Iridescence

by Serpent_Underscore

The care and feeding of aliens

The trip to K-mart and back was uneventful. I had to leave the creature out in the car to avoid waking it and having it freak out over all the unfamiliar sights, scents, and sounds in a large store. I tried to hurry so it wouldn't have to be by itself for any longer than it needed to be. Evaporated milk, eggs, corn syrup, bannana baby food and liquid baby vitamins, those were the ingredients I needed to make a generic formula for orphaned animals.

A baby bottle and a replacement toothbrush were next, along with a small blanket, a package of diapers, and some baby wipes. The cribs available were too large to easily use this far from home, so I settled for a cushioned dog basket and a plastic laundry bin with plenty of holes to place over the top.

On a whim, I grabbed a few baby toys. I also got some meat, fish, a cheap blender, and some assorted greens. I also stopped by the pet section to see if they had any insects, but no such luck.

With everything I needed in tow, I made my way to the checkout counter to pay for it all and was soon back in the car. I was greeted by the sound of an infant wailing in distress and confusion, and had to spend a couple minutes comforting the little thing and assuring her that I was really back before she calmed down enough that I could start driving. I unzipped the backpack and let her curl up on my lap where she nuzzled her head against me and made a sad chirping noise in the back of her throat.

The soft rhythmic noise of the car engine and gentle rumble of the drive back helped calm her down further, and by the time we had reached the hotel again I was able to sneak her inside without any trouble. The first thing I did was to prepare the formula and warm it in the microwave.

The alien sat upright on the bed, watching with curiosity. Testing the warmth of the liquid by squirting a little of it onto my hand, I knelt by the side of the bed and tentatively offered her the nipple. She sniffed it cautiously at first, then gave it an experimental lick. Shuddering, she made a face and drew back. I was about to take away the bottle and try the next option when she latched onto the nipple and began suckling greedily, both forelegs wrapped around the bottle.

It might not have been what she was expecting at first, but it seemed like the formula was more than acceptable to her. Time would tell if it agreed with her afterward, or if I'd need to alter the recipe to better suit her needs. I'd still offer her the other foods I'd gotten for her during her next feeding session, but it looked like I was set for the time being.

The minutes passed in relative silence, the soft sucking noises the only sound to be heard. I affectionately stroked the back of her head as she drank, a tiny dribble of formula trickling out the side of her mouth. Despite the short amount of time I'd known the little creature, I was already becoming attached to it.

When she finally decided she had had enough, I discovered with wry amusement that her sharp little teeth had ravaged the nipple and poked numerous small holes in it. Apparently I'd be needing to replace them frequently. With a contented yawn, the creature flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. I smiled and wiped away the dribble of formula still running across her muzzle. Now for the next phase of operations.

I opened the package of diapers and began a little creative modification to account for her tail. Of all the aspects of taking care of the alien, this was the one that I looked forward to the least. Still, it needed to be done. I won't say that it was a perfect fit or that it was applied with the most skill, but in the end at least I'd gotten it to stay on her securely. For her part, the baby alien seemed to find my efforts hilarious. It was the first time I'd heard her giggle, and the distinctly human like sound startled me at first.

It was quite different from the other sounds she'd made so far, and my unconscious estimation of her intelligence rose considerably. It would be hard to entertain any notions that she was just an animal after this, not that I had been leaning toward that conclusion before.

With everything taken care of for now, I turned on the tv and settled down on the bed to unwind. It'd been a long day. The creature snuggled next to my legs while I closed my eyes and just listened to the background drone of the tv, not really caring what channel was on. It was all white noise to me.

Not five minutes later a pungent scent interrupted my reverie and I found myself having to change her diaper for the first time. I was glad I'd gotten it on her before she soiled herself, but was it too much to ask for it to stay clean until the morning?

Sighing, I got up again and attended to the little alien's needs. I'll admit, I had no idea what I was doing at first and ended up wasting a quarter of the baby wipes in the process. While I was busy securing the adhesive tabs on the new diaper, a single sentence from the television set forced its way out of the background and made my heart skip a beat.

Green lightning had been reported in multiple locations on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The forgotten news program that had been playing suddenly had my undivided attention. Well, almost undivided. I quickly threw away the dirty diaper and carried the baby alien back to the bed.

It was a recap of the local news of the day. Several hours ago, at about the same time I'd found the alien, people all over the northwest fringe of Las Vegas had seen streaks of green lightning flashing repeatedly. At least sixteen seperate sightings had been confirmed so far, each leaving behind a sizable crater in the ground. Authorities were puzzled over the occurrence, but relieved that there were no injuries.

Most eyewitnesses had only seen the event from a distance, but one Hispanic man had been close enough to reach the crater only seconds after the eerie green bolts stopped striking the ground. He hadn't been able to make out much in the rain, but his laughing description of seeing a big black dog fleeing down an alleyway sent a chill down my spine. He simply thought it was a mutt that had been spooked by the blast, but I couldn't help but wonder if it might have been something more.

One crater had been found with a bowl of petunias in the center, but that was probably just the work of some joker. Other than that, there were no mentions of anything out of the ordinary having been seen. The news anchor brought on an expert that had no idea what happened, but had a few theories for the public, each more improbable than the last. They chatted back and forth for a bit, then eventually moved onto other topics. I reached over to the remote and turned off the television.

The little alien looked up at me and chirped uncertainly, as if she could sense that something wasn't quite right. I smiled reassuringly and stroked the back of her head again. "It's okay, everything's going to be fine. Was that your family out there? Do you think they're looking for you?" I sighed. "I wish I knew what was going on."

I wasn't too worried about the idea of an alien invasion. The numbers were just too few for that. They could be the advance scouts for a larger force, but who heard of taking infants along on a scouting expedition behind enemy lines? That only made sense if they were like Xenomorphs or Chryssalids and could rapidly increase their numbers by infesting the natives and having the newly-spawned brood repeat the process ad infinitum.

While the little alien might one day grow up into a dangerous predator, currently it showed all the threat of a day-old lion cub. So much for the notion of facehugging infant shock troops. I grinned a little at the mental image conjured up by that. What would they do, lull you into a false sense of security by gaining your affection and then drain you dry while you slept?

The moment of mirth passed quickly. Even if they probably weren’t the vanguard of an invasion, that didn’t mean their intentions were necessarily benign. On the other hand, If they were the little creature’s family or relatives and they were some sort of alien refugees, they must be worried sick about their scattered and missing companions.

All this speculation wasn’t getting me anywhere. It was getting late and I still had plans to attend a wedding tomorrow. I felt I had the situation well enough in hand now to justify going, I’d just need to keep the alien in the car and check up on her frequently, bringing formula and spare diapers.

Setting both plans and speculation aside, I gently set the little creature down onto the dog bed I’d gotten earlier, draped the baby blanket on top of her to keep her warm, and flipped the laundry basket over the top, making a little cage. It was a poor substitute for a crib, but it’d have to do for now. I stacked a couple pieces of luggage on top so that she wouldn’t be able to escape during the night and turned off the lights.

It only took a few minutes before the flaw in my arrangements presented itself. The alien started becoming increasingly agitated that I wasn’t there with her and began calling out to me with a series of plaintive squeaks. I felt bad for leaving her there, but entirely apart from the fact that she needed to learn to accept that I sometimes had to go away and wouldn't always be right there for her, I was concerned that having her sleep next to me wasn't the safest idea. I was terrified of the idea I might accidentally roll over onto her during the night and smother her- I'd read one horror story too many while researching the leading causes of human and animal infant mortality, and didn't want to take the risk.

Still, it was hard to ignore her. Eventually she gave up on calling to me and I could hear her circling her improvised pen a couple times before curling up and going to sleep, making one last sad warbling noise in the back of her throat. I wanted so much to just reach out and hold her right then, but I had to put her safety above her comfort. Gradually I lost track of my surroundings as sleep began to beckon me as well. Tomorrow was coming soon, with its own challenges to face.

---

Elsewhere...

A brown pickup truck left the road and began to trek into the desert, headlights revealing nothing but rocks and the occasional shrubbery. Soon, its solitude was broken as it came upon a group of vehicles clustered around a central hive of activity. Spotlights illuminated a plastic enclosure being hastily erected, people swarming around it like ants. Some had equipment in hand, others carried additional supplies to help set up the enclosure.

Two military police stopped the pickup well short of its destination. Its occupant flashed an ID card and after a short confirmation was allowed to pass. Two men were unloading a portable generator from a black van as the pickup came to a halt. The occupant, a middle-aged man sporting a salt and pepper mustache, opened the door and got out. He surveyed the scene momentarily, as though looking for someone. Walking over to a worker carrying a bundle of thin metal supports, he stopped him and asked a question. "Do you know where I can find Susan Barkes?"

The worker jerked his head toward the plastic enclosure. "Last I saw she was in there, getting the portable x-ray machine set up. You'll need at least Level B protection if you're planning on going near the body though."

The man thanked him briefly before heading to a supply van and requisitioning a hazmat suit. Soon he was inside, navigating an airtight plastic tunnel. Droplets of rain still clung to the exterior of the barrier, though the downpour had long since subsided.

At the end of the junction was a field decontamination station. He didn’t quite see the point of decon before coming into proximity of the corpse- It wasn’t as if it would be able to catch any earth diseases in its current state after all- but there were regulations to follow. Once the sprayers and air drying system had finished, he stepped through into the heart of the plastic hive. Over a dozen people were there and equipment littered the floor, but it was the crater at the center that commanded his immediate attention. Over two meters across and half a meter deep, it was in the process of having the accumulated rainwater drained with a vacuum pump.

Inside was a dark mass lying arched in a paroxysm of agony. Its outer carapace had partially melted, and he could see the edges of white ribs poking out of the wreckage. The corpse looked like it was fused to the stone below it. Its mouth was wide in a silent scream, head twisted so far above its body that it looked like the spine should have snapped backwards. One enormous eye socket held the blackened and congealed remnants of what must have once been an incredible visual organ. The other lay buried against the wet stone and was probably in similar condition.

Pity. Such a shame that they didn’t have a more intact specimen to examine, or better yet- a living example. Still, there was so much knowledge that could be gleaned from even this sad specimen. Something must have gone spectacularly wrong with its arrival, since none of the other impact sites so far had left behind anything like this.

“Fascinating, right?” said a slightly muffled voice from behind him.

Turning, he saw a woman in a bulky blue hazmat suit. Though the respirator she wore obscured most of her face, he didn’t even need to read her nametag to know who it was. “Susan. It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise Robert. What brings you here? I thought you were supposed to be heading up the Charlatan Project.”

A faint look of amusement passed Robert’s face. “Apparently the lab boys think this might have something to do with Charlatan. There was a test underneath Groom Lake today with some rather... interesting results.”

Susan arched an eyebrow at Robert. “You think this is a paranormal incursion rather than an extraterrestrial one?”

“From what I’ve heard, it certainly doesn’t fit with any known methodology the Greys have demonstrated before, and the corpse doesn’t even begin to resemble the ones we’ve recovered from the Roswell crash.”

Susan scoffed. “I’m going to need to see a lot more evidence before I start assuming this is magic Robert, you know that.”

“I prefer the term ‘alternate physics’.” Robert said, his smile hidden underneath the respirator. “But yes, I agree that more evidence is required before we make any definite conclusions.”

Turning back to face the wet corpse, Robert asked; “So tell me, what have you found out so far?”

Author's Note:

Let us all observe a moment of silence for the changelings that didn't quite make it through the transition. *coughs*

*ahem*

Okay, moment over. Moving on.

Looks like the first set of antagonists have been introduced. This is where the story starts to earn its 'dark' tag, but fret not, there's still much heartwarming human/changeling interaction to come. *glances over at the pair* Oi! You there! Stop being so paranoid, how's a baby changeling supposed to drain your love from underneath a laundry bin?! Er, excuse me folks, the characters are being a bit uncooperative right now.

It's been over a decade since I've had to change any diapers, but growing up with several younger siblings I've gotten a lot of practice over the years. I don't envy our protagonist in the least.

Next chapter the protagonist attends a wedding and the changeling finally gets her name. Oh, and the protagonist might get a name too, but he's not important, XD.

X-COM was published in 1994, so it’s not out of place for him to be referencing the infamous Chryssalids found in the game, whose numbers could quickly get out of hand if there were any civilians or unlucky soldiers around for them to lay eggs in.

Oh, and speaking of aliens, yes, the Greys do exist in this universe and are common knowledge within certain circles. They will not however be playing a role in this story. This is a strictly human/changeling/pony centric fic. (although the ponies won’t be showing up for quite a while)

Comments

[Karna]

Extradimensional aliens and extraterrestrial aliens? Geez, Earth sure is a hot spot for refugees, isn't it?

[Serpent_Underscore]

2147152

True, but I was thinking more in terms of Equestria being a parallel earth. While it would be technically correct to refer to the denizens of an alternate reality as aliens, I've rarely seen them referenced as such in fiction.

But I suppose it is a good point to keep in mind.

[edit:] Yep, Earth is certainly a popular destination in the multiverse.

[ScopeEva]

Nice. Little nervous about what kind of dark your leading into but I anticipate what follows eagerly. Though, having the entire government on your tail is a bit ridiculous. If enough people know about it there’s going to be leaks and a conflicting public opinion. Best keep the perusing group small and restricted by threat of expositor.

I thought I might mention I’m for Kerrigan. People are going to care more about the character getting an interesting name then whether or not it properly aligns with the release date of the game the name its impact, chances are most won't remember. It’s also a real sir name.

Damn. Now I’m starting to feel like I’m telling you what to do with your story. Sorry if come across like that.

Best of luck!

[azereath]

and the g-men show up . and are we going to see the mane 6 later in this story or are they going to be oc ponies?

[Merchent343]

Any update coming soon?

[Serpent_Underscore]

2579615 Hopefully. I've had some real bad writer's block, but in the last couple weeks I've made a lot of progress with the next chapter. No guaruntees, but I think I might have it ready within another week or two.

[Octavians-Resolve]

One crater had been found with a bowl of petunias in the center

Is that a "hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" reference?

[BronyofMeddlers]

So the Greys are a organization that deals with the unknown in America? Or are they a bunch of evil super villains trying to control the world in the background?

[Trump-12]

The changeling who turned into a bowl of petunias, was the last thing to go through its mind "Oh no, not again"?

[Radioactive Dragon]

6171870 no it probably was AHHHH THE PAIN! i mean having adams in your body changing probably hurts

[StubobNumbers]

2147180
What do you think Australia is? It's a terraforming accident/dumping ground for aliens. You think the noble Platypus is from Earth?