of hairline cracks spreading all the way out from its tip. His magic leaked out, bathing us with soft light as he offered his power. I did not take it. I dared not. “You mus'... please...” He stared at us, his smile finally fading.
“Fugax.” The Queen’s voice was low, guttural. I saw only her eyes, smoldering with hate and betrayal. “Leave.”
“Wh—what? But—” He hacked, coughing. “But I have fed—”
“Leave!” She shouted with both mind and body, stepping between him and us. You are not my child.
“But...” His mind was closed again. All I felt was my Queen’s rage.
Fugax stepped back slowly, glancing from her to us, his face fallen. He looked back at Maggy. He took a step forward, but she scampered to Chrysalis’s side. Fugax looked at us all, and I was struck by the emptiness. I could not see into his mind. I could only see the sad expression on his face. That was an alien sensation. For the first time I could not sense the thought of my sibling. He had become a thing separate from us. An ugly, dying blasphemy.
“Leave,” our Queen repeated, and Fugax ran.
...oooOOO===OOOooo...
I woke abruptly with a gasp, terrified of that yellowed visage. Rolling stirred next to me, his horn lighting up reflexively. He raised one of the griffin's weapons, and gave me a panicked look.
“No—don’t worry,” I said. “Nothing’s wrong. It... it was just a nightmare.” His light dimmed, and he put down his weapon. His face turned concerned.
“It’s fine, I...” I trailed off. I hadn’t been expecting that. That flood of horror. Even though it was just a memory it felt like it had just happened. Fugax... my brother had become brutal and corrupt. He had poisoned himself. What had driven him to that? I had felt it in my dream—the energy he’d offered. It’s very aura had been foul. I thought we were merely indifferent to negative emotions but now I knew that they were an anathema. Hate was a poison, and he’d been desperate enough to drink it. I shuddered again at what my brother had done.
The longing for my hive had returned, lingering along with my horror. I wondered, had Fugax died? Had he raped and raided until the corruption destroyed him? And what of the crystals? I had had no time to think about them after that first vision, but now the question surged to the forefront of my mind. We had seemed desperate to find them. Chrysalis—my Queen had been desperate. What were they? Why Canterlot? Had that happened before Fugax returned or after?
Our plans... it will still work... we are still close... we will have love again... feed...
These dreams instilled a sense of urgency into me, but I had no direction to move in. My mind felt... locked. I could push and push against the wall of my past, but no memories came when I asked. I sighed in frustration.
Rolling put a hoof on my shoulder, snapping me out of my reflections. I looked up at him. In the dim light I saw only a shimmer of his eyes and the outline of a muzzle.
“It’ fine,” I repeated. “I had another vision. It was... it was scary.” I glanced down, embarrassed. Rolling’s concern was just barely on the edge of my perception. He settled down next to me again, pulling me gently toward him with a hoof. I grew flustered at his sudden action, but I stifled my reaction and did not resist.
“Thank you,” I said, curling into him.
I held Rolling’s hoof with my own, again grateful for his presence. For him. Now, at least, I was not alone. I did not have my Hive, but I had a friend, and... maybe more. No. I wanted it to be more. We’d fought together; he’d saved me twice. I still knew little about him or his life, but I knew for a fact that, physically at least, he was attracted to me. I knew it was mutual. I turned over in his embrace, only half sure what I was doing. The light from his horn had darkened completely, but I could feel that his mind was on me.
“Thank you,” I repeated, bringing my muzzle up to his. I felt him breath in in surprise as I kissed him, but he kissed back fiercely. Excitement flared through us both. Our lips parted after a moment. “For... for everything.” My cheeks were burning. I hadn’t really known what I was doing—I was pretty sure that had been a terrible kiss—but the reaction I got was strong. I drank from his love as he kissed me again, but I broke it off the moment he rolled up to stand over me. His breath was hot on my face.
Not like this, you fool! Don’t go falling in love with your prey. You have bigger targets.
“N-no.” I put a hoof on his chest. “Sorry, I—” I was nervous. Drinking love was one thing, but the intensity this roused from him—and from myself—scared me. I was not ready for this. Part of me wanted it, but a larger part was still afraid. He was pony. I was not. I admitted it to myself—I was enamored with him, my savior, but I did not believe it went both ways. He was attracted to my guise Boysenberry, not me. I knew it from now and that moment in Maize: I had felt his attraction to me, and his enjoyment, but it was not... deep. That was fine for feeding, but I... I wanted more. He had said we were friends. I liked that. The thought of unreciprocated love, however... that would only depress me.
Besides, I... I had other goals.
Yes...
“Not yet,” I said. If we did this now it would only lead to back things. The memory of what I had done to Garlic was also heavy in my conscious. I didn't know if I could control myself.
Rolling frowned slightly, but stepped off, and after a pause lay next to me. I sighed, and though he put his hoof around me again I felt the heat of his emotion had cooled.
I closed my eyes, but sleep did not come easy. My chest was tight with doubt over what I had just done, and below it my heart would not stop fluttering.
* * * * *
I woke again to the sound of Surprise clunking down the stairs. I blinked to clear the haze of sleep, not believing what I saw. She wore a pair of saddlebags embroidered with her Cutie Mark, a battle-saddle that looked like it had been recently polished, a pistol holstered on each leg, and had two belts of ammunition wrapped around dark blue barding. There were two odd slits cut along the sides and top of the barding, each curving around into the shape of a seven. They were for her wings, I guessed, but she had kept them hidden and I wasn’t sure why the slits were designed that way. On her head was a helmet, made of what looked like hard plastic that had been painted a dark green. It was hooked to a set of steel plates that protected the whole of her neck. Her saddlebags were packed full, presumably of health potions and more ammo. Rolling and I could do little but gawk as she approached.
“Here,” she said. Her wings slid outward and back, following the lines in her barding. Now I understood. She could flash them out whenever she needed while still protecting them the rest of the time. Very creative.
She reached into her bags and pulled out some things, then tossed a black rifle to Rolling and a set of short knives to me. They clattered onto the floor in front of us. “I figure these will help more than griffin guns.” She reached back to her bags, pulling out a few boxes of ammo for Rolling. She furrowed her brow as we continued to stare at her, slack-jawed. “What? What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t realize you had an armory up there,” I finally managed to say.
“Oh. This?” She glanced down at herself. “Like I said, I don’t meet many nice ponies. Now come on, let’s get going. I don’t want to run into that Prince again. Those fuckers are bad news.”
“I’m not so sure,” I said, undisguising so that I could pick up the knives in my magic. They weren’t too long, only about the size of my horn, but they were a matching pair and came with sheaths for my waist. I smiled as I tested them. “So far, the NCs seem to be beating the Steel Rangers. The sooner we get on their good side, the better. It doesn’t seem like they’ll back off from the Fields like they did last time.” I’d heard the conviction in Gleaming’s voice. Whatever he had set out to accomplish, he would see it through to the end.
“No, that’s not what I mean,” Surprise said. “You haven't been around long. You don't know. The Steel Rangers, the NCs—they only care for their own. It’s all bad news in the end.” Rolling nodded solemnly, already familiarizing himself with his new weapon. He slung it over his back in one smooth motion, and set his hooves, giving us a determined look. I frowned.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to see,” I said. “We’ll go to Bulbs. We’ll find out what they want.” And I would find their princess; and then....
I glanced at Rolling.
Feed!
Then I would see where that took me.
* * * * *
We made good time on the road. The only trouble we encountered on the road was a lone raider. He was hiding in the wreckage of an old tractor-harvester, and he leaped out when we passed by. He didn’t say anything, just screamed hysterically and charged us with a rusty blade from the tractor hovering in his magic. I tensed to intercept him, but Rolling cracked off a shot with his new rifle before Surprise had even turned to face him. He hit a foreleg, and the raider collapsed, still screaming. Surprise finished him off with a single blast from her battle-saddle.
“Fucking raiders,” she said.
Rolling nodded in agreement.
The walk had been silent until then, and was still silent afterward. Rolling and I walked separate, an uncomfortable air between us. I glanced at him a few times, but he was always looking somewhere else. Surveying the horizon. Starting straight ahead. I needed to say something, but I wasn’t sure how to broach the subject of our brief encounter, and I wasn’t sure he would be able to communicate his thoughts even if I did. Heck, I wasn’t sure I would be able to. I just felt anxious, and stupid that I had kissed him without thinking things through. I didn’t know what to say.
Instead I fell back to talk with Surprise.
“So, uh... why did you want to come with us?” I asked.
“Well I... I guess I figured I owe you,” she muttered, glancing over her shoulder. “And like I said: not many nice ponies."
“I see...”
A pause.
“Well... what did you do before, uh, your town was attacked?”
“Lived there. Dad was a trader, so I worked in his shop. Not much else.”
“Ah. That’s it?”
“Well, yeah.... I mean, I had friends, we hung out and stuff, but mostly everypony was just trying to make ends meat.
“I see...” She didn’t want to talk, I could tell from her shortness, but I wanted to at least try to be friendly. I wanted her to see me as a friend; as someone trustworthy. That brought good emotion. Right now she was too reserved for my liking. And I hadn’t had breakfast this morning.
“So why did you name yourself Worker?” she asked suddenly.
“Oh, well...” I thought for a second. “I figured: that’s what I was. In my Hive, I think I was one of the workers. I built things or fixed things... I did whatever basic tasks the Hive needed. I don’t remember doing any of that, but it feels right when I think about it.”
“Feels right?”
“Yes. When I asked myself: what was I? I felt like ‘A worker’ was the best answer.”
“Hmm.”
“What about your name?” I asked. She shrugged.
“It’s just a name.”
“Hmm,” I said.
* * * * *
It was only midday as we stepped through Bulb’s ruined entrance. Where the gate had been only a hole now was, and what remained of the intricate scaffolding on the inside was a molten heap stuffed into one of the room’s corners. There were scorch marks everywhere, and a few bloodstains. Another flag of the steel sun greeted us, along with a pair of white-coated guards. Each had a battle-saddle and black armor, making them look like dumbed-down Steel Rangers. The only difference was they could most certainly use magic.
“Halt!” they cried as soon as we were in view. Rolling and I lurked behind Surprise as they approached us. I was disguised as Boysenberry again. I had debated trying to disguise as a unicorn, so that I would be able to use my knives with my magic, but I figured any situation that called for that could be handled by Rolling and Surprise, or would be perilous enough that I would be undigsuising anyway. It was also the disguise I was sure Rolling would like.
“What is your business here?” one of the guards demanded. His eyes were a bright blue. His partner's were dull brown.
“What’s it to you?” Surprise quipped. I facehoofed immediately.
“This city is now under the jurisdiction of New Canterlot,” the brown-eyed guard responded, stepping forward to look down on us. “We are tasked with keeping the peace, and making sure no troublemakers get in.” He frowned at Surprise’s armament. “Now state your business or leave.”
“We’re here to—deliver a message,” I said, pushing Surprise back gently, “to the head of Bulb’s Plantation. Garlic, I believe it was?” I gave him a diplomatic smile. Brown-Eyes raised an eyebrow, looking back to his companion.
“The slaver known as Garlic was murdered shortly before we took over,” Blue-Eyes stated, “and we’ve deposed his successor. Major Ruby is currently overseeing the farm labor. We can deliver any message you might have for him.”
“Er, nevermind then,” I said. “The message only meant anything to Garlic anyway.” At least I assumed it had. Cobb had given me the impression his message was something against the army of New Canterlot. “We’ll just be looking for a place to stay, then. Surely you have nothing against housing a few weary travelers?”
“Hmm... Very well. Simply do not disturb the peace and we will not disturb you.” The two guards stepped back, saluting in attention as we passed.
“Thank you,” I said, ducking my head in a bow.
“May you see Celestia’s rays once more,” Blue-Eyes said.
“And may Luna protect you as you slumber,” Brown-Eyes echoed.
The glare Surprise had been wearing softened at those words. “I’ve never heard that prayer before,” she said.
“Right...” I tried not to let anypony see me grimace. I did not remember the Princesses, but, like the Ministry Mares, my skin crawled at even the sound of their names. To hear ponies pray to them was... unsettling. It was a reminder that I was still an enemy to this land. A set of friends did not make up for the history between our races.
And don’t you ever forget that.
“Oh, wait!” I had suddenly remembered something. “Hold on a moment,” I told my confused companions. I quickly trotted back to the guards and tapped one on the shoulder to get his attention. “Excuse me, but, is the prince here?”
“No. He is away, but he should be returning soon. Why do you ask?”
“Oh I was just curious... I, um, I heard he was getting married soon! I was wondering when the wedding would be. I, uh... I just love parties, heh heh!” I smiled widely, trying to hide my nervousness. Was I come off as odd? Did they suspect me of anything?
The soldier glanced at his companion, frowning slightly. “I see,” he said. “The Prince may announce his wedding when he returns, and if so I’m sure he will make it a public affair. Otherwise it is none of your business.”
“Oh, um, thank you!” I said. I trotted back to Rolling and Surprise.
“What was that about?” Surprise asked.
“I was just, uh, getting some information for us.” I nodded toward Rolling. “The prince might have his wedding here.”
* * * * *
The lights were off. Not like they had been in Maize; there were still enough functioning bulbs to keep most of the hallways partially lit, but it was nothing compared to before. And those that remained only flickered dimly. I felt as if the facility had been submerged in perpetual twilight. Each pony we passed shimmered into existence from some distant shadow, then faded away behind us. I saw Surprise keep flinching away from them.
"This is fucking eerie."
I nodded in agreement.
Thankfully, the dusk broke when we reached the marketplace. We decided to split up. Surprise and Rolling went off to trade what little we’d salvaged from our ordeal while I slunk away to try and gather some more information on New Canterlot. I knew exactly where to start. I headed for the stairwell, taking note of my surroundings. Not much had changed here. I saw the same layout and business, but with the overtone of being watched. There were at least five more soldiers here, by my count, all patrolling the length of the room. Their eyes and ears darted around, keeping track of each murmur and motion of the ponies around them. They were given a wide berth, but I could not tell if it was from fear or respect. Ponies were chatting. Ponies were laughing. They seemed happy.
I frowned and started up the stairs, trying not to focus on the how small the space was in here. Or how it was now almost pitch-black. I squeezed my eyes shut, navigating on touch and memory. Big spaces, I reminded myself. Sprawling fields. The open ocean. Blue skies that go on forever. Big. Wide. Open. Spaces.
I managed not to start hyperventilating, and leaped up the last flight onto the top floor. Another guard was standing here. I trotted quickly by him, averting my gaze as my heart returned to its normal rhythm. It was unnerving how similar they looked. Except for eye color and gender they were mirror images of one another. Same white coat. Same blue hair as the prince. Same black armor. Eerie.
Although... I guess that was how we Changelings would have looked to them. Still, we were meant to be that way. Ponies, I felt, needed to look different. Otherwise they all blurred together.
I stopped in front of a familiar set of double doors, and pushed them open.
Light Ray's place was the same as the first time I'd seen it, only now there were several electric lamps hung throughout the room to combat the darkness. On the back wall hung another flag with the NC emblem. A passed-out stallion was snoring in the seat directly underneath it. A group of mares was crowded around the table in the middle of the room, whispering excitedly. Occasionally one would glance up at the bar, then shoot back down and start up a chorus of giggling. I looked at who they were discussing. It was another NC soldier. He was sitting at the bar, a glass of beer in his magic, with his helmet resting beside him. I could see why they were so interested. Broad shoulders, perfect posture, toned and muscular—he was lean and the stereotype of handsome. He also was alone, and next to an empty seat. I smiled. Originally I had planned to come up here and just talk to Light Ray—he and Cathode seemed like the ones in the right positions to know more about New Canterlot's doings here—but he looked like he was busy with customers and this was a much better opportunity.
"Good afternoon," I said, sliding into the unoccupied seat. "Taking a break from looking stoic and unapproachable?" He frowned at me and I gave him a coy look, my hooves folded beneath my chin.
"Well excuse me," he said, turning away, "for not finding levity in the middle of a war."
"There’s a war?" I raised an eyebrow. He snapped back, shocked.
"Wh—Yes! The war between our army and the Steel Rangers! I almost lost my life when we drove them out of Maize. Were you not here when we liberated you?"
"Oh no, I just got back today. Looked to me like you had invaded."
"Invaded? Hmph! We are reclaiming what is rightfully ours," he declared. "We have come to end this plague of barbarism that has tainted Equestria.”
“Barbarism?” That was a new word.
“Yes, barbarism. Chaos. Wastefulness. Immorality. Anything that is not civilized. That means the Steel Rangers, the slave trade, raiders—they have corrupted Equestria for too long, and now we have come to extirpate them all from this land. That is our war." He took a long drink from his mug, and when he put it down again I saw his eyes were unfocused, as if he were gazing at something off in the distance. “We are a rock around which Equestria may rise," he recited, "around which the weak may strengthen, and against which the evil in this land shall be ground away.”
"How..." Ambitious? Insane? "...poetic," I said.
"Hmph, thank you." He smirked, wiping his mouth with a hoof. "As I said, we are trying to be examples of how Equestria should be. In order to rid the world of barbarism, we must be superior in all our aspects."
“That’s quite a... noble goal you have,” I said.
As I spoke, Light Ray trotted up to us. He had darkened eyes and a sour look on his face, but seemed otherwise unscathed from the battle at the Plantation. He lifted an open bottle and began refilling the soldier's mug. He frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Light Ray cut him off.
"Stupid's more like it." The soldier's eyes narrowed. "No offense, Sir," he amended. "We all appreciate you folk sortin' shit out at the Plantation and all, but you can't really believe all this about... changing th' Wasteland." He finished pouring and slid the mug back. The soldier pushed it toward me, not even bothering to look down. He was glaring at Light Ray.
"What's not to believe? We have liberated Maize, brought stability to this place, as you said, and within the week we intend to be marching on the Steel Ranger's base."
"You mean that outpost up past Tubers?" Light Ray replied, half-condescending.
"I—Hmph, yes that base. We will take it by storm, and then, with the power of—uh—" He sputtered suddenly, and both Light Ray and I raised our eyebrows. "I mean—With our power, we will sweep across the Wasteland and purge it of its horrors. We will bring about the rebirth of our lost paradise!"
"Th' whole Wasteland? You... That's impossible!"
"Are you questioning our abilities?" the soldier challenged.
"No, no," Light Ray said, waving a hoof defensively. "Like I said, we appreciate what you've done, but there's no way you can 'revive Equestria.' Your army's only got, what, a hundred? Two hundred ponies? You can't rule a country let alone 'purge' it or whatever. Hell, that’s barely enough t’ cover the Fields. You'll... you'll end up nothin' more than a gang of vigilantes."
"Hmph! Well then, my Earth Pony friend, I’m afraid we are at an impasse. You simply don’t understand the possibilities that lie in our magic—our power. It is a greater power than any other in this land. We will succeed. You'll see."
“I believe in you,” I lied. I didn’t know how big Equestria was. To me, the Fields seemed huge enough. I couldn’t properly comprehend how big the greater Wasteland must be, but I knew there was no way New Canterlot could rule it on its own. I’d seen their army. Regardless of how powerful they claimed to be, so many ponies could only do so much. How did they even expect to govern more than two or three of these facilities?
Light Ray just frowned at my comment, and trotted away muttering. The soldier huffed, and an awkward silence fell between us. It occurred to me then that his mane was a shade lighter than the rest of the soldiers’. Or maybe that was just my imagination.
”So, um...” I sniffed cautiously at the mug in front of me. “Is this any good?”
“Not the best. It’s rather watery,” the soldier commented. “But you would know better than I. Erm... What is your name, if I may ask?”
“Boysenberry,” I answered. “But you can call me Boysen.” I smiled at him again. I wanted to keep him talking. Knowing their general mindset was good, but I wanted more details.
“Boysen—” as he spoke the lights suddenly flickered, and with a sharp spark went out. A general moan rose from the tavern.
“Celestia dammit!”
“Not again...”
"What happened?" I asked. I heard one or two ponies feeling their way around, but most were staying still, content to grumble.
"I would assume the generator has stopped functioning." I heard him grunt, and a sharp point of light appeared on the tip of his horn. It grew slowly, but illuminated most of the immediate area. Several tenants muttered their thanks.
“What’s wrong with it? Last time I was here everything was working fine.”
“It was damaged during the battle, unfortunately. We would have our technicians repair it but it’s caretaker is very... protective of it.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yes.”
I was surprised. I hadn’t thought the fighting had gone that deep into the facility. Sure, the entrance had been heavily damaged, but I hadn’t seen anything comparable to that in any of the other parts I’d been through. Nothing comparable to Maize, at least. Although that could just have been because there were still ponies here to clean up whatever carnage may have resulted.
“Anyway, as I was about to ask: Boysen, what do you do for a living?”
“What do I do?”
“Yes. Do you have a job? Do you work? I only ask because I’m curious about how ponies make a living out here. This city has its plantation, that market, and a few shops but I’ve yet to see much of an economy here. How do you all perpetuate?”
“Well, um, I scavenge in the ruins nearby...” I fidgeted in my seat. What did ponies do around here? I hadn’t been paying enough attention. “And I, uh, I take whatever small jobs I can find. Wh—what about you?” Wait, no. That was a dumb question. He was a soldier.
“Me? Ah,” he said, “I’ve just realized I have not properly introduced myself. I am Major General Swiftfoot of New Canterlot—though you may call me simply Swiftfoot. I maintain order and organization within our army and am currently overseeing the restoration of this city. I support the Prince directly in all our military endeavours.” He extended a hoof. I moved to meet it, but he did a strange thing. Instead of shaking he took my hoof above his and bent down to kiss it. That was... weird. “Well met,” he said. As he spoke the lights flickered back on. I heard several sighs of relief.
“Oh. Um...” I said, putting on another smile. I had no idea what a Major, General, or Major General was but it sounded important. Obviously not as important was a prince, though. I wasn’t sure how else to respond, so I just kept smiling and turned to the drink in front of me. I took a swig to give myself some time to think but almost spat it back out. Bitter and watery, it may have been passable had the taste not been completely obtuse to anything I was expecting. I swallowed hard and put the mug back down, trying to suppress my disgust.
Feed...
“So, Swiftfoot, what do you do—exactly?” I tried not to cough as I spoke.
“I manage the city—technically. However, aside from the plantation and the generator most other things worth regulating function fairly autonomously, and as there has been very little resistance to our presence here we have not needed to enact any curfews or quarantines, so my duties have been reduced to mere oversight of our police force—and I have no reason to doubt their competence. Mostly I have found myself idling here this past day or so, though I suspect I may have to perform that ritual at their plantation again.
“Ritual?”
“Yes I—er, excuse me, I misspoke. The spell I mean. I may have to renew it occasionally.”
“Spell? What spell?"
“The spell, it...” he trailed off, and then glanced over at the bar’s other occupants. I frowned. None of them had done anything that I had noticed. My eyes found where his vision had settled. Light Ray was over at the table, talking with a few other ponies. What did—? “Do you live here?” Swiftfoot suddenly asked me.
“Um... no. No I don’t.”
“Then I suppose you don’t know about the crops here.”
“Um... they’re radiation resistant, right? Normal plants just die.”
“Yes, that’s what we believed from the information we’d gathered before we set out, but apparently that’s not the case. The crops in these plantations are normal plants, you see. It is magic that keeps the radiation in the soil from killing the plants, a certain spell cast by their overseers. Apparently there was a small uprising that occurred right before our annexation of this place that resulted in the death of the local plantation’s overseer. Garlic was his name, I believe. There was quite a panic when we arrived. Apparently no other unicorn here knew the spell. Fortunately I was able to recreate it with little effort.”
“Oh. That’s...” That explained how Garlic stayed in power... sort of. I found it odd that nopony else would have been able to cast that spell, though. And he had able to do it, just like that? “That’s very impressive, Swiftfoot,” I finished. “I’d love to see it done.”
“‘I’m glad you think that, and I’d be happy to perform for you,” he said with a sly grin. “I wonder, Boysen, would you—?” Suddenly his face turned serious, and he swiveled an ear backwards. I didn’t see anything when I looked. “Excuse me, Boysen,” he said, moving away from the bar. “I must attend to something.”
“Oh? What thing?”
“It’s—well, I suppose there is no harm in telling you: Our Prince has returned from his expedition! I must meet him to discuss business. It would be my pleasure to continue this discussion later, but farewell for now.” He nodded his head in parting and trotted away without another word. As he did, I noticed his Cutie Mark was a pen writing on parchment with a cartoonish smiley face drawn on it. The mares I’d noticed before all smiled at him as he walked by, but he ignored them. I begrudgingly let myself feel a pang of triumph. He was handsome, but his manner was quite odd.
I turned back to the awful drink as I pondered my next move. Gleaming Armor was here, which meant I could start my infiltration, but I still lacked key information, namely who his princess was. I took another small sip of the drink, hopeful that it might somehow taste different, and shuddered in regret a moment later. I hadn’t really made much progress. I hadn’t even eaten today, not after that awkwardness with Rolling. Best to keep with the original plan.
Feed...
I trotted out of the bar and looked down the hall. I caught Swiftfoot entering the stairwell and decided to follow. At the very least I could spy on him and the prince, and at best I might be able to worm my way into their midst. Through Swiftfoot, possibly.
"Oop!"
I jumped back as somepony bumped into my side. It was Cathode. I gasped. The right side of her face was wrapped in yellowing cloth, her back leg was held in a splint, and she had several bandages patching up her front and torso. On top of her injuries she had deep bags under her visible eye, and she wobbled slightly as she moved around me. I took this all in with wide eyes.
"Sorry, miss," she mumbled, almost sighing. "Didn't see ya there."
"That's okay," I managed to say. "I, um... are you okay?" I knew she'd taken a few bad nicks, but this looked far worse than before. That didn't make sense. The fighting was mostly over by the time I'd seen her last.
"Oh, don't worry miss, I'm fine. I just got in the wrong place in the plantation during the fighting yesterday. I’m mighty thirsty." She didn't stop walking as she spoke, so I had to turn around and follow her to keep up the conversation.
"Yesterday?" I asked.
"I, uh, went to stop the fighting after that shapeshifter ran off... but they said Garlic got killed, and ponies started panicking. Miss Tulip, she was raving mad... we didn’t mean to kill the food, Ray was out of his mind... I’m sorry. I tried to keep everypony calm, told them Light Ray didn’t mean it—Garlic called a truce, but... there was so much noise and those three kept fighting about who was gunna take his place... I said—I tried to say... oh, that poor gal... I’m so thirsty...”
She had lead me back to the bar, but as she pushed her way through the doors her wobble increased, and she tripped, falling on her face. I helped her up as quickly as I could.
“Cathode!” Light Ray zipped over the moment he saw her. “Cathode, girl, you need to go back to bed. You’re still hurtin’.”
“But I’m so thirsty Ray, and we need to... the plantation... how’re ponies gunna eat?”
Light Ray sighed, turning to me with a guilty look. “Sorry if she bothered you ma’am. She, uh... she took quite a few hits in the battle, ya’ see, so she’s been pretty drugged up. Wasn’t able to get my hooves on any good potions.” The last line was almost mumbled, and by then he had already turned back to attend to Cathode again. I realized I wouldn’t get anything significant from staying here, so I excused myself and hurried back out. I needed to catch up to Swiftfoot.
Feed...
* * * * *
Surprise intercepted me before I could find him again.
“So Worker, how’d the, uh, espionage go?” She had trotted up to me alone, eyeing everypony around her suspiciously. I didn’t know what had caused her to take on such a predatory demeanor, but it made me smile. I was glad I wasn’t the only paranoid one around here.
“I’m not done yet,” I answered. “Did you see a soldier walk through here? His hair was slightly lighter than the others.” I had been looking for him since I’d exited the stairwell, but he was nowhere to be seen in the marketplace. “And where’s Rolling?”
“A soldier? I have no idea.” She bit her lip as she continued to scrutinize the room.
“Where’s Rolling?” I asked again.
“Not a fucking clue. Some mare jumped at him with a knife and then chased him off before I could help. I didn’t even see which hallway they went down.”
“What? A mare?” I felt my heart leap into my throat.
“Yeah. Some crazy red bitch. Didn’t even say anything. Just screamed like that raider.”
Red? Could that have been Tulip?
“What should we do?” Surprise asked.
I pressed my lips together. Rolling was in trouble. We needed to go help him. But I didn’t know anything about the layout of this facility. We could wander around this place for hours and never find him, even if he’d been killed.
Feed...
I pushed down that thought. Wherever he was, I doubted I could find him fast enough to have any influence. Right now I needed to focus on securing my own fate. And since Tulip was still here I knew my position was precarious. No doubt she had told ponies about what she saw. Same went for Boss and Gleaming Armor, I realized. I would have to be extra careful from now on.
“Rolling... he knows his way around this place. I’m sure he’ll get the better of her,” I finally said, “I’m going to, uh, keep doing espionage. I need to find out a few more things. I’ll see you later.” I swallowed my fear. Rolling could handle himself. I had stopped for too long. I needed to catch up to the General.
“Hold on! What should I do?” Surprise put a hoof on my shoulder to keep me from running off. I held back a twinge of annoyance.
“You, uh... see if you can find Rolling. Then get us a room for the night. Talk to the owner of the bar upstairs.”
“Uh... okay. I’ll do that.”
“Right. Thanks. Bye.” I gave her a small nod and trotted off toward the front gate, guessing that was where Swiftfoot would meet the prince.
“Bye...”
* * * * *
I got lucky.
I stuck my head around the bend and caught Swiftfoot just as he was greeting Gleaming Armor—and his prisoners. Boss, Hairpins, and all the others stood together, shackles around their feet. A small ring had been put around the base of Boss’s horn. Probably one of those ‘null rings’ that one griffin had mentioned. I quickly retreated at the sight of them, not wanting to be recognized if I were spotted. I picked a random unicorn I had noticed in the market and disguised myself as him. He was a dull azure with a grayish mane.
The two soldiers from before and the prince’s companions were guarding the former slavers. I could see now that the unicorn was a mare. The helmet she had been wearing was clipped to the side of her armor, revealing a uniquely golden mane. Her forehead was stained with dried blood, and she was watching Boss with a wrathful look. The other pony—the cloaked figure—was behind them, the barest sliver of a snout visible beneath its hood.
“Greetings, your Highness,” the Major General said with a short salute. He was standing in front of the prince, who was smiling even wider than when he had been fighting Boss. I kept myself in the shadow of the hallway as best I could, and listened. “Your quest was successful, then?”
“Very. It may be presumptuous of me to say this, but I believe we will be able to accelerate our plans. We may be able to take their stronghold by the end of next week.” He glanced back quickly at the prisoners behind him, his smile turning giddy.
“Mm? Excellent! I knew you would be impressed, ma’am. Our Prince is the greatest unicorn in this land!” Swiftfoot’s words were directed over Gleaming Armor, toward the cloaked figure. She said something in response, but I couldn’t make it out. Her words were too muddled. Boss raised an eyebrow, and I saw Hairpin’s eyes widen with shock.
“Yes, I am happy you think so,” the prince said.
“Sir...” the angry mare muttered.
“But enough chatter!” Gleaming Armor declared. “As you can see, General Lute is injured and these prisoners need to be moved somewhere secure ASAP. We should continue this discussion in private. We have plans to make.”
“Yes sir, of course,” Swiftfoot responded. “I have a room upstairs. We can speak there if you wish.”
“Excellent. Take me there.”
“You two!” Swiftfoot motioned to the gate guards. “Help escort these prisoners to the jail and then get the General some aid. Now follow me, your Highness. It is a bit of a walk, but my room is on the top floor.”
The moment they stepped in my direction I ducked back into the hallway, not wanting to be caught spying. I trotted back into another side-hallway, lingering in the shadows until they passed me. I followed them, keeping just distant enough so they were out of sight but still audible.
“Tell me, Swiftfoot, how are things proceeding here? What of that ritual?”
“The population is much more receptive of us than they were in Maize. I was able to perform the ritual, but it seems we will need to repeat it at regular intervals in order to keep the citizens satisfied. Unfortunately, Major Ruby is unable to be convincing enough and I have not had time to train him in my magic; so I may be unable to continue accompanying you on the warpath.”
“Hmm. Do what you can. I do not want more ponies staying behind than is absolutely necessary. Even with our... supporting elements, we can not be too careful. We have yet to meet the true force of the Steel Rangers.”
“Yes, sir. I will do all I can. But it is imperative we keep this ruse up. If these ponies discovered it, there would could be an uprising. At the very least we would lose all their trust. Nopony wants to eat poison.”
“I know, Swiftfoot. But neither we nor they can do anything about that. Besides, we have greater goals than just this dying place.”
“Yes, my lord, I know.”
I frowned. Ruse? Poison? Ritual? What were they talking about? Was there not actually a spell? Had Swiftfoot been lying earlier? What was really going on with the plantations?
I thought about it for a moment and I decided I didn’t care. Let them worry about their own food. I sought an altogether different nourishment. I continued to follow them in the dark, but nothing more substantial was said.
* * * * *
I had to stop and wait when they reached the marketplace. The moment the prince stepped into view every soldier in the room sprang into action, guarding him and making a big fuss in order to keep his route clear. A few ponies—mostly mares—shouted words of admiration, but the majority simply stepped out of their way without making much of a scene. The soldiers formed a barrier in front of the stairwell after the Gleaming Armor and Swiftfoot entered, though it was mostly for show. Only a few ponies were curious enough to try and peek over them.
I sighed and stayed in the hallway’s darkness as I waited for them to clear out. I probably wouldn’t get another opportunity to get close to the prince, now. Not as a normal pony anyway. I started to ponder my options, but suddenly there was a breath in my ear.
“Admire the prince, little one? Or are you simply nosey?"
I swung around to face the voice, pulling out one of my knives to hover in front of me. It was the cloaked figure.
“Calm yourself, little one.” Her voice was low, emerging from the darkness beneath her hood like echoes from a deep cave. There was something strange about it. Something in the timbre was unlike any other voice I had heard so far. “If I wished you harm you would know it by now.”
"Who are you?” I demanded. I still couldn’t make out any of her features. The light from the marketplace didn’t penetrate this far in.
“You ask? I am nopony to you, but even I can see you are a spy. Tell me: Who are you? Why do you spy like this?” She was smiling at me. I could hear it in her voice. In the smugness. I pushed the knife closer to her throat, forcing her to take a step back.
“I’m nopony,” I spat back. “What are you doing with Gleaming Armor? Why are you dressed like that?” I didn’t really want answers from her. I was angry that I had let this stranger sneak up on me—let her see me spy on the prince—and I wanted to get back at her for that.
“I asked you to calm yourself, little one. Do not disobey.” The condescending tone in her voice was gone, replaced with a cold aura of command. I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Make me,” I challenged. What could she do to me? I had a knife to her throat. I wouldn’t even need my usually surprises.
“Gladly,” said a second voice from beside me. I whirled, just in time to see a pair of legs appearing out of thin air mid-buck. I had no time to process this beyond fear and confusion, but I managed to duck low enough so that the blow was almost glancing. I cried out in pain as hooves cracked into my skull and horn, and I was flung backwards, out into the edge of the market. My knife clattered to the ground beside me.
I dragged myself up, stumbling in place as I tried to balance myself. My head was swimming. The world was eternally turning over itself as I tried to focus my vision back down the hallway. Somehow, I managed to raise the knives again, breathing hard as I fought past nausea. The cloaked figure stepped into view and stopped suddenly. I somehow registered that she was shocked. And then I registered how quiet the market had suddenly become.
Run you fool, run—!
I glanced behind me, forgetting to worry about my invisible attacker. Everyone was staring at me. Some gawking, some horrified, some just confused. I felt a wetness on my forehead, and moved a hoof up to check what it was. I blinked erratically, still trying to focus my vision. There was green on my hoof. Blood trickling through one of the holes—
I blinked again as it hit me.
I was undisguised.
Footnote: Level Up.
New Perk: Hive Builder - +5 Repair and +5 Medicine.
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It's alive!
Oh man, I thought this would never update again. But I'm so glad it did!
I love this fic, and this chapter just reinforced that.
A raider changeling, feeding on hate? That is...incredibly creepy, yet fascinating. It's also a concept that's strongest when it's within the FO:E-verse, so major props to you for thinking of something unique for changelings that's fitting for the universe as a whole.
Worker/Rolling? I actually wasn't expecting that, but it's obvious in retrospect. I like it! Ah, changeling romances...always the weirdest ones...
NC clearly has ulterior motives here, but I'm unsure if they legitimately believe in their own preaching or not. Considering that they're perfectly willing to allow Bulbs to poison itself, I suspect they're purely after power, but it's hard to say. I'm definitely interested, though.
And, yet again, Worker finds himself undisguised. He's kind of a crappy changeling, isn't he?
Keep up the awesome work! (I pray for faster updates.
)
Wait, is Worker agender without a disguise? Nonbinary? Genderfluid? I'm confused.
4474224
Well, I haven't said it outright, but in my headcanon Changeling's don't really have noticeable sexual features. Males and females look pretty much the same, and they don't have very significant external reproductive organs. It would be inconvenient to be constantly rearranging them when switching forms--it's much easier to grow a pair when needed, you could say. :P
As far as Worker's personal concept of gender, things are similar. As I see it, since his specie's method of survival involves taking on the forms and identities of other races, the concept of gender beyond sexual reproduction is somewhat meaningless to them. Female and male are defined by function (who can actually spawn offspring vs who only helps germinate) and anything beyond that is probably seen as simple preference. For example, one changeling may find themself more comfortable in a female body rather than a male body, but it would be equated to liking the form of a pony as opposed to a griffin. Also then there's the hive-mind factor--since experiences, thoughts, and even memories can be shared between individuals, a changeling's concept of individual gender is going to be diluted because they experience things collectively. Since gender, as I understand it, is a very culture-dependent concept, a culture where everyone is sharing the same experience is not going to have much of a variety of gender or other societal concepts that contribute to individuality--especially when there's an overmind like Chrysalis to further suppress individuality.
So basically, he's male, and that's how he thinks of himself, but there's very little that distinguishes male and female Changelings beyond their roles in reproduction and potential for becoming Queens.
4471825
Also, I just want to say thanks Unknownlight for being so dedicated and enthusiastic about this story. You're a pretty awesome dude and I always look forward to your comments. Thanks for staying with me after all this time.
I'm so glad you've updated again! This is becoming one of my favorite side stories. Keep up the great work!
Thank you?
*mares
*receptive
That's awfully short-sighted of you. Hard for you to feed off of ponies happiness if they're starving to death.
Missing quotation mark at the beginning.
You know, I think it be best if Worker at least tried to bridge the gap between the races. If the Hellhounds and Zebras can, they can. Also, as far as I can see, Changelings don't need to force-ably steal joy, love and happiness. They can just gleam off the emotion being expressed, which wouldn't harm the pony being fed off of. Especially if the changeling earned these emotions. Emotions freely giving are more powerful then those taken, because then its just a fraction of the power. Also, I don't think these guys are with the New Canterlot Republic, its led my President Fluttershy I think, there's no aristocracy.
Love this story so far I hope you keep it going and I'm following this. Keep up the good work :)
This story's great! Keep it going!
Well I just read up to here in one sitting and I gota say, This has to be one of my new fav changeling oriented stories overall... Keep it up and I hope to see more updates in the future.
hello there, I was sent by SLENDER MANE, he was too impatient, if you accept our offer then simply inform me