> Outcast of a Hivemind
>  by NovaSethyr
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Words of a Changed Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Prologue



Words of a Changed Changeling


Great title, right? I've never been good with naming things. Probably why my name is just as ridiculous as the title. 

In any case, reader, I have a story to tell. I'm certain that you already know the story of those who were sent to Equestria to live out their lives, whether on the whims of the all-powerful bastards of the universe because they felt like playing a game a little more complicated than chess or a rip in space-time or summoning Pinkie Pie from beyond the veil with promises of cupcakes made completely with frosting is irrelevant. The fact is that Equestria exists without a shadow of a doubt. The difference is that Equestria isn't what you think it is. Sure it's all fluffy and cutesy in the show, but Equestria is a scary, dangerous place to be. I should know, I became one of those scary creatures.

Those who had power decided to fling me from my admittedly dull and pathetic life so I could change the fate of an entire race. The race was nearly on the verge of extinction, and it was all the fault of the very same ponies we thought were a peaceful and nonviolent race. I could go on about the changelings and such, but who likes spoilers?

I never was one to talk about myself... in fact, I was rather socially awkward. I could easily talk to people one-on-one even if they're strangers, that's easy, what's hard was when there's more than two people in the conversation, or being in a social event, or talking in front of a crowd or... well, you get the idea. I don't like talking to people in large groups. 

I've actually been told that I act like an Ent from Lord of the Rings during conversations, even during one-on-one talks too. I guess that's because I thought about what I had to say - if I try to speak my mind without thinking about it, it would usually turn into a fumbled mess. I guess that's why I can relate to the Ents. "You must understand, young Hobbit, it takes a long time to say anything in Old Entish. And we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say."

At first I hated being in a conversation, but then I slowly realized that listening to people talk is probably one of my favorite things to do. Just... not when I'm required to be a participant. And being part of the hivemind requires you to participate, to be one with every other changeling in whatever Hive you're a part of. Oh, that's another thing I should mention: there's loads more Hives than the one Queen Chrysalis rules, and each has their own version of royalty. Each Hive has their own way of feeding, too. Yeah, not every changeling feeds on love - I was a bit surprised at that too.

Despite being able to shift into any shape I want (including non-ponies), I have all these stupid inconveniences that no other changeling has to follow. For example, when I shapeshift into Form A, I can only stay in that form for no longer than three hours before I have to switch to my changeling form and become unable to shift for ten minutes. I only have Discord the jerk to blame for that.

But enough about how my weird body works; you're here for a story, not a lecture.

My name is Sentinel, and I am a changeling.

This is my tale.
	

	
> Be Careful What You Wish For
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1



Be Careful What You Wish For


There I was, working in my safe little 8 x 8 haven, when the blonde chick from the next cubicle over came to visit me. Well, I say 'visit,' but in reality I wanted to stuff my ears with cotton before her high-pitched nasal voice could cause them to bleed. She had started taking about how her son was on the honor roll in the local high school before I ignored her. 

Congratulations, your son is now a product of the government's way of making children seem special when all they did was regurgitate the information they were fed. I never liked school, and it wasn't because I never got exceptional grades, either. Most schools nowadays don't even try to teach kids the basics of common sense and critical thinking. I sighed before I returned to overlooking this article for the newspaper about how the new movie that came out and is sure to be a fun family experience. I cringed at what the writer thought was interesting before going about fixing his grammatical mistakes and sprucing it up here and there for public consumption.

The blonde pointed out how rude I was being for ignoring her and returned to whatever depths of hell she spawned from. But before I could make any more edits, a shadow was cast over the computer screen. This time I wasn't going to acknowledge the blonde's existence by turning around, but I wanted her to leave as soon as possible. "What do you want, Linda?" 

A masculine voice guffawed in response. I turned with a frown on my face to examine this newcomer. He was a rather slim man with rather big eyebrows and a stylish grey tracksuit with gold climbing up his sides. He gave me a near maniacal grin, with one canine slightly longer than the other. The light behind him obscured most of his face, but I could make out a Fu Manchu that made my goatee look pale in comparison. 

"Not much of a people person, are you?" He responded in a heartily manner. 

I turned back to my work before responding, "What's it to you?"

"Look, you won't even face people who are talking to you! It seems to me like you need a vacation to somewhere nice and quiet." 

I kept my back turned. "I'm not interested in whatever your selling, giving away, or rewarding me with. Now go away."

"Oh, but I've got something you will give everything for. I know you just want some peace and quiet. Why not let me give it to you?" His tone suggested that his grin returned in full force. I turned around to face him with my best poker face.

"You can give it to me by leaving me alone. So scram!" I waved my hand like I would wave an annoying fly away. His hand suddenly snaked out and grabbed my wrist. I tried to pull my hand free, but he had the grip of an iron clamp.

"Here, let me show you."

I opened my mouth to tell him how many ways I could say 'leave me alone,' but my peripheral vision cut me off with an important message. I listened to my eyes as I moved my head to the side, then all around me. My brain tried to deny what my senses were telling me, but there was no way to deny what I was experiencing.

I wasn't sitting in my office chair anymore, I was sitting on a stump in the middle of a leafy forest. A breeze gently shook the tall trees from their slumber, spreading the sunlight all across the forest floor. The smell of pine bombarded my nose with the pleasant fragrance, I heard a woodpecker off to the distance and the rustling of the leaves high above. I could only watch as the red and gold leaves fell from their perches and gently floated to the ground. This was eerily similar to the forest I lived near when I was a kid, and with the memories it brought about pangs of nostalgia and longing.

The man turned me towards his now level face. I could see that one pupil was bigger than the other, and his grin wasn't near maniacal - it was maniacal. "I can let you live here, in this land called Equestria, for the rest of your days. All you have to do is ask."

I looked around to see the forest again, but I was back in my cubicle - with the grey walls and the harsh and unnatural lights above. The reality of my situation dawned on me. A single man in his mid-twenties, living in a poor city, in a cheap apartment, and a job that's going to disappear after the newspaper finally dies. It hasn't even been a minute and I already missed the green and brown of the trees and the leaves.

"Alright, you made your point. I'll take you up on your offer" I raised my hand to shake. He reached for it, but I pulled away with a level look. "On one condition." He grinned in response.

"Tell me why are you offering me this. I have nothing to live for, I'm not special, I'm just an average Joe. So why?"

He nearly threatened to burst out of the tracksuit as he started to laugh, harsh and mockingly, for a moment before regaining composure. "You're not the first to ask me, and I'm certain you won't be the last. I'll tell you what I told him, and what I will tell others before you."

The man grinned again, and grabbed my wrist and picked me up as if I weighed no more than a babe. He lowered himself next to my ear and gave a small whisper, "Why not?"

He then positioned himself as if he were pitching a baseball, then threw me.

I have no idea how he did it, or what exactly happened after that. But what I do know is that I flew for a solid minute through whatever it is between dimensions and then... just stopped. 

The first thought I had was 'being thrown across time and space was very similar diving into chocolate pudding.' I don't know why I thought it, I don't know why diving into chocolate pudding was like, but it was the best description I have ever given to the feeling, and I have yet to think of any other way to describe it.

After a few moments I wondered if I was dead. Then I reached out with one hand only to encounter something blocking my path. I was in a confined space of some sort, so I did what any normal person would do in such a situation; punch his way out. Eventually whatever was blocking my path splintered, and gave way to sunlight. My determination to escape tripled, as I broke the opening wider and wider until it was big enough for me to escape. 

I tried to walk through but my foot was met with air, and I plummeted down to the ground where I landed hard on my back. The fresh wave of pain proved that this is real life and not just fantasy. I could easily see my prison from here, which was apparently a white cocoon. Now, why would I be trapped inside a cocoon? My thoughts came to a halt as I sat up and examined my surroundings.

It was the forest that skinny man had shown me. I was speechless, I just sat there, watching the forest do what forests normally do. That is, not much. I felt my mouth stretch into the widest and probably most lopsided looking grin I've ever held in a long time. I chuckled, but what I heard was a small buzz instead of the gruff voice that I had grown used to hearing as my voice. I frowned, then tried to laugh again. The same buzz as before replaced my laugh.

I experimented with my voice with full sentences, and a long and complicated series of buzzes and clicks replaced what should have been the sentence, "Oh god what the hell is happening." I covered my mouth when I realized I couldn't actually talk, and then I noticed I had holes in my hooves.

Needless to say, my brain did a hard reboot and processed this new information in the form of a numbered list.

1. I sound like an insect imitating R2-D2.
2. My mouth has become a snout.
3. I have fangs instead of canines.
4. My hands became hooves.
5. My new hooves have holes in them.
6. Data impossible to decipher. Shutting down.

When I recovered from fainting, I assessed the data and filed away into the 'what is this I don't even' folder. I stood up and promptly fell over from standing on two legs. Right, hooves mean quadruped, I can't stand upright anymore. I unsteadily got to my feet... hooves. I put one hoof forward, then another, then fell flat on my face. I made a little buzz with a few clicks as a way of grumbling.

After a few minutes of falling and getting up again, I got into the groove of walking with four legs. Soon walking became a mindless task and I began to reflect on the scraggly man's words.

He called this place "Equestria." My memory was a bit hazy, but surely he didn't mean Equestria from My Little Pony, did he? I knew all about that show; hell, I was a fan. I wouldn't go as far as to call myself a 'Brony,' I never really liked having labels. Plus the whole 'love and tolerance' thing gets you nowhere unless you want to get your ass handed to you on a silver platter from the ones you were telling to love and tolerate. The internet wasn't a safe place for any self-respecting Brony.

So I had landed in a cartoon land. Fine, I could live with that. Just as long as the inhabitants here don't act like they did back on Earth. I briefly wondered if I could live my days of peace somewhere far from Ponyville - It didn't seem like the best of places to live quietly.

I looked down at my holed hooves. I wasn't a pony, that much was certain. I heard the rushing of water nearby and my throat felt drier than a desert in summer. I followed the sound until I reached a river. It was almost fifty meters across, and I couldn't tell how deep it was. It flowed slowly, so I was able to examine myself in the water. Not before I dunked my head into the icy cool water and drank deeply, though. 

When I raised my head with a content buzz I looked into the water. What looked back was a horrifying creature with green buglike eyes with darker green pupils, a horn that curved slightly upwards, and fangs that extended past my chin. When I looked at myself, my long ears folded against my bald head and I bared my teeth in disgust. As I examined myself further, I discovered a fin along my neck and transparent wings on my back. I also seemed to have some sort of chitin acting as a shell on my back. 

Only one creature I knew of fit this kind of body. I was a Changeling. Now that I thought about it, it could have been worse. I could be a diamond dog, or even a cat. At least I can look like anypony I wanted to be. At least, I think that's how changelings work. Their lore was a sketchy at best.

After I examined my new body, I decided to follow the river to wherever it led. My thoughts led me to the mystery of my prison. I was an insect pony of some kind, so the cocoon kinda made sense. I wonder who that guy was, though? He seemed oddly familiar if I thought about it. Let's review what I knew about the guy, yeah? He knew about Equestria, he was near insane looking, had a killer mustache, and had the power to bring a mere human to a magical cartoon land of ponies while at the same time changed me into something... else.

Only a few characters from the show popped to mind, and the only one who fit the profile was Discord, Master of Chaos and Disharmony. Made sense, if I thought about it. He wants to create as much chaos as possible, so what better way to do that then bring an outsider (one from such a chaotic race, no less) and shove them into the innocent and sweet world of Equestria and watch what happens. If I was the embodiment of Chaos I would probably do the same thing, honestly.

I continued on my journey down the river. I noticed that the sound of rushing water was increasing in volume. There's only two things that can come from such an ordeal: rapids and waterfalls. Sure enough, I saw the water dip down ahead of me as I reached the edge of a cliff and silently watched the water cascade down into the open sky below.

Wait, the open sky?

I was really high up. I mean really really really high up, probably higher than the Stark Tower. The cliff face just ended about ten meters from where I stood and just disappeared, making what I was standing on either a floating island or the overhang to the longest drop I had ever seen. I immediately let out a whimper of clicks and a buzz before I scampered away with my metaphorical - and possibly literal - tail between my legs. 

Eventually I had worked up the courage to keep the edge of the cliff in sight and follow that instead. I walked alongside the pines while always checking to my left that the cliff was still in sight. Sometimes I would walk closer to the cliff to see if I really was still as high up as I thought I was.

Once again, my thoughts turned to Discord's words. "Why not?" I remembered a time when I was younger, and those same words were the beginning of stupid yet exciting and fun adventures with my friends. I smiled as I relived those old days, when everyone was open and free, warm and inviting, and everyone shouldered each other's burdens and celebrated with everyone's successes. I started to wonder about why I ended those days of "why not" before my introspection was interrupted by a discovery.

I came to yet another river. Of course, I could only assume it was the same river that I had once followed as it was the same width across. This had left me with (once again) only two possibilities: I had walked around only a fraction of this place and found the same river blocking my path, stranding me here unless I found a way down or across the river; or I had come full circle to the same river, only this time on the other side. 

Either possibility left me with only one course of action - to follow the river to the source. This river had to come from somewhere, and I'm going to find out what.

I had never noticed that there was a shadow that followed my every step.
> The Little Moments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2



The Little Moments


I made my path up the river, watching carefully around me for any way to cross it if I needed to. The rushing of water and movement of trees were my only companions, until a loud snap broke the peace. I spun around, watching the spot where I was sure the twig snapped. There was only the orange leaves scattered on the ground and the shade cast from the setting sun against the trees. The brown trees turned darker against the sun and the leaves turned golden with the orange glow of the sunset.

Oh wait... the sun was setting. Great, now I needed to find someplace to sleep without being viciously mauled by anything that might be in this forest. I had yet to meet anything in this place that proves there aren't any giant wandering creatures that may either be hungry or bored. Those two traits were the deadliest of combinations. Hunger and boredom combined can create the weirdest kinds of food; that's why the Food Network was so deadly.

I raised my hoof to signal my stomach's cue to grumble. It didn't disappoint, and it went that extra mile to bring a short hunger pain. I examined the ground or more specifically, the leaves. I was technically a horse, so I should have been able to eat grass, right? There wasn't any grass around, but I had a hunch that I could eat the leaves on the ground. I leaned forward and bit a little nibble off of a large yellow leaf and spat it out in disgust. It tasted exactly like you would expect how a leaf tastes, crunchy and dry with no taste except for a smidgen of dirt. I made a small vow from that moment onward to never trust my hunches ever again.

My stomach roared in protest of being given inedible objects. I pondered my next step; I needed to find food and shelter, and I could accomplish no such thing while I meandered down this river. The only plausible shelters I thought I would be able find in this forest would be along the lines of a hollow tree or a rather large log; the food would have to be either grubs or, if I was lucky, some edible berries or plants. My lack of knowledge about which plants are good to eat, however, severely limited my options for food. 

I mindlessly followed the river and dreaded a moment where I would realize that I have no food or shelter, and my days in Equestria were going to be very short-lived. I felt the warmth of the sun disappear behind my back as I listened to the sounds of the river. I would probably have just broken down right there, if I hadn't recalled something a hilarious, yet wise, comedy group once said. It was a saying I always kept to heart, no matter what event happened in my life this saying would be right there to pick me back up and send me off to fix everything that was wrong.

"Always look on the bright side of life." I sung quietly to myself. The buzz and whistles that emerged from my stupid facehole reminded me of my condition and I felt the reality of my situation settle in again. Stupid changeling-speak ruining a Monty Python moment for me. I walked for a little while in somber silence before I felt the urge to whistle the rest of the song. 

To my immense joy, I was able to retain my ability to whistle the chorus. I started to whistle that timeless tune, then I took time to try the verses. I eventually felt hope to fill me again, and I even started to skip alongside the river. I sung the words in my head. I finished the song with a flourish, I stood up on my legs and gave a small jump. I spun a full circle before I landed with my arms - fore hooves, dammit - on either side of me and my right knee on the ground and my left hind hoof on the ground gracefully as I received applause for my stunning act.

Or, at least that's how I imagined it. In reality I tripped and fell flat on my face. I expected there to be the pain that one normally gets when try to crave a replica of your face into the dirt, but instead I was met with... well, no pain at all. Lifting my head up, I tapped my skull. Nothing happened, so I started to pound my hoof against my head. Nope. Nada. Zilch. No pain whatsoever. It took me a minute to recall that I'm a bug, so of course I should have a bug's exoskeleton. I smacked my forehead with a hoof, which was much less painful than it used to be. The discovery brought about a plethora of things I imagined I could do without the restrictions of a squishy body. My imagination made everything seem so cool, too.

I turned my attention from dwelling in the clouds to in front of me and beheld an oddity that one usually doesn't find in a forest. When I first saw it, I was immediately struck with the resemblance of a gopher hole. I mean, it was definitely a hole in the ground, but the hole was vertical. It was like someone took a small section of the ground, raised it to be about twice a pony's height, then cut a hole in the side of the newly-formed mound.

Odd? Yes. Natural? Most likely not. Put on your fedora and trenchcoat, kids, it's time to do some investigating! As I abandoned the river in favor for shelter, and perhaps a way to civilization, I noticed that feeling that someone was watching me again. I spun to my right, leaving the hole and the river behind me, and could distinctly make out the sounds of hooves crushing leaves and twigs in an effort to hide. I followed the sounds of movement to one particular tree and weighed my options carefully. If I let him/her follow me into the cave-like-thing, I could corner him/her more easily and he/she would have less of a chance to get away. I glanced behind me at the mouth of the passageway, and noticed how dark it was in there. I wouldn't be able to see the holes in my hooves, much less my follower.

"I know you're there." I yelled before remembered that I can only make incoherent noises in the language I had dubbed 'Buglish'. I probably spooked my follower even more, and he/she would be looking for the nearest chance to bolt--

"You are not from here," said who/whatever was behind the tree.

"What." I whispered to myself.

A sleek black horn emerged, slowly at first. Then the rest of the head with two oceans of blue offsetting the dark exoskeleton, followed by legs with holes and bug wings, poised for flight at any given moment.

I raised my voice slightly louder, "What?"

"I am Drone 473 of the hive Theta. You are an unfamiliar drone in this hive; state your business." The changeling lowered her, for it was an unmistakable feminine voice that I heard, head and growled menacingly. 

To be fair, I thought I did a very good impression of David Tennant when I shouted the third, "WHAT?!"

After the initial shock wore off, my mind started to race faster than the Roadrunner after a coffee chugging competition. My first thoughts were along the lies of "Holy crap I could understand what she said in Buglish." When she spoke, I could hear the chirps and buzzes that I had come to associate with the Buglish language, but my mind had conveniently translated that into English in my head. The second thought was shorter and more precise. I suspected that the unnatural entrance was one that, if I was able to navigate through it correctly, would lead me into the hive she was talking about. Once that thought had finished the rest simmered down to a steady stream of constant information and I had immediately put my hands up in the (hopefully) universal sign of surrender.

The changeling tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. Well, as close to raising an eyebrow in curiosity as a changeling can get with no eyebrows. I guess imitating ponies perfectly meant you had to copy their mannerisms as well.

"What are you doing?" the changeling responded. OK, so it wasn't a sign of surrender here, but it also didn't mean 'I'm a bad guy, please kill me.' In my book, that's a plus. I looked into the changeling's eyes and she gave a small gasp. She tried to hide it by asking me questions, but I saw it.

"What's your number, your hive, and your ruler?" She stomped a hoof on the ground to help enunciate her point. The last part seemed out of place, but I filed that tidbit away for thought at a later point.

This time my thoughts were more coherent and I was able to think my actions through a little faster. Though, eleven seconds to answer a question doesn't seem like a short amount of time to answer for normal people. My Ent side took over the conversation from there, and I thought about every word I'd have to say very carefully. If I missed my chance, I could be stuck out here to starve, or suffer whatever punishment changelings give to trespassers. If I did this correctly, I could find myself with shelter, food, and knowledge of this area. Hell, I might even get some benefits that I hadn't yet considered.

I had said it took me eleven seconds to answer, and I filled that time physically by slowly moving my front legs down from the apparently-not-universal sign of peace and placing them on the ground, then staring into the azure eyes of the opposing changeling for the next six seconds. Not much was going on there, right?

What I did mentally during those ten seconds was a whole different story. I thought about all the possible ways I could make this work. I could tell her the truth outright, say I'm not a changeling of this hive or I'm not a changeling at all. That would probably be the worst move I could make, and either end with punishment for trespassing or left to starve out here. On the other hand, she could be curious as to why a non-changeling who looks exactly like one would be here. She might let me in and feed me and maybe give me information, but she also would ask questions about me. That's a road I wouldn't want to go down, either.

If I bluffed my way through, I might have a clear shot of having a temporary home and get more knowledge about the place. The key word was 'temporary.' Keeping up lies wasn't easy, and if you make up more lies to keep up your original lie you eventually get caught with your pants down. There was always little tidbits of information that those who were busy thinking up quick ways to explain something miss or ignore, anyways. But still, if you can pull off a bluff just right, you may end up winning with a bad hand. 

I remembered that small gasp she made after I locked eyes with her. Why did she do it? By now I was on all fours, so I once again stared into the eyes of the changeling not thirty meters from me and waited to see if she reacted again. As luck would have it, she did. Her left foreleg took a small step back before she placed it forward in its original position. Why? Why is it only when I meet her gaze does she react? And she had reacted as if she were afraid. I wasn't able to read her emotions through her eye, they didn't seem as expressive as human eyes, I thought. Her expression was one of challenge, waiting for me to answer her questions and deliver whatever action would be necessary in response.

She started to get impatient around the eight second mark - she was patient compared to the average human. They usually started to lose their cool after five seconds of silence or so. Her mouth turned downwards in a frown, her blue eyes narrowed to slits and... wait... blue eyes. I thought back to when I was examining my body, the first things I noticed was how green my eyes were, especially around the pupils. I have green eyes, she had blue eyes... and from what I recalled of changelings, the only one that had green eyes was... I allowed a small grin to myself as everything started to click together. As a famous puzzle solver once said, 'Critical thinking is the key to success.'

"I've been sent directly from Chrysalis herself. I'm to investigate the hive to assess all the drones abilities before we make another move on Equestria. As for my number, I was never assigned one. As you have noticed, I'm not an ordinary drone, but part of the elite guard that Chrysalis created to prevent loose ends from ruining her plans after the disaster at Canterlot." My grin only grew a little bit, and it took all of my willpower not to spread my smile from ear to ear. It was, after all, a rather ingenious idea to become a part of the queen's personal guard.

"Canterlot? Disaster? What are you talking about?" Oh... dammit, that was a major oversight! This must be before the invasion of Canterlot, hell, maybe I'm at the beginning of the second season. It would certainly explain the existence of Discord on Earth. Humans must be ahead by about a year, give or take about three months, from Equestria. The Professor would be ashamed that the solution was not correct. I can hear him now, 'Frankly, I'm ashamed.'

I debated the next step very carefully. "Alright, you caught me. I was sneaking out so I can take a look over the edge. It's just something I like to do, ya know? Look at the huge sky that stretches out all the way above and below you."

The changeling had to blink for a few times as she mulled over what I said. She looked down the river to where it eventually ended in the waterfall down to the open sky. She turned back to me and replied, "But... that's the ocean, not the sky.

Now it was my turn to frown in confusion. If it was a perfectly still ocean, then I guess that would make sense, but oceans weren't exactly known for being a stagnant body of water. "How could that be the ocean? There's no waves or anything. If it were an ocean, it wouldn't be able to reflect the sky so perfectly."

We stood there, trying to wrap our heads around each other's logic. It's one of those moments where nobody knew what was going on and the only thing anyone could do was process what the other said in order to make sense of it but ultimately fail because they're on different wavelengths than you. There should be a word for it; I'd call it, 'confoundsion.'

She eventually said, in that slow tone one uses when speaking with a child who doesn't understand something, "But... there aren't any pegasi around... how could there be waves without pegasi there to create them?"

Everyone, gather around for the collective 'oh' of realization. "Ooooooooooooooooooh," I said while I nodded my head in understanding. Of course, waves are created by the wind. There's no natural wind, so only the pegasi can make waves. I should have known... but the only reason I've been slipping up this entire encounter is because I'm in another world, cut me some slack! And if I learned anything from that encounter it would have been, 'when you wake up in a whole new area that you have no experience dealing with, try not to bluff your way through.' At least there was only one changeling, if there were more here I'd probably be too freaked out in order to do anything progressive.

As soon as I thought it I knew I was screwed. Right on cue, two more changelings flew up behind Ms. It's-An-Ocean. One of them walked right up to me with curiosity and a challenge in his expression. I half expected him to parrot the same questions the little miss asked. I was a little stunned when he completely ignored me and turned back to face Changeling 42 or whatever her number was.

I expected an actual conversation between the three, but I got none. Instead, they all looked between one another, sometimes making a small chirp or buzz that my newfound translating powers of awesome couldn't catch. After a few seconds they apparently finished and as one they turned to me.

When their attention suddenly shifted towards me, I seized up, unable to move, much less talk. It was a three on one staring competition; I looked into each of their eyes and tried to think of some way to talk my way out of it, but my mind was blank. I could only stand there and rove over the three changelings. I silently thanked whoever designed changelings to have an exoskeleton. Having no sweat glands was probably the best thing ever, even if I had to endure hot days without a natural way of cooling down. 

The staring competition continued for what seemed like ages. None of us wanted to break the silence, but I probably looked scared of both the silence and the impending conversation that was soon to follow. The changeling to my right nudged the middle one, the female, I thought, and nodded his head toward me. 

All three then jumped into the air at the same time, as they created a buzzing noise with their wings and flew towards me. The whole world lurched as I was picked up from the waist and carried away and I watched everything fly away from me. Then everything grew dark as the changelings flew down what I assumed to be the unnatural hole. Stale wind flew past me as I took in a huge lungful of air let a high pitched buzz loose. After everything that's happened in the past few hours, I should have been allowed to scream like a babe, right?

I kept screaming as they dragged me deeper into the darkness. I felt a warm glow, which kinda hurt, by the way, against the back of my head and I promptly embraced unconsciousness.
> The Prince and the Training Montage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3



The Prince and the Training Montage


The very first thing I was aware of was how cold the ground was. The second thing was that I had no pain in my head, which was not my usual experience with waking up after being knocked out for who knows how long. From my position, it seemed as if after they carried me, the changelings had unceremoniously thrown me to the ground.

My eyes struggled to lift their lids, and only succeeded for a short moment before a bright and harsh light forced them closed again. I opened them again and made sure that I didn't burn my retinas out of my skull this time. The light that had once blinded me had become a dull flame on a nearby torch that hang from a wall. Examining the rest of the wall, there were other torches that extended beyond my current range of sight. Tilting my head up, I saw the other wall was lined with torches as well.

The second thing I saw were steps. I was closer to them than I'd like, and I had to lift my head to get a good look at what was on top of them. I almost wish I hadn't; cause standing there, looking down upon me with so much interest, was a tall changeling with a sharp and twisted horn, long green hair that spilled onto its shoulders, and even darker green eyes that stared right into mine. This wasn't Queen Chrysalis, but they looked so alike that it could have been her twin, and if they were, which one was the evil twin? I also should mention that the animators of the show really toned down of the creepiness of the changeling royalty. Didn't wanna scar the little kids too much; that's a job reserved only for the internet.

I scrambled to my feet and turned around, getting a good lock of where I had ended up. I was in a long hall, barely ten meters wide but nearly thirty meters long. I was flanked (Ha! My first pony pun!) by three changelings; one to my immediate right, and two standing a few meters behind me. There was a throne behind the tall changeling. It kinda reminded me of the Iron Throne, if it wasn't made out of swords but rather out of greenish wax. 

Now that I had a good look, I could see that pretty much everything was entirely made of some sort of dark green wax. The walls, the floor, the throne, everything. Well, being in a hive would probably mean there'd have to be some sort of wax involved. Didn't expect it to feel exactly like dirt, though. I wondered if I could ever feel anything through my chitinous exoskeleton anymore. There's probably lots of little details about my new body that reminds me I'm not human anymore, and I had a feeling that I would never get used to that fact. 

"Drone, what have you brought before me?" The gravelly voice brought my attention back to the giant changeling pony about to pass some sort of judgement on me.

The changeling to my right stepped forward, and I couldn't tell if this was the same changeling who found me until she spoke, "Prince Pupae," she paused to glace at me when I struggled not to laugh, "I found the drone trying to enter our Hive without proper identification. When questioned, his answers were... well, they were odd. He claimed that he was sent as a part of Chrysalis' guard after an incident somewhere in a place called Cantarpot. Then he was going to look over the edge, but he thought that the Crystal Ocean was the sky.  After that, Drones 689 and 343 arrived to investigate and we had decided to bring him to you." With that the female changeling gave a small bow before returning back to her position at my side.

Prince Pupae took his sweet time descending the stairs, and his glare pierced right through me the entire journey. His name may not have been threatening, but he sure could pull off a scary look when he wanted. He waltzed right up to me, which made me realize just how tall this guy was. I only reached up to his chest, and I had to tilt my head so that I would be looking almost directly above me just so I can meet his gaze. I involuntarily gave a small gulp as I did.

"You are indeed a strange one. You are a drone, yet you have the eyes of royalty." He started to trot circles around me, causing me to turn my head around to hold his gaze steady. "You look as if you could fit right into the colony, but you act as if you were hatched only yesterday. Tell me, who exactly are you?"

Recalling my past experience with bluffing in an unfamiliar territory, I decided to stick to the truth. See, I can learn, too! But before I could answer, I felt the eyes of the other three drones on my back, drilling through me in search of information. My mouth clamped shut, causing the Prince to tilt his head curiously.

I glanced at the two other drones behind me and looked back at him. I hoped the guy would see the pleading tone my eyes gave. He smiled as he motioned for me to answer again, only this time with a small curl to his mouth. I was beginning to think this guy was sadistic.

I sighed to mentally prepare myself and took a deep breath of air, closed my eyes, and scrambled to get the words out as fast as I could. "If you must know I was only hatched today and I have never been in a place like this so I don't know what's going on or who you are or what the Hivemind is and I've never seen the ocean before so I really thought it was the sky below me andIamcompletelyLOST!" The echo died after a few seconds and the silence that followed was deafening. The way the wax curved and made wavy shapes on the floor was way too interesting for me to actually look up at everyone. All four changelings stared at me, and I stared at my holey hooves. When no answer followed, I expected them to deem me insane and toss me in a loony bin. 

So imagine my reaction when the guy responded with something that wasn't an immediate death sentence. "Despite the oddity of your hatching, you are still a changeling. You also have no connection to the Hivemind, which leaves me to decide whether you would be a benefit to the hive, or a liability that must be taken care of." I felt a chill go up my spine from something other than the coolness of being underground.

"I believe that it would be best if we figured out just how useful you can be. After all, no sense throwing away a perfectly good tool, is there?" The other changelings nodded at the same time, whether because they thought so as well or because he was royalty I would never know. "A test of your abilities would be adequate, but a little too boring for my tastes. I've decided to send you on the reconnaissance mission that I've assigned to Drone 473 as of right now." I didn't even have to look at the drone to guess that she was just as surprised as I was.

The poor drone had no sense of courtesy as she yelled out, "B-But Prince, you can't send him on a recon mission with us! He could stay here and learn how to be of use rather than out in the field where he could be a hindrance!" Any other objections that she was planning on shouting in front of me was cut off when the Prince raised his hoof. 

He stared into the unwilling drone's eyes, and something passed between them. I wasn't sure if it was something that was a part of the Hivemind, or if it was something that the Prince exuded that quelled the small rebellion, but the drone lowered her head and allowed the Prince to continue.

"You two will go down to the seaside town of Minnow's Rest. I want you to deduce exactly how we can harvest food, and if you see an opportunity to create anger, then do so. We will need much more food if we are to compete with the other tribes."

Most of what he said went way over my head. "Wait, don't changelings feed off of love?" I looked around to see who had said what I was thinking only to see the two changelings staring at me. The sudden attention surprised me, and I was suddenly interested in the green wax on the floor.

When the Prince coughed politely to drive off a dry chuckle, Drone 473 spoke up. "The only changelings that feed off of love are Chrysalis' own breed. Unfortunately, we cannot feed off of such a prominent source of emotion. We only feed off of anger, and everything that it stems from: revulsion, contempt, bitterness, resentment, and everything in between. It's our source of food, and our worst enemy." At my confused look, 473 gave a small glace to the Prince and gave him the floor.

"You see, little drone, anger is a powerful emotion. It can cause ponies to hurt each other, something that the peaceful race tries to avoid. If a pony can get too angry, other ponies start to try and help it. If they dig far enough, they can find traces of a changeling's magic and follow it to the source, our hive. Time and time again, we have had ponies find our hive and attempt to destroy it. Most of the time, we move to another hiding place and start anew in a different town. The constant moving, however, is starting to take it's toll. Counting the drones in this very room, there are a total of seven drones from my tribe left. Two of those drones are incapacitated from our last escapade, and unable to perform. The other four must stay here, and patrol the hive in case some pony wanders in by mistake." Two of the changelings in question nodded their affirmative.

"Now, about the mission. The town is small, but closely knit. Everypony knows each other, which makes blending in difficult. If we do get in without detection, it will be downhill from there. Everypony knows how to push the other's buttons, and all we have to do is push them enough so that there will be a little resentment between townsfolk. Not enough to start a fight, but just enough that the ponies can't stand to be in a room with the other. That should be enough to settle in and slowly build our hive once again. After we have grown, we will spread out and plant a few drones in each city, gathering little bits of anger here and there. We cannot gather large amounts of anger anymore, it has proven to be a disastrous method in the past."

He pointed his hoof at me and 473, "You two will leave for Minnow's Rest in the morning. If you want your new partner to be sufficient, I suggest you start teaching him. An important mission such as this requires success, there is no room for failure." At the last sentence, he fixed a deathly glare on both of us. Shivers ran down my spine again, and I had to respect the guy for being able to instill such fear.

With that, Prince Pupae motioned for us to leave. We trotted down the long hall, a smoldering glare piercing into the back of my head. Once we left the room and entered a tunnel big enough for both of us to walk side by side in, the changeling walked in front of me to fix her burning stare at me. "Look, kid, I don't know what exactly Pupae is thinking, but if he thinks he's going to let some random changeling into a mission that could save our hive because he found you interesting-"

"Then that's exactly what's going to happen. You wouldn't want the Prince of the entire hive to give punishment to one of his most important drones, especially when the amount of help he has is limited to the single digits. I suggest that you do what he says, if not for the safety of the hive, then for your own well being." I continued walking past her as her mind wrapped around my sudden ability to talk. She buzzed and hovered over to my side, piercing me with a questioning look. I ignored her as we continued down the tunnel. Eventually, I got fed up of her glare, "What is it?"

"You. When I first saw you, you were talking about stuff that didn't even make sense. You thought the ocean was actually the sky, you mentioned someplace called 'Cantarpot,' but you never told us what that is."

"Canterlot," I corrected.

"See, you know something that we don't and that's something that could come and bite us in the flank if you don't come clean. And then you become an incoherent moron in front of the Prince! Your eyes have the royal color, but you obviously have no idea who Pupae is."

"That's another thing, Pupae? Really? I've heard more threatening names. Chairface Chippendale, for example."

"What? I mean, really, what? You've got to be one of the strangest changelings I've ever met, and I've known a lot back in the day."

"You mean when your hive was more than a spare handful? Judging from your number alone, I'd have to say you must have known at least 472 other changelings. And then there's the Hivemind, I don't know what that's about, but I'm guessing it's this sort of collective consciousness in which you and every other changeling that's hatched is connected to all the time, right?"

"Stop talking, please. I just wanna get the mission over and done with."

"Well you can really finish the mission unless you properly train me. Speaking of which, can I cast normal unicorn magic like telekinesis? Or am I limited in what I can perform based on whatever pony I'm disguised as? And feeding from whatever emotion I can absorb?"

"Yes, no, and yes. Why are you so talkative all of a sudden, anyways?"

"Cause I wanna know more about changelings, and I wanna know more about my partner if we're gonna be infiltrating a small community together."

"Whatever, let's just get you to the surface. If you're gonna have to learn how to be a changeling, we might as well do it now." With that we both fell silent.

I was overflowing with questions, but they all would have to wait until we got out of the tunnels. As we continued the trek, my mind turned to the mission. If I wanted to get out of this alive, I had to break family bonds and ruin friendships. Anger is never an easy emotion to deal with, no matter how little of it there is. I wasn't sure I could deal with forcing ponies to grow angry at each other just for food, but that was something that I was going to have to deal with if I didn't want the Prince as an enemy, and seeing as he was my only way of learning about the world at the moment, I had to follow him. I filed away my thoughts to think about later when I noticed something peculiar.

It was only when I looked around the tunnel did I notice that there weren't any torches lighting the way. In fact, there wasn't really any sources of light anywhere in the tunnels, but I was able to see as if there were. I assumed changelings were able to see in the dark, but I wasn't sure. When I reached the surface, though, I knew the answer immediately. I never expected to see this late into the night as if the sun were shining over head, but it certainly bumped changelings up on the 'awesome' scale. The familiar forest was serene as ever, possibly even more so in the night light. I took a deep breath of air, and the absence of the salty smell of the sea confirmed that Equestria is really freakin' weird. Or I now have no sense of smell, I couldn't tell which.

"First things first, you need to learn the basics of changeling magic. Usually the Hivemind gives you the knowledge when you hatch, but since you have no connection, Ill have to teach you the hard way." Shucks, if having no connection to the Hivemind means getting a training montage, I wouldn't have wanted to ever connect in the first place. "It doesn't matter," she continued, "somehow I'll make a changeling out of you."

Cue montage music of your choice.

First thing we practiced was shape shifting. She lifted a few headshots of various ponies, and each and a small description of the profile I had to imitate. There was a lot of guesswork, as the weight, height, and cutie marks were only described in brief. I had to concentrate and give shape shifting my full attention, and it was really tricky at first. Eventually, I found that shape shifting was more like finding a mask in your mind and putting it on. After a little more practice, I was able to shift through a few different shapes in a matter of seconds. I was starting to get a little beat, but I think that was mostly due to my years of physical inactivity rather than the training. But before I was able to say "I'm ready," 473 moved on to the next test. But the catch was I had to be in disguise while practicing, which was very similar to trying to do a normal workout routine while concentrating on balancing three plates on a stick.

We practiced flight for a little while by playing a small game of tag. I grasped the ability to control my flight rather quickly, though it wasn't without multiple crashes into trees and a few new bruises. I still have to pay special attention to where I'm going instead of trying to keep myself up. There were also little details like positioning yourself for maximum speed or knowing the air currents to help you fly, but I wasn't paying attention. I was aiming for the ability to fly, not for the Best Young Flyer competition. I almost got her once, but she changed her direction at the last second, causing me to crash into the tree she had dodged. My disguise faltered, and that earned me a smack to the forehead before we tried again. Still loving the exoskeleton, by the way.

Next, we tested my skill with unicorn magic. This, actually, wasn't as easy as it sounded. If disguising myself to look like a unicorn was hard work, then digging deeper into my skill to cast magic at the same time was like trying play guitar with one arm tied behind your back. I had to focus on the actual disguise as well as the magic I had to perform. I almost vowed to never imitate unicorns, it was hard doing both at the same time, but if I needed to perform magic it was an essential skill. I needed to be able to cast while in disguise, otherwise everytime I have to cast magic I'd have to stop shape shifting, which could prove disastrous in the long run. 

I manipulated a few objects, I was able to do basic telekinesis and all the things that every unicorn could do. But when it came to performing feats of magic that were beyond the elementary school level, it was impossible. Changelings have an internal magic source that was fueled by how much emotion they fed off of, and seeing as I hadn't eaten at all since I hatched, it wasn't expected to pull of alicorn level spells. As long as I understood the fundamentals of magic, I was fine.

My training ended with the moon high above our heads, I had hardly noticed the passage of time until we were finished, with both of us exhausted beyond belief. After watching the night sky and catching out breath, I decided to break the vow of silence. "That was the most fun I've ever had with training. It was my only training, though, so it won by default."

473 gave a small chuckle, "It was my first time being a teacher. I'm glad I was able to show you how to do things that every changeling should know from birth."

I gave a frown, "You're still going on about the whole 'I'm the strangest changeling you've ever met,' aren't you?

"Of course I am. In all of my years I have never seen a changeling that was in some way connected to the Hivemind. Your sort of an... well, I'm not sure what you are. I don't even think we have a word for those not part of the Hivemind."

A few words played across my mind, and as I thought I lifted my fore legs so I could see the orange fur that I was currently disguised in, "I'm an outcast."

"A what?" 473 sat up and looked at me quizzically.

I lowered my legs back down to my sides, and I turned to face her. "An outcast, a stranger, someone who doesn't belong. Someone who is looked down on or rejected."

473 mulled over this new information for a long moment before she returned her attention to me. "The Hivemind agrees with the term."

Now it was my turn to stare questioningly. "The Hivemind never made a connection to you, and it wishes to not make a new connection to a changeling as different as you." The collective consciousness is a bigot? Well, on the bright side, at least I won't become a slave to the minds of thousands of other changelings. It'd get pretty crowded in my head, and I had enough trouble with just one conscious.

We both just laid there, thoughts about the upcoming mission filled my head with all the possible ways this could end up horribly. I felt a lurch in my gut, but thought nothing of it. I just wrote it off as a reaction to some of the more gruesome thoughts that my twisted mind dredged up.

It wasn't until the second and more powerful lurch that I realized that something was amiss. I got to my hooves, and felt the strength ebb out of my legs. I unsteadily tried to stay on my hooves, but I was too weak and I fell to my side. 473 was at my side, asking what was wrong. I tried to answer, but everytime I opened my mouth I gagged, making my stomach do somersaults. 

I started to dry heave, my forelegs wobbling like crazy as I felt my abdomen start to make the retching motions. I laid my forehead on the grass, my horn buried into the dirt to keep my head still. I hardly noticed 473 yelling about help, I was so preoccupied with trying to keep my stomach in place.

I closed my eyes, and shut off the rest of the world from my mind. I dimly realized that I was still holding onto the shape shifting spell. I let go of it without a moment's hesitation, as I knew full well that trying to keep a disguise while also focusing on making sure my bowels didn't escape through my mouth. As soon as the dry heaves came, though, they had disappeared.

I knelt there, hunched over with my head planted against the dirt, as I took ragged breaths and felt my whole body shake. What was that? Why did it stop? And more importantly, was it going to happen again? Questions raced through my mind faster than I could dwell on them for answers. I don't know how long I was there, maybe days, maybe only minutes. Eventually, I gained enough confidence to stand up again, albeit on shaky legs. It was then that I noticed the presence of a couple of newcomers.

The Prince stood there, where his questioning gaze roamed all around my body before addressing the changeling beside him. "You say he was growing ill, yet he looks to be as fine as he did in my chambers."

The changeling, whom I guessed was 473, looked just as shocked as I felt. "Pupae, he was pale and heaving. I don't know what was happening or why... but he was ill, of that I'm sure."

The Prince once again examined me, possibly taking note of how my legs were shaking. "Drone, can you change?"

I concentrated on finding that mask again, but I was utterly unable to do so. I shook my head, which cause the Prince to raise a holed hoof to his chin in thought. "I have heard of a few changelings that were unable to stay disguised for long... Perhaps they weren't just rumors, though. Perhaps this changeling acts under different rules... rules that seem strange to us. The Hivemind suggests that since he was hatched a strange changeling, he should be treated as an outcast." I winced. It was hardly ten minutes and the Hivemind already started throwing around the word like candy.

"In any case, he has to find the limitations that the rules he follows allow. We cannot use conventional methods to train him, now. He is not a true changeling, therefore must be treated as such." I lowered my head, I wondered if this was it for me, and I was destined to live a life of solitude. "But the Hivemind speaks not for me. He will continue to train, and the mission will stay. The Hivemind knows what's best for the other tribes, but we cannot afford to dally around with as few drones as we have. We're desperate, and we need that energy."

He fixed me with a stern green glare. "If you feel as though you cannot perform under your newfound limits, then you may back out. Drone 473 will carry out the mission alone if you so wish, but know this; if you do back out, and if the mission fails because 473 did not have the support that she needed, then you will be held accountable for it."

With that, the Prince flew off back into the hive. Drone 473 trotted closer, afraid I was going to start convulsing again. "I think that settles it for training, yeah? Let's go and get some rest before heading out to Minnow's Rest."

I nodded, unable to really respond with the sudden weight that was dropped on my shoulders. I had to go into a closely-knit town, with changeling powers that I've only had for a day, and apparently limitations that have to be obeyed otherwise I start puking my guts out, and if I backed out I would probably be executed, and if I failed the mission I would also be executed, and the mission starts when the sun rises, which isn't that far away judging by the position of the moon.

Less than a day in Equestria, and I was already starting to think about whether I made the right choice or not.
> Cart Rides are Long
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Chapter 4



Cart Rides are Long


"The wheels on the cart went round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels of the cart went round and round, all the way down the mountain," I silently sung to myself. One of the cart wheels hit a pothole, bringing my wandering mind back to the present.

The Crystal Ocean was true to it's name, it reflected the sun's warm light as it appeared in the distant horizon. It was really interesting, actually, to have been able to see the sun rise over something that could essentially be called a giant mirror. The light didn't actually bounce off and try to blind me, either, so that's a plus. 

As I continued to let my mind freely roam, I began to wonder about what I've learned about the place so far. We were in an area that was officially called the Shamrock Forests. But the locals had already given it a name: the Ruby Mines. The way 473 said the name seemed like she was expecting there to be ominous thunder in the distance, and I was genuinely surprised that there wasn't any. 

Anyways, the Ruby Mines were, you guessed it, mines that were used to harvest the areas vast amount of gems with rubies being the most prominent. There was a huge scramble of ponies trying to get at the now huge market for rubies, and from that point onward it was almost like an Equestrian version of the Gold Rush in the 1800s. A lot of ponies came to find rubies, and they found quite a lot. There were towns constructed by the mines, and for a while everypony was predicting the area to become the next Manehattan. Then the diamond dogs came.

At first, there were only a few diamond dogs, scrounging around for bits and pieces of gems to horde and stockpile for their own personal consumption. Then more starting popping up. In less than a week, there were entire tribes of diamond dogs. The diamond dogs drove away the miners, with more than a few casualties in order to claim territory. The ponies abandoned their prospering towns, leaving only a few towns that were too far from the mines or had other ways of having a stable economy. It just so happened that Minnow's Rest fit neatly into both categories.

The mines were deemed to be cursed and condemned, which left the diamond dogs to deal with the mines on their own. Not even a year later, a group of ponies decided to try and make peace with the diamond dogs and see if there was any way that both races could benefit from the copious amounts of gems. Only one came back. 

The pony who returned reported massive fights between various diamond dog tribes, and many tribes had split up into smaller tribes when internal conflicts emerged. The mines went quiet after that, no diamond dog emerged or entered since then.  Nopony truly knows what happened, whether it was greed over the huge amount of gems, territorial fighting, or even if the mines were truly cursed. Maybe the diamond dogs learned to live with each other peacefully. But looking at past diamond dog history, it was highly unlikely.

It's been decades since then, but the locals of the Shamrock Forests keep their distance from the mines and ghost towns, which have been reclaimed by nature. Which was extremely lucky for Prince Pupae, who quickly moved into the mines and started a new hive.

As the path left the mountains and into the forests, there were signs of past civilization everywhere. I saw a signpost that pointed in two directions, but there was only one obvious path. I also spotted a discarded pickax that some pony dropped alongside the road. 

The morning light shown down from the autumn colored leaves, and shafts of gold and brown drifted past my face as I laid on my back and observed the passing trees above. The cart was filled with soft hay, so it was rather comfortable as well as useful when I need to hide myself. I also noticed that I couldn't itch anymore, which is a huge plus since I don't have fingernails to scratch anything with.

Drone 473 was driving the cart, and I peeked over the edge to watch her pull the whole thing. She was currently disguised as a brown earth pony stallion with a cart cutie mark. Wasn't sure if it was just what's on her mind at the moment or just a lack of imagination, but at any rate I felt like I should help her... him... whatever.

"Hey 473, you wanna take a break from pulling the cart? It's nearly time for breakfast, anyways."

Her head twisted around so fast I almost thought she broke it. "Why don't you pull the damn thing if you want to help so badly?"

Her annoyed look combined with the unnaturally masculine voice cause me to dive in fear into the hay. "You know I'd like to, but I can't seem to transform at the moment."

"Liar, I saw you change not ten minutes after the Prince told you to practice your limitations. Now get down here and pull if you want to live."

The tone of voice did it for me, I nearly wet the hay. Or whatever changelings did. Whatever it was, I almost did it. "Yes ma'am!" I yelled as I leapt out of the cart and galloped to the front. I lifted the harness with my brand spakin' new telekinesis abilities off of 473 and started to pull. I put on the disguise of a blue furred, black maned stallion with the cutie mark of three bits with a smile on each.

473 stood to the side, still shape shifted. "Now that we have that out of the way, why not tell me a little about yourself?"

I kept my muzzle shut and looked away, not because I didn't want to talk about myself, but because I wasn't sure of what to say. As much as I wanted to have a conversation, I didn't exactly have a line of qualities and flaws to talk about with someone I've known for less than a day. Especially when I was supposedly born today. My partner took my lack of an answer as something that I didn't want to talk about, though. I didn't mind, it probably made me seem more mysterious and exotic to the drone. 

I still wanted to ask question, though, so ask away I did. "So is there something I can call you besides 473? Do you have a name, nickname, or just something you use for when your under cover?" 

"Well, no. I've never had a name that I didn't borrow or steal from an already existing pony."

"Aw, I was hoping to have a name to call you other than 473. It's not a name that rolls easily off the tongue."

"What about you? Don't you have a name to call yourself?"

"I was hatched not a day ago, I have no name to call my own." Not entirely true, but I'd like to stick with the idea that I didn't have a past before my hatching. I didn't even like my old name.

"Well, I could call you Strangeling." A small smile played across 473's lips.

I groaned loudly, from both the comment and from pulling the cart. "Ha ha. Shesh, I get it, I'm not your average changeling. Can you drop it already?"

473 looked down at her/his hooves, "Sorry, comments like those are usually the Hivemind talking."

Mention of the Hivemind got me thinking of some questions that I wanted to ask. "So, how different are changelings in the Hivemind? Is there any sort of sense of individualism or is it some sort of group conformity that forces you to think and behave just like every other changeling?"

I noticed an absence of her presence next to me, and turned to see she stopped walked and was now looking at me with an odd expression. Only her mouth moved, and it was trying to form a question that she couldn't seem to form.

"What's individualism?"

The cart slowed down, and I waited patiently for 473 to trot back to my side before returning to the relaxing trot. "I didn't expect you to know exactly what being an individual is, after living your whole like with a collective consciousness and all. I would expect that minds that were always connected never could understand what it's like thinking without it. It's like asking a fish what it's like to fly, the concept is just impossible for them to understand.

But back to individualism; simply out, it's a social standpoint that dictates that the moral is worth the individual. In a collection of a single race, each and every one of them has their own morals, their own dreams, ideas, flaws, and ways of thinking." I glanced sideways at 473, watching as she digested that nugget of information. 

She started to frown, then her eyes glinted off the sunlight for a brief moment before she resumed her usual gait. "The Hivemind does not take kindly to this idea. If everyone in the Hivemind thought differently... I shudder to think what would happen." She then shook herself as she possibly tried to stop herself from thinking on such dangerous matter further.

The next twenty minutes or so were rather peaceful. We kept up a slow but steady pace, sometimes switching who pulled the cart, The forest was true to its name, the entire forest floor was covered in clovers, giving a sense of calm and tranquility. I've always thought of green to be the spirit of adventure, but I never really knew why. When I wandered down this path, I felt the eagerness to explore rise once again. This time I knew that the forest was very inviting, and I could wander through the trees and the dense canopy for days and still feel content. I don't know why, maybe I've always been an adventurer at heart.

The reverie was broken when 473 found a dead snake. The short outburst was quelled with a small smile and lots of insisting that she wasn't afraid of snakes. Since she was so adamant about not being afraid of a dead and harmless reptile, I asked if she wouldn't be opposed to eating it. I was starving, after all. She ran over to the side of the road where I could her empty the contents of her stomach somewhere where I wouldn't see it.

I didn't mind though. Free food is the best kind of food. I tossed the snake into the cart as I watched 473 out of the corner of my eye. "Do changelings need to eat as well as feed on emotions?"

"Well, you can. It won't give enough energy to fully power you, but it can stave off the hunger for a little while. But if you're thinking that you can survive on eating alone, you're sorely mistaken. It's an essential part of the changeling diet, and if you don't feed from a host in about a week's time, your body won't be able to fully function anymore and you will die."

Starving to death from lack of emotions? That's definitely a death I'd like to avoid. But at least I knew how long I was able to last without feeding. More questions pressed in on my mind, though.

"So when was the last time you ate?"

"Well, we were searching for a new home when we happened on a travelling circus. We were desperate for some anger, so we kidnapped a few of the performers and replaced them. Then we purposefully botched the show. The ponies who paid good money were angry that the show wasn't what they expected, and the other performers were mad that they lost their reputation. We feasted like kings that day, though the circus had to close down. It's been a few days since then."

That was a bit... mean-spirited. They needed to eat, though, and they could have died otherwise. It was conflicts like this that makes me marvel at human morality and what they needed to do to survive. Now, here in the land of colorful ponies and happy rainbows, the morality still existed, albeit in the form of other races trying to survive with and against each other.

We decided to take a quick break and have a little breakfast. A small campfire had been made and we sat around it as we waited for the meat to cook. The disguises were ill-suited to consume meat, so we revert back to out changeling forms after making sure we were far enough off the road. 473 was understandably reluctant to try to eat the snake, but when it was cooked the meat smelled delicious, and she couldn't help but try a bite.

As I bit into my half of the savory meat, I asked a question that has been on my mind ever since I met 473.

"Can I call you something other than Drone 473?"

The question seemed to shock the unsuspecting pony. She thought for a bit and shook her head before biting into the snake meat again. 

"Well, how about D4? Much easier to remember than 473."

She thought again before shaking her head again with more vigor. She swallowed her portion before answering, "The Hivemind would disapprove of me taking a name for my own. That could be considered an act of... individualism." She said the word like it was treason. Considering the Hivemind and the influence it had over every changelings life, that probably wasn't far off from the truth.

"Well, I'm no Hivemind, so I'ma call you D4. If only as a way of addressing you that's easier than reciting a number, not because I consider you an individual," I amended at her horrified look. The explanation did little to relive her of her horror, but she slowly nodded as if she was accepting her doom.

After that, me and D4 (so much easier to remember now) packed up and made sure it looked like no one had passed through here. She had once again shape shifted into the stallion, but I took the time to rest and wait for whatever rules my magic followed to reset. I didn't want to change back in the middle of tow, after all. The sun continued on its path, and it was nearing it's zenith when I had last looked. We had continued down the path with no interference, no events, and no trouble. I went the entire journey expecting a random encounter to appear where we had to fight for our lives, but nothing happened. 

My fears were laid to rest when D4 stopped in her tracks.

"We're here."
> Slowly but Shirley
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Chapter 5



Slowly but Shirley


It shouldn't even be called a town. It was more of a collection of houses sporadically placed alongside the coast. The coast was actually a small beach that was under a small dropoff from the rest of the land, and a pier stretched pasted over the beach, and became a small ramp that led closer to the ocean. The pier had a couple of boats, none that were too big or too small. Each looked to be able to hold six ponies at the most, too. The houses themselves were lined up facing the ocean, letting ponies see the sun rise over the crystal clear water. They were separated rather sporadically, not being in a straight line but neither being a jumbled mess. There were roads and such that curved but they didn't go very far. Each house was wooden, and a simple spark could potentially destroy everypony's possessions. Considering the abundance of water, though, I doubted they had much to worry about.

I had taken on the disguise of an orange pegasus mare with a simple backpack cutie mark. I wish I had a pack of my own to complete the picture. I quickly created a character in my mind, and I was so glad that I had helped a friend with her acting class during my college years. I assumed the identity of... OK, maybe thinking up pony names was a lot different from human ones. Anyways, I assumed the identity of Lucky Charms, a traveler who left her hometown in order to seek out her fortune and to see the world. D4 assumed the identity of the brown earth pony stallion she used when she was pulling the cart. 

We trotted down the road, and everything seemed completely unnatural without that seaside smell that I was so used to. I wondered if it was possible to drink this ocean's water if it contained no salt... In fact this may not have been an ocean at all, but an enormous lake that's so big you couldn't see the other side. The Great Lakes back on Earth were so big you couldn't see the other side, and I was fairly certain they were freshwater. 

My musings were interrupted when we reached the edge of town, and a few ponies had come out to inspect the newcomers. From the bemused expressions, I could safely assume that strangers weren't a regular occurrence here in Minnow's Rest. Off to the side of the road there was a worn sign that showed years of age with the words 'Minnow's Rest' were written in a fancy font and flaky paint. Just below the name of the town was the number of the population written in a more fresh paint: 64. 

Ok, that was a little too small of a town for me. I mean, we're talking about a town that was so small it didn't even get recognition on a map. But I was still thinking in terms of Earth population, for all I knew 64 ponies was overpopulation. I looked over to D4 and gave a little nod towards to other ponies. A brown head shook in response and then nodded towards the townsfolk. She wanted me to do the talking and introduction? What was with everyone and their mother trying to get me to talk to crowds?

With a stern glare from D4, I trotted forward to greet the newcomers. There were only four there, but I still felt nervous. My disguise didn't break into a cold sweat, but I certainly felt like I did as I spoke up, glad that I thought of a temporary alias on the way here, "Uhm, hey everypony. I'm Lucky Charms and this is..." uh oh, D4 forgot to tell me what alias she went with. Luckily, my creative imagination came up with the perfect name just in time. "And this is Bob. We got kinda lost after we went camping, and we need a place to stay for a few days while we get our bearings and recuperate."

The townsfolk just stared at me, and I felt my awkwardness shine through. I shuffled my feet and readjusted my wings, and I was unable to find any sort of position where I was comfortable. I shifted my eyes to stare at the ground in front of them. They suspected my story, I just knew it. I was so horrible at this and they knew it was a lie. Now we're going to be kicked out and we'll have to find some other way of getting into the town. 

I looked up and saw the townsfolk all furrow their eyebrows and look to a rather elderly looking earth pony - their leader, I assumed. I looked straight into her eyes, while trying to find a way to just stand still. I ignored that the other ponies existed, if I focused on her, I might be able to drown out the shuffles of my wings and feet. If you thought being unable to find a comfortable way to stand was hard before, try imagining that uncomfortable feeling on your back at the same time.

Thankfully, nopony was watching me anymore, so I felt my confidence return in full force. I stood my ground and gave a stare of my own back at the elderly mare, and I watched every move of her auburn eyes. She moved a grey hoof forward, then pulled it back. After a moment, she started taking full strides towards me and D4.

"If you need a place to stay, then this humble village is far from the best. I would suggest you go to Manehattan, but seeing as you're weary and hungry, who am I to tell you no? Welcome to Minnow's Rest, travelers."

It worked? Oh, it worked. I felt my spirits lift as I let a grin stretch my face into one of gratitude and happiness. "Thank you... ah?"

"Oh, where are my manners, I'm Sewn Summers. I guess I'm one of the important ponies of our quaint little town, but I'm just an old seamstress. The real leaders are Drop Shot, the head fisherman, and Junebug, our uh... well, I'm not entirely sure what she does. She goes out into the forest and looks real close at the trees, though." Her face stretched into a wide grin, creating a lot more wrinkles where there didn't need to be anymore.

My superpowers of deductive reasoning started to tingle. It was telling me that this 'Junebug' was a insect enthusiast, which could mean she knew about changelings and the threat we posed. We kinda are insects, just a really cool and much more threatening kind of insect. Then again, I shouldn't make fun of insects, there are a lot of dangerous insects from Earth. The Human Bot Fly is the perfect example for why insects are the scariest creatures in existence. Also, for the sake of your well-being and your ability to sleep well at night never ever look up what the Human Bot Fly is and just take my word for how scary it is. 

I shook hooves with the few other ponies; there was Tender, a purple earth pony with a golden mane and a barrel cutie mark who ran the salt saloon; Jack Flash, a yellow-red pegasus with a flower that had it's stem in the shape of a lightning bolt who owned a flower shop/diner; and Saffron, the local unicorn healer and herbalist with a mortar and pestle cutie mark. The lime green herbalist had a small house near the sea and was kind enough to let us two stay in the apartment above her apothecary. It took a little encouraging on my part, but D4 decided to at least said the words "Hello," and "Thank you." I was starting to think I wasn't the only one who had social issues.

Summer returned to her abode to work on a gift, and that's all she told us before returning to a house that was near the edge of town. Jack Flash offered to have use taste test one of his new menu items, and I suspected this was just a ploy to get us to eat some leftover food. Paranoia aside, me and D4 both agreed to eat the mystery food. Tender needed to prepare the saloon for business, so he took the cart to store from D4's back to store it somewhere and bade his farewells with a wave of a purple hoof. This left Jack and Saffron to be our warm welcoming party. And since D4 had decided to take the backseat, I had to be the one to entertain the two locals.

"So, you like camping outdoors and getting lost often?" asked Jack, a chuckle incited from Saffron.

If I could still blush, I probably would have. "Me and Bob here are on a journey. We left our hometown and decided to see the world, which subsequently means we'll get lost from time to time. To be honest, I haven't even heard of Minnow's Rest before we arrived here."

"Not many people have, Lucky." replied Saffron. "We're one of the smallest communities this side of Equestria, and even then we hardly leave this place. We have food, water, and our trade comes in the form of a single caravan coming back and forth between here and Manehattan."

"Just how close are we to Manehattan, anyways?"

"Only a few days trot, it's where I get most of my herbs and spices from. Most of the plants I need doesn't grow in the forest naturally."

"Saffron, you must have one of every plant from around the world growing in that greenhouse of yours. What could you possibly need from the trade caravan?"

The lime mare scoffed at Jack. "I'll have you know that not every medicine can be grown willy-nilly. I need to buy some things that are much too difficult to obtain here; a timber wolf's claw for example. Without that key ingredient, you would still have those stomach pains and nightmares that you've had for weeks on end."

Jack Flash swallowed audibly at the thought, and I gave a small giggle. I called it there, she was definitely a witch doctor.

The small outburst turned the conversation back on us, "So how do you two know each other? Married?"

I said "brother," at the same time as D4 said "sister." Brilliant minds think alike, I thought to myself.

"Alright, where are you from?"

"Just a small town way to the southeast" I replied without hesitation. This wasn't in the practice, so I expected D4 to give me that look reserved only for the insane. I had already thought of this, thanks to the amount of time I spend relaxing on the back of the cart.

Saffron gave a curious look, and I thought I spotted a spark in those ruby eyes. "Really? What town?"

I recalled the map D4 had me look at before we left and I picked out one of the only familiar towns in that direction, "We're originally from Appleloosa. We've been gone for so long we dropped our accents, so it's hard to tell."

That spark died out as quickly as it came, "Ah, I had hoped... Nevermind, let's get you that food."

The rest of the trip was in glorious and peaceful silence. We reached a dingy old restaurant that sported numerous types of flower sandwiches for lunch, but Jack insisted that we test his new dinner dish. It turned out it was a salad mixed with different types of flowers, but there were a few spices thrown in there by our new friend Saffron. 

It tasted like you would expect flowers to taste; which is to say, no taste at all. But the spices gave a little kick that made the meal a little more bearable that it would have been.

It was a simple dish, and Jack insisted that it was a new item on the menu, but after examining some of the exquisite items - like a pasta with daisies and roses mixed with parmesan cheese - I started to once again suspect that we were fed the leftovers. Which I didn't mind at all, it was a fine brunch. The hunger was still there, yes, but it was quelled for now. 

We left Flash to continue his business, and eventually found our way to Saffron's apothecary. Now, it was odd seeing an apothecary, it was like looking at a scientist's lab that wasn't about science at all. When we first walked in, the first thing I noticed was the sheer amount of plants. There were plants in pots everywhere, on the counter, on the floor, and there were a few on the walls. The ceiling above us was made of glass, and the sunlight gave the whole place a cheery feeling. 

There was a counter off to the side, and a glass case that demonstrated a few of the medicines that Saffron provided. There was a gel that you rubbed on the skin to cure small rashes, a drinkable solution to headaches and stomach pains, and there was even a bottle of custom made perfume made to smell like roses. I was fairly sure that Saffron was like Walgreens for small town ponies.

Then I noticed the books. There were more books here than I've ever read in my life, and they all comprised on one side of the wall, stretching from end to end and floor to ceiling. I could only imagine what secrets they held, and I went to examine them more closely. 

Upon inspection, I discovered that they were all written in a sort of curvy almost hieroglyphic language that I had no clue how to decipher. I was at a rather loss for words, I wasn't entirely sure how to handle it. I knew I could learn it, yet I still had a mini freak out about not being able to read. I sucked in a quick bout of air and held it, containing all of my frustration into that small bit of oxygen and let it all out with a sigh.

"...that's how you can synthesize plants into a nice compound that can help fight infections and heal the wound." Saffron looked up from examining the huge plant. "Oh, I seemed to have gone of on a tangent again. Sorry, my mind likes to wander when talking about my work." She led us into a room that was more homely, there was a small fireplace that currently held fresh ashes, and there were two sofas facing each other with a small table in between them, a vase with flowers and some coasters were it's only occupants.

"That's fine, I can relate." I smiled, "So tell me about yourself, how'd you come to a town like Minnow's Rest? With your knowledge you could be working in bigger cities and get more recognition for your work."

Saffron frowned, "That's exactly what I don't want. I hate ponies treating me as if I were just a solution to their problem. I've tried opening a shop in Manehattan once, and no pony ever remembered my name. They only remembered my work, nopony ever wanted to help me learn or help advance the study of medicine. Here, I have friends who help me cultivate new formulas and advance my knowledge, not just about medicine, but of the world." She made her way across the room to where the floorboards turned into tile, and started to pull out a few cups and plates. "You saw how I added some of my spices to the salad you ate, right? Those were originally herbs that I only used in making laxatives, but when I was talking to Flash not too long ago we found that the spices also gave a kick on a few dishes."

I hesitated for a second before asking the most important question of all, "Laxatives?"

Saffron frowned, then gave a short bark of laughter. "Oh, no, that's only when it's mixed in with the seeds of the Lotus plant. You'll have nothing to fear." I let a breath go that I didn't realize I was holding. Saffron giggled before going back to her work, putting a few scones on plates and filling a kettle with water. 

Now that I got a pretty good look at her, she was kinda pretty. Despite her youth, I could spot the telltale wrinkles of someone who's enjoyed laughing all her life. Her crimson mane hide her face partially as she grabbed the kettle and hung it over the fireplace. She cleaned out the ashes and grabbed some wood with her telekinesis and placed them neatly in a pile. After she started the fire going, she indicated to both of us to take a place on the couch, to which we generously accepted. I took a tentative bite of the scone, and found it to be quite flavorful. In a few quick bites, the scone was gone. D4 was still sniffing the scone, as if she were afraid it was going to bite her or something.

"Now I've talked a bit about myself, why not talk about you?" asked Saffron. I gulped down the last of the scone and looked to D4, who took a nibble out of the treat and found that it wasn't poisonous. She took a bigger bite and seemed to like it.

"Well, we come from Appleloosa, but we wanted to see more of the world. We left the town and went our own way, and went on a journey to see everything there is to see." D4 nodded her agreement.

"Tell me, have you ever met or heard of an unusual chef with a mohawk on your travels? Or a travelling merchant mare with a pet hawk?" That spark in her red eyes came back more fiercely than ever, and something tells me she was desperate for information about the two. Perhaps they were ponies that also left town but she never heard from them again?

I started to carefully watch my mouth and picked my words carefully. "No, I don't believe we have." I replied.

She looked at the floor, ears folded on her head. "Oh. Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed you did."

"If you don't mind me asking, who are they?" The question perked both my companion and Saffron's interest, their ears swiveling towards me. Ah, body language, how I missed thee.

Saffron looked up at me from her position on the couch. "They're my uncle and aunt, respectively. I only know of them from a few stories my parents used to tell and the pictures they had. My father wasn't a lenient pony, and he didn't want me to run off and have dangerous adventures like his siblings had. At the time I didn't really care, I was more interested in learning about medicine. But ever since my father died last year, I've been wondering if they're all right, and maybe I can finally get to know more about them. They didn't even attend the funeral, I'm not sure if they didn't care or just don't know about his fate...

From what little I know, my uncle went to join the military, while my aunt went to buy her own caravan and left. My father wouldn't tell me why, and he hadn't even bothered to tell me their names. I've been worried sick about these two ponies I've never met, and I can't help but think maybe they're injured or worse... Silly, I know." She blinked her eyes and seemed surprised as a few droplets fell onto the floor.

I gave a small smile, "Silly? Not even close. They're your family, and with the loss of your father you feel as if you can know more about them now that you don't have somepony telling you not to worry about it. Plus it sounds like those two really could be in trouble, there's nothing wrong with worrying about those you care about."

She smiled again, a bit more comfortable now that she removed what was weighing on her chest. "Thank you, Lucky."

The silence that followed was interrupted with the ringing of the door as somepony entered the apothecary. Saffron got up from her spot on the chair and and left the room, "Go up the stairs over there to your rooms. If you want to explore the town some just tell me, I have to get back to my work."

Both of us looked at each other and tried not to rush up the stairs. When we got there we were in a small hallway with five doors, four led into a small room with a bed, a window, and a desk while the last one at the end of the hall led into a rather large bathroom with a bath and a sink, and that was it. Each room was big enough to only hold four ponies at the most, but we didn't mind. I jumped onto one of the beds and sank into a fluffy and comfortable state. I let my disguise go before I forgot so I didn't have any horrible pains.

"What was that, 'Lucky?'" said D4 as she stood over me.

"What? I tried to help the poor girl, she was worried sick about her family."

"Why are you being so friendly to these ponies? Did you forget that we're supposed to make them angry to feed? How can we make them angry if you get all chummy with them?"

"Simple," I replied behind closed eyes, "we get to know them, then we use our changeling powers of awesome to disguise as someone they know and use the knowledge we've gained to create a small fight. How have you not thought of that?"

D4 looks a bit stumped for words, so I helped her out by providing my own, "But what I'm wondering is where are all the other ponies? So far we've only seen around ten ponies total. I'm thinking they're all either super scared of strangers, or maybe it's fishing season. I don't know, but it certainly makes a few strangers in town not as big as it could be with so few ponies. We can blend in a lot easier after spending some time here, maybe Lucky and Bob will leave after a couple of days and then we can come back disguised as one of the townsfolk. A simple solution for getting to know our targets, so why hasn't the all-knowing Hivemind thought of this?"

My question threw D4 off, her bug wings gave a soft but angry buzz as she flew back a couple of steps. "The Hivemind prefers to send scouts in to spy on the village before infiltrating it. After the scouts have spied enough, they report back to the hive and then they send in a few drones to blend in with the reports the scouts have retrieved. Surely you must have noticed that we aren't scouts, at least?"

"That would explain things, it's an unusual situation you have found yourself trapped in and your hive has no idea of how to operate differently from what the Hivemind dictates as the proper order of business. At least your leader knows how to ignore the overwhelming amount of voices in his head in order to protect the hive."

I hopped out of the bed and started to examine the view outside the window. We had a perfect view of the sea and a few ponies who were in the middle of a beachball game, tossing the inflated object back and forth, trying to keep it in the air as long as possible. "We should talk to all the other ponies as Lucky and Bob, then find out what can make them tick, and then we have the perfect opportunity to annoy them enough to start feeding the hive." I didn't want to cause any fights between friends if I had to, breaking pony's apart would tear me up inside - of course I kept that little tidbit to myself. 

"This should work just fine, and soon you and the hive will have enough food that you can begin anew, and they you won't need my help any further and I can get out of your mane. Then you won't ever have to hear about the strange changeling ever again." A pony jumped too late, and the beach ball fell out of her reach and bounce away on the sand. I turned back to D4, a curious look dominating her face. I gave her a wide and mischievous grin.

"And don't call me Shirley."
> Brains Before Brawns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Chapter 6



Brains Before Brawns


As we left Saffron's apothecary, the lime pony was studying the leaves of a flower that her visitor had asked to study. When asked about where we should first stop to meet with the townsfolk, she mentioned something about the council hall in the middle of town. She then returned to pluck a petal off the flower and place it on a slide and held it up to the sunlight.

Me and D4 looked at each other and left the plant pony to her work. We trotted along the sunny road, our desitination vague and our hopes high. We trotted along the dirt roads, our destination vague at best. The sunlight glistened off my orange coat, and we noticed the old mare from before sitting on a porch of one of the houses, the clicking and clacking of her sewing needles paused their work as we cantered closer.

"Well well, if it isn't the newcomers! How're you folks liking the town so far?" she called out from her place on the rocking chair. She sat in human fashion, which was odd, when you considered their anatomy. 

"Just fine, Summers. We're actually just wandering around looking for something to do. Do you have anything you need help with?" I pointedly ignored D4's burning gaze as the old mare sat with a hoof raised to her chin.

"Well, I don't need anything done per se, but I heard that there was going to be a beach dinner party today and the ponies needed some help setting up. It's a good thing you came with all the hay, too. We can make some proper hay frys and burgers!" Hay burgers? I knew there were hay fries, but burgers? It just wasn't the same without the meat.

D4's gaze was burning through my temple as I asked, "Are you going to be coming along with us?"

"Oh how I wish I could, but I must finish repairing Angler's hat when he comes back with the rest of the fishers. I'm sure you wouldn't want an old stick in the mud at a young pony party, anyways."

"Sorry to hear, hope you finish that hat soon and join the feast!" I waved at the smiling mare and started to trot off.

"I'll hold you to it, Lucky!"

I chuckled as we trotted away, D4 followed every step like a silent shadow. Once we were out of hearing she stepped in front of me with a scowl on her disguised stallion face.

"Stop being so damn nice."

"No." I stepped around her, wanting to continue on our journey.

"Seriously, we need food and you're not helping. I probably could have started to feed already if you would just make them angry!"

I sighed, "We went over this, D4. We have to get to know everypony before getting them mad. Starting fights is a good way of collecting anger, but it's also a good way of getting ponies thrown out and left to starve. Last time I checked, that's exactly what's happening to your hive."

D4 stopped walking with a shock, then she drooped her head and walked up to my side with sorrow on her face. "You're right."

I nodded before lifting her head up with a hoof, and gave her a small smile, "That doesn't matter, what matters is getting you guys fed. We can only do that if we know how to lightly tap their buttons, and not to mash them repeatedly. Nobody likes to play with buttonmashers."

"What?"

"Nevermind, we have a party to set up!" I yelled, my hoof pointed forward in a dramatic pose. With that I ran off towards the direction of the ocean, D4 running alongside me.

We reached the beach where the kids playing with the beachball were starting a new game. I noticed a few new arrivals as well, there was a couple over to the side relaxing in the sunlight together, and a group of ponies were setting up what looked like a bonfire. It would have been a perfect setting for summer, but despite the chilly winds and water, the sun was beating down rather heavily on the beach. It wasn't hot, but it was definitely relaxing with the calm ocean breeze and the warmth of the sun on our fur.

I was content on watching other ponies have their fun while I sat in the background, ready to help somepony if they needed it. A few ponies started building sand castles that were rather large and extravagant, at least, until the tide swallowed them up. And then, I kid you not, somepony brought out a frisbee and started tossing it back and forth, trying to catch it with their mouths. Fans of the 'indirect kiss' would have gone wild if they knew.

After a bit of cajoling, me and D4 started to play frisbee as well. Swapping saliva fears be damned, frisbee was a fun game no matter what species you are. More ponies showed up and after what seemed like hours have passed the ponies have brought in the food. There was hay fries and burgers, with a few salads and pasta dishes from Jack Flash himself. There weren't many ponies here, but given how a tenth the population of the town was here, it seemed like a fairly decent turnout.

While everypony mingled and talked and ate, me and D4 hung out in the background, watching everypony go about their business. This is where I always felt most comfortable in social gatherings, and being a changeling hasn't changed (pun intended) that fact. A few ponies tried to start a conversation with us, and I complied with talking a little bit before noticing that ponies had stopped and listened in on our words, perhaps hoping to get a gleam of information about the two strangers from so far away. After that I just stared at the sand and stopped talking, I apologized to the pony I was conversing with and backed away until I felt comfortable again.

A few ponies tried getting me to talk again, but I didn't want another repeat of last time so I politely declined. I continued watching the conversations and listening to a few snippets for two reasons; one to collect information and gossip about other townsfolk to complete the objective, and two because I genuinely wanted to know these ponies, and I really wanted to have a conversation with them. But they continued their conversations and paid no mind to the silent pegasus in the corner, and I was reminded of how I didn't have many friends back on earth because of this stupid and incessant fear.

I shook my head, not wanting to go back down that road again. I noticed the sun had dipped a lot further into the horizon that I had thought, so I gave a nod to D4 that it was time to split, and we left the fifteen or so ponies to continue whatever it was ponies did when they wanted a beach party to continue. As I turned back my question was answered by a small plume of smoke and a red glow from the middle of a circle of ponies.

As we trotted to our second and last, destination of the town, D4 gave me that 'trying to figure you out' stare that I've so recently have become accustomed to. "You talk quite a lot, did you know that?"

I was kinda stunned at this, I've never thought of myself as one to talk, but before I could rebuke her accusation, she continued, "You like to talk, but you never really talk when your the center of attention. It's kinda hard to have conversations while trying to stay on the sidelines, you know?"

"Alright," I replied, "I don't like crowds. I can deal with ponies in small numbers, but when suddenly there's a whole group of them I don't like being the one talking. When I'm in a group, I would rather listen than talk. I don't know why, I just do. It's something I've had to face my whole life, ok?"

"Your whole life?" I nearly smacked myself for not watching my mouth closer, "You were hatched only a day ago, what life could you have possibly had in that amount of time?"

"It's a long story," I growled under my breath, angry at myself, "let's just continue as if I hadn't said anything, alright?"

D4 didn't seem to like that one bit, but she kept her silence. I wouldn't be surprised if I had gotten brain damage from the holes she kept staring into my head. Eventually, we reached out last stop - The Serpent's Cove. It was a small building that was nestled in the corner of the town, facing away from the ocean. The evening sun shadowed the sign that depicted a sea serpent holding a mug and having a generally good time. Our cart was just to the side of the building, now vacant of any hay.

The entrance was an old school western style swinging door, which swung noiselessly as I took a gander around the inside. I expected some sort of standoff here, with the patrons of the bar and the newcomer silently judging each other before returning to their drinks. What I was greeted with was one pony in the corner drowning his sorrows in a pint, and a few players of a card game. And Tender as he watched us from his position behind the bar.

I trotted up to the bartender with a confused expression on my face, "I thought this was a salt saloon?" I asked as I pointed a hoof at the drinks.

Tender smiled causally, "Salt's only part of the saloon, alcohol is the other half of this place. You'll find most taverns sell both salt and alcohol, both are accepted ways of relaxing and enjoying the day. Why not have a few drinks on the house, being travelers and all I don't expect much of a tab from you two."

Huh, so salt wasn't the substitute for alcohol. So what exactly was salt to ponies? My imagination conjured up a pony trying to straw some salt, but found the idea ridiculous. The pony inebriated on salt on the show clearly asked for a glass of water, making the point that salt was ingested through the mouth. 

My wandering mind was corralled back into my head as I ordered us both a Salty Dog, and I watched as Tender added a bit of salt and mixed it with the gin. I tossed it back, and I cringed as I felt it burn all the way down my throat and give me a warm feeling in my gut. I wasn't much of a drinker in my days, but I liked to get buzzed every now and then. I thanked Tender and watch D4 take a taste of the cocktail. On her first sip, she nearly gagged on the alcohol and salt, but swallowed it nonetheless. The next few sips weren't as dramatic, and eventually she finished off her Salty Dog as well.

She gave me a frown and I chuckled at her discomfort. Me and D4 chatted with the purple bartender about random things, but mostly about the town and its inhabitants. Tender was even kinda enough to supply a couple more drinks for the company. 

He told me that the fishermen of this town usually go out and get a great haul of fish, but as of late the amount of fish coming back was growing smaller and smaller, and everypony was getting worried that there wouldn't be much fish left. From there I thought about what that could mean for the town; the trade would disappear when Minnow's Rest have nothing to offer, and without that small bit of trade the town's small economy would vanish and the town would essentially be dead. 

That was definitely a nugget of info I'd like to use, but the contented buzz I was feeling threatened to make sure I remembered nothing of this if I kept drinking. I started to wonder just how strong salt was when I looked over at D4. It was clear she never had a drink before in her life, but it looked like she was handling it quite well. She stood mostly to my my side as me and Tender started talking about something about different types of mixtures, but I couldn't remember what. She pulled me to the side with a wide eyed look on her face and fear in her eyes, and I felt the haze lift a little at how severe D4 was making the situation.

"Lucky, whys'the world shpinning? I feel... like it's gonna topple me over and shpin away."

I sighed a bit of relief at her statement. I assured her that everything is fine and she just needed to lie down. She complied as she plopped herself onto the hard sticky floor, her disguised chest rose up and down evenly. I suppressed the urge to giggle and bent down to pick her up with one foreleg around her, she leaned heavily on my shoulder in response. I bade my farewells to Tender as he went back to work and left the bar.

It had apparently turned dark, and I realized we must have been in there for a while. I needed to get back home in order to release the disguise. I wouldn't want to have to change back in the middle of the street. I walked down the dimly lit road for a moment, not quite sure where I was headed, when I accidentally bumped into another pony. It was strange, because I didn't see this pony before he was there, but now he was. He looked kinda familiar, but my hazy mind couldn't picture where I've seen the colt before. 

"Looks like your friend is out cold, miss. Let us gentlecolts take you home." Once he spoke, more stallions came out of the wood work. Soon three more stallions surrounded me and D4. I sensed something was off, these ponies were drunker than I was. I could even see one of them wobbling where he stood. Poor guys just couldn't seem to *hic* hold their liquor. 

One of them approached me and tried to lay a hoof on me. I slapped it away and stumbled a little to face the offending toucher. "Don't touch me, motherfucker," I said in my best Tommy Wiseau impression. 

That did it, all four of them started to jump me. Luckily I saw that coming and did the only thing my drunk flank could do at the moment. I ran as fast as I could with D4 on my shoulder, the sudden burst of adrenaline cleared my mind. It was only a short burst, only enough to get away from their jump. I looked back and saw them tangled in a mass of limbs and drunkenness. 

One of the colts turned his head and saw me. I stuck my tongue at him and blew a raspberry, then ran off laughing with D4 slumped against me. Fine time to be unconscious, D4. As I ran, I noticed a small alleyway not far ahead of me. I got inspiration for an idea, and it just might work. If the ponies didn't catch me in the act, that is.

"GET HER!" I heard the colt yell behind me, which only added fuel to the fire at my feet. I ran as fast as I could without tripping or stumbling. I immediately dashed into the alleyway and spotted a dumpster, where I unceremoniously threw D4 into. I heard a groan and a mumble from the changeling in question. I would have to apologize, but at the moment I needed her to be out of sight.

I turned and faced the entrance, ready for my pursuers. "Hey guys, I think she went in here!" I heard another colt yell.

They charged in after me, and stopped short, their stares were one of fear and confusion. "What are you boys doing here," I responded, my gruff and deep voice throwing me off a little.

"Oh buck me, a Royal Guard!" One of the ponies whispered under his breath. 

"Ah, we, we were just looking for a girl that ran off. I was afraid she might run into trouble so we went looking for her." the lead colt who first approached me answered.

"Well then, get going. I wouldn't want any harmless citizen to get herself hurt. Especially with all the young colts thinking they own the world around. I'm glad you four wouldn't want to hurt her in any way, right?"

They hesitated for a split second. When they didn't answer, I yelled, "RIGHT?!"

"Yes sir!" all four shouted in unison.

"Now scram!" I shouted, all four ponies turned and scampered off with their tails between their legs.

I stood there in complete shock, the silence deafening me. I waited for a minute before letting out a chuckle, which turned into a bellowing laugh. I let go of my disguise, and let my laughter turn into buzzing notes of mirth. That worked, I couldn't believe it! I was extremely glad I kept my sharp wit even when intoxicated. 

That certainly made my day, and I reveled in my roguish wit for the next ten minutes as I waited for mt shape shifting to cooldown. I hated waiting ten minutes in order to shape shift again, but the sheer fact that shapeshift can prove that useful overrode my annoyance.

During my waiting period, I smelt something that wasn't trash. It was a kind of sweet smell, but I couldn't describe it any further if you asked me to. It was a haunting scent, if scents could have a haunt feel to them. I looked out of the entryway again and saw a little black cloud, just barely visible and hanging in the air motionless. 

I trotted up to the cloud and let the aroma fill me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to get as much of that beautiful scent. When I opened my eyes, the cloud was gone. I was a bit confused at first, I looked around to see if it drifted off anywhere only to find myself alone in the alleyway. 

I also felt rather... full for the first time since I came here. After a bit of weary thought process, I recalled about the different types of emotions changelings fed on. Perhaps that cloud was an energy left by an emotion? Then what... of course, the colts! They must have been frightened of the sudden appearance of a royal guard. Then I sat on my rump, realized what all this meant.

I feed on fear.

I sat in a lull, unable to truly comprehend just how or why I feed on such a reactive emotion. Fear was definitely a strong emotion, and it wasn't hard to provoke if you knew what you were doing, but still... Having to scare ponies in order to feed was rather heartbreaking. I wanted to make ponies happy, not make them so scared of me they shunned me forever. 

But they wouldn't know it was me, a small voice in my head said, they'll be afraid of whatever pony you turn into, and they will shun that disguise forever. But if you were another pony they cared about, you could still make them happy.

The sudden voice in my head was right, I thought. I could still make them happy, I only needed them to get that fight or flight reaction, then everything could go back to normal. I wouldn't become a terror to ponykind... right?

A groan from the dumpster brought me out of my trance, and I hauled the poor unconscious changeling out. I picked off the few pieces of trash that stuck to her disguise. I didn't even want to know what sort of trash some of it was, but I was too busy thinking about my current situation and what my given choice of emotion to feed on would cause to care what D4 reeked of anyways. Once she was mostly clean, I became Lucky again and we went on our way. 

When we reached Saffron's house again, we found that she was still working on whatever she was working on when we left. I rolled my eyes and told her to get some sleep. She seemed surprised at how late it was then bade us both a good night. Trotting upstairs, I dumped D4 into her bed again before clamoring into my own. I locked the door and let my disguise go once again. I thought what happened since I got here, hard to believe I've been here for only 24 hours and I've had a more eventful life than I've had from my time on Earth. 

I wanted to continue the whole figuring out what to do now, but with the events of today all weighing down on me my brain decided to slip into sleep mode without my body just yet.

As my eyelids grew heavy with fatigue, I recalled my last thought was 'I'm starting to really like it here.'


~~~


I was woken by shouts and cheers from the pier, and as I looked out the window into the early morning, I saw that there were a lot more boats and a lot more ponies than there were yesterday. The fishermen had come home.
> Unforeseen Events
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
Chapter 7



Unforeseen Events


The ponies down below were causing quite the ruckus despite the early rays of the sun just peeking over the horizon. I looked down through the clear pane of glass onto the pier, where just below the ramp there were ponies gathering around. A few boats had appeared alongside the sun, and when they sailed closer the sailors on board were waving their fishing poles and jumping in joy. On each and every boat was a huge net that held thousands of fish, singlehandedly disproving the theories I created when I heard rumors of the fishermen coming home empty-handed.

I watched as they sailed closer to the pier and dock the boats. While they were working, the urge to ignore keeping their boats tethered and run to their families was obvious on the fishermen, or rather fisherponies, faces. Once they finished they ran up the pier with surprising speed. I watched as a sea of emotion grew into a tidal wave, as husbands reunited with wives, children seeing their parents after so long, and a sense of comfort that I could feel from my second story room.

I heard my door open behind as D4 unsteadily walked into the room. She stood by my side as she witnessed the spectacle with her nose wrinkled and a frown on her face. I wasn't sure if it was the display of affection of the possible hangover she had that cause her to act so unruly. 

I was about to put on my disguise and head down there to join the others when I spotted a straggler on one of the remaining boats. I watched as he left the cabin, his aqua blue wing giving a little altitude before he turned to face the inside of the cabin. I saw his mouth move and give whoever was inside a reassuring smile. Then he shut the door and flew towards the crowd of ponies, nearly bowling everypony over in the process to reach a certain elderly mare. 

The two exchanged a long hug, then a serious look overshadowed the pegasus' face as he relayed something to Summers. The grey mare gave a slow nod and took the floor for exchanging news. But the way she pointed at the building where we currently resided, it wasn't hard to deduce what the subject matter was.

"Come on, D4. It's time to make our appearance." I put on my disguise and waited for D4's Bob to follow suit. What I got instead was D4 still staring out the window, the frown becoming one of worry and concern. She visibly concentrated to shapeshift, but to no avail.

"D4, what's wrong?" I trotted back to her side. She had that look of concentration on her face, yet she kept wincing in pain or closing her eyes for a moment before returning to the task at hoof. 

"D4... do you have a hangover?"

The changeling stopped and stared at me with her blue buglike eyes, a silent question in them.

"Well, a hangover is kinda like a headache amplified by a thousand." I wasn't sure if that was entirely accurate. I never drank enough to earn myself a hangover, but I've had a few friends who drank themselves into the night only to regret it the next day.

"I can't concentrate on holding a disguise like this. You'll have to go out on your own." D4 looked at me with what seemed to be skepticism.

"Alright, it's not like you were doing anything helpful anyways." I replied a little twinge of annoyance at her lack of cooperation.

"I was doing other things and couldn't offer my assistance, but I guess this time I'll take the reins and show you how it's done." she winced again, closing her eyes and rubbing her eyes with her hooves. "After I take a long nap." she finished lamely.

She cantered out of the room and flopped into her own bed. I turned back to see Summers and the pegasus come towards the building, so I quietly left the second floor to greet them without disturbing the hungover changeling. The lime green unicorn was moving all throughout the apothecary-slash-greenhouse, a watering can hovered by her head. She bent down and sprinkled a few plants, a tune springing to her lips as she hummed through her work.

I crouched lower and slowly made my way around to her side. She was concentrating on making sure every plant was watered, so it was an easy task. I leaned in closer and said at normal speaking tones, "Hiya."

She jumped a bit at the sudden appearance, then visibly relaxed when she saw who it was. "Oh, Lucky. You scared me. I wouldn't have expected you to be awake so soon, I heard from Tender that you two had quite the fun night."

I chuckled, "Well, I'm glad that everypony was rather generous with the alcohol. I haven't been much of a drinker, but I really enjoyed last night."

Saffron chuckled, "I'm glad to hear it." She took a quick look around, "So where's Bob? Is he still asleep?"

Now it was my turn to chuckle, "Nah, he's suffering from a hangover. He'll probably be in bed most of the day."

Saffron tilted her head in thought, then went over to the counter and examined the vials it contained. "I think I have something for that, let's see..." She looked thoroughly twice, though was unable to find the cure. With a frown, she inspected the books on the wall, popping her neck as he looked up and around. With a sudden exlaimation, she floated a book from the shelf and flipped through it. Faint whispering flowed together into nonsense, but she eventually found the page she was looking for and set about to gather ingredients. 

After gathering a dozen different petals, she nabbed what looked like a rose and a bottle of liquid from a room behind the counter that I wouldn't have noticed if she hadn't walked through it. It was the same color as the wood and blended in perfectly, making me think it's supposed to be unnoticeable for a reason.

"OK, I think that should do it." She mumbled under her breath and she pulled out a mortar and pestle. She began crushing the ingredients inside the mortar, and talked to me while she did so. "I should be finished with this in a few minutes. Bob's sleeping, yes?" I nodded, "Let him sleep then, I'll give it to him when he's ready."

Three sharp raps came from the door, making both of us jump a little. I motioned for her to continue while I opened the door to reveal the appearance of Summer and the pegasus, and I politely let them inside. Upon seeing the two Saffron dropped her mortar and pestle to the ground and tackled the aqua blue pony in a big hug. The sudden change in the unicorn kinda startled me, and I could only look at the elderly mare watching the two with a soft smile on her face.

She noticed me and leaned closer to whisper, "They're an item." I nodded as I contemplated her actions with sudden insight. I continued to watch as the pegasus and unicorn held each other, thankful to be in each others presence after who knows how long. Pity D4 can't feast on love, it'd make things go by a little smoother if I didn't have to start fights.

"Drop Shot, you have no idea how much I missed you." A couple of bells went off in my head, and I tried to recall where I've heard that name before.

"Sorry, Saf, but I'm going to be gone even longer starting today. You're going to have to trust me on this," he added quickly as Saffron's eyes began to water.

"You haven't even been here for five minutes and you're leaving again?!" Saffron protested. "Have you really brought in so little catch that you have to spend more time on the sea than with me?"

Drop Shot shook his head, "Not that, it's something else entirely. Please, just trust me?" Those pleading green eyes were hard for Saffron to resist, and I saw her visibly relax and melt away any protest she may have gained.

"I trust you, Drop Shot." The two smiled at each other for a moment. The love between the two was starting to fill the room and suffocate me.

I wasn't exactly comfortable with the amount of affection that was going on right in front of me, but I was even less comfortable when the pegasus turned his sea green eyes on me. I suddenly missed the parts where I wasn't noticed.

"You must be one of the travelers Gran-Gran told me about." Gran-Gran. OK, yeah, that's fine. A community like this was bound to have close family, so it didn't thoroughly surprise me. "Lucky, right?" I smiled and nodded, too uncomfortable with the spotlight on me all of a sudden.

"You may be able to help us, since you aren't from around here. But where's your brother? I heard you two were usually together." He glanced around for any signs of D4.

I licked my lips, noticing they're kind of chapped. Ponies got chapped lips, intriguing. "He's hung over from last night, so Saffron was making something to help him with that, weren't you, Saffron?" I looked at the unicorn mare still squeezing her boy toy in a hug. She gave a small pout and picked up the mortar and pestle with telekinesis, continuing her work without moving.

I stuck my tongue out at her in response. Stupid unicorns and their magic... wait, I could do magic too. Maybe unicorns weren't so bad after all."So what is it you need help with?" I asked, returning to the topic of the conversation.

The question caused Drop Shot to drop his smile. He got up and trotted out the door, indicating me to follow him. I looked to Saffron, who was still crushing the ingredients together. I nodded my head towards the door, but Saffron just stood there with confusion written on her face.

"Are you coming or not?" Now the confusion cause her to stop mashing the ingredients together and just stare at me.

At the tilt of my head, she replied, "Did you want me to make something for your brother or not?"

Summer took this opportunity to take the bowl into her own hooves and started mashing the pestle with such vigor I wondered where she hid it all. "I'll take care of poor Bob, you two go and have your fun. And if you see Junebug anywhere tell her that the hat for her father is ready and at my house."

Saffron thanked the elder, and we left D4's fate in her hooves as we left the house to an impatient Drop Shot. We continued down the path to the pier, which was noticeably empty save for a few stragglers. Said stragglers waved at Drop Shot, but he ignored them as we walked to the end of the pier, intent on getting on the boat that held whoever was inside the cabin.

We clamored aboard the dingy wooden ship and entered the cabin. The ship was small, and the cabins floor rested on the surface of the water, which explained how there was a raised rectangle that opened up into the open ocean. There wasn't a glass pane shielding the water from the ship, so the area around the raised area was a little damp. It wasn't the structure that held my attention, though. It was the orange pony that was staring at us while swimming in the pool that was so intriguing to me.

The pony didn't even look like one, either. There were three slits along each side of the neck, which flared in and out on occasion as if the pony was trying to breathe, there were two fins that stuck out where there should have been two legs. All these clues gave me the conclusion that I immediately blurted out without thinking, "That's a bucking seapony!"

The seapony in question smiled at my open amazement, "Haven't seen many seaponies before, have ya?" His voice was tinged with a slight Australian accent, of all things.

Drop Shot walked in between us, his eyes flicked back and forth at both of us. "Lucky, Jetsam; Jetsam, Lucky. Now that introductions are out of the way, we need to get you two up to speed." Me and Saffron shared a quick look of curiosity.

The pegasus hopped out of the way, hovering beside the seapony and indicated that the floor was his. The seapony gave a grim nod and turned to us. "I'm going to assume that you don't know about the current state of Atlantis?"

It took me a minute to realize he was talking to me, to which I shook my head. He cleared his throat in preparation for the long-winded story he was about to tell. "Well," he continued, "Atlantis is the capital to all seaponies. Kind of like your Canterlot, OK? Our leader, King Nethuns, had started colonized a few other parts of the sea in places where we could easily reach land ponies in hopes to better our relations between Equestria and Atlantis. The first of those cities was Gaiety, and it was going to be the foundation of a beautiful relationship between seaponies and airwalkers."

A polite cough from Drop Shot cause Jetsam to falter in his monologue, "Between ponies and seaponies," he amended. My face was probably expressing my confusion as to why this was necessary as he went on to explain, "You see, a long time ago ponies used to fish seaponies up just like any other creature of the sea. Most of the time they wanted our scales to make armor or jewelry for the high class ponies, but other times they sold our brothers and sisters as food to the griffins and the dragons."

I shuddered at the thought, ponies slaughtered a species that were so closely related to themselves for a quick buck. Maybe they didn't even kill them, they could have sold them as live food for the carnivores. Most animals won't eat food unless it was alive or dead for a short amount of time. The thought nearly made me gag as my vivid imagination brought a picture of a seapony being viciously killed by a griffin. 

The motion was caught by my new seapony friend, "It was a long, long time ago. Things have changed since the pony ambassadors have visited Atlantis. They realized that their actions were unforgivable, so they searched for a truce. Neither of each races were liked by the other, but we co-existed for the last few centuries unharmed. At least, we did until Gaiety.

"We built the town not a few miles from the city you call Manehattan, yea?" Drop Shot nodded. "Well, we attempted to make contact by sending a few scouts to the surface, but they never came back. My patrol was assigned to go investigate what happened, and so we did. We traveled to the surface and beheld the spectacle of Manehattan. We never saw anything like it, the huge towers, reaching towards the sky in vain. The sounds were new, too. Loud, energetic, cluttered, and alive. Unfortunately, we were ambushed when we were awestruck. Before we knew it, a net had caught under us and pulled us out of the water." A dramatic pause was given here as Saffron gave a small gasp.

"Me and my mates struggled against the thick netting, but we weren't able to escape before we were piled onto a large ship. The net was controlled by a few unicorns that were wearing masks. The masks were... disturbing, to say the least. It was depicted as a normal pony face in a scowl, and the open mouth had long fangs. Fangs! On a pony, for crying out loud! Crikey, it wasn't a mask I'd like to see again anytime soon.

"Anyways, when the net was safely back on the boat, the unicorns picked up my mates and carried them into the bowels of the ship. Eventually I was the only on left on the deck. There was only one other pony left with me, and the unicorn picked me up and started to carry me away. Luckily this pony's magic was weaker than I had expected. That pony must have had a weaker connection to magic or maybe was just a novice, so I was able to break free of the unicorn's hold after some struggle and made my way back into the water. 

"After that, I swam as fast as I could, trying to get as far away as I could. I must have swam for a good hour or two until I hit Drop Shot's boat. After that, I traveled with him in hopes of being able to send a rescue team to get my men back." The seapony sighed in relief after telling his story, and leaned against one of the walls of the opening. I looked to Saffron to see her reaction. She had a small fire in her eyes, obviously determined to go on this mission. 

"Ill help you get your men back, you can count on it!" she stated. After her exlaimation, attention once again turned towards me, waiting for my approval. Unfortunately, it took me a bit longer than usual to answer. My brain had sped up its thoughts; I was talking to a seapony, something I never knew existed until just five minutes ago. I was given a choice on whether I wanted to embark on a journey of heroism and excitement, a real and honest-to-goodness adventure. 

It was too good to be true.  I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he wasn't telling me the whole deal, so I decided to start shaking him up in order to tell me what it was he was hiding. And since this time I wasn't confused about where I was or how the world worked, so a repeat of my first meeting with D4 hopefully wasn't bound to happen. I'm also fairly certain that I was the only one who was able to think of asking question and thinking of responses in a fashion very similar to chess. 

"You're in the Atlantis military, yes?" The seapony nodded, "Well why don't you go get help from them?" Pawn to E4.

The question threw off the aquatic butterscotch pony. "Yes," he answered warily. "I can go to them for help, but I will likely not get any. The military abhors failure of any kind, and I cannot go with my fins behind my back like a coward." Knight to F6.

"Also, how were you able to escape the ship? You can't walk, can you?" I briefly imagined seaponies that could grow legs whenever on land before returning to the task at hand. Pawn to F3.

The seapony was starting to get frustrated, "I hoped over the edge. I was close enough to it that I could clear it in a single bound." Pawn to D5.

My skeptical side wasn't satisfied, "How do we know you're not making this up? You could be setting up an ambush for us right now." Bishop to B5. Check.

I noticed that both Drop Shot and Saffron's eyes had started darting between us as if they were watching a tennis match. "Because Atlantians value truth and honesty above all else." Bishop to D7. 

"But we don't know that you're actually from Atlantis, how do we know you are?" Knight to C3.

"Because I'm part of the Atlantis military." Bishop to B5.

"So you say." Knight to B5.

"I am." Pawn to E4.

"Sure you are. Maybe you can call upon the fish of the deep to help you out in tough situations." Pawn to E4.

"Who do you take me for, King Nethuns himself?" Knight to E4.

"Hey, you could be. It isn't the first time royalty has taken on a lower-class disguise." Pawn to B3.

"I am no king." Knight to C5.

"No. You just blindly follow his orders. Or so your story goes." Pawn to D4.

"I trust me king with my life. He wouldn't order me to my death without good reason." Knight to D3. Check. I found his slip-up.

"Your death? How do you know that these ponies would kill you? All you know is that they took your mates below deck, for all you know they were preparing a spa treatment for the guests of honor, and the masks were a way of honoring their ancestors. You have no idea, you've never visited the city before." Queen to D3, I already see my path to victory.

Jetsam looked shocked, then his face quickly turned to one of impatience and frustration. When he spoke, his voice betrayed his restrained anger. "We have no time to be arguing, we should be out there searching for my men. I can only hope that they still live while we sit here and squabble over petty issues." Wanting to end it quickly, he made another mistake, Queen to D4.

"Again with your men. Like I said, how do we know that they can be anything other than alive?" Queen to D4.

"I don't want to talk about it, we need to be there now. We can't dilly dally any longer." Knight to C6. Time to end this.

"I won't dilly dally either, but if you won't tell me then I won't go. I have other business to attend to, namely taking care of my brother. Now, if you won't give me a good reason to leave right now, then I will get off this boat and go help somepony who I know is in pain and needs my assistance. What could you possibly know what sort of treatment your men are going through?" 

I turned and started to walk out slowly, and I made it halfway out the door before I heard Jetsam yell, "WAIT!" 

Knight to C7. Checkmate. I had to keep myself from wearing a huge grin as I turned back.

I returned to my position in front of Jetsam, facing him eye-to-eye. "It wasn't the pony's lack of magical ability that allowed me to escape. It was the noises." He turned away from us, looking down at the calm reflection of himself in the water.

"I... I could hear them, Lucky. They were screaming. It wasn't any other scream, either, not like how one screams when somepony jumps out and scares them. These were the screams of dying ponies. But they never stopped, like how somepony on the verge of death should. They kept going, and going, and going. 

"The pony that held me in their telekinesis didn't like what was happened, so she let me go. She told me her name was Mary Lyn, and she told me to gather a group of trustworthy ponies to help stop everything that was going on. She wouldn't let me know who this group was or why they were doing this, only that things will escalate to even more horrific stages unless we put a stop to this. She had saved my life, if it wasn't her that held me in their grip, I would probably be with my squad right now, screaming along with them..."

Saffron and Drop Shot were horrified. They couldn't think of a proper response. Not shocking at all when you consider what exactly was going on. In fact, I'm fairly certain the ponies in this town wouldn't ever dream of harming anypony else, and what Jetsam was talking about was straight-up torture. This was something I'd have expected from humans, not ponies. I probably had to go through some re-evaluation on what Equestria was like and change my idea of the fluffy and cute cartoon that I knew and loved. 

I hesitantly agreed to go along with them, but first I had to make sure D4 would be OK with abandoning the mission like this. Of course, she'll probably just get mad and say that it's all my fault for not collecting any food. If she see's the potential of gathering food during this journey, especially when the groups involved are going to be hate-filled, and revenge driven. Revenge is a form of anger, right? Mutely, I made my way back to the house, noting that Saffron and Drop Shot had opted to stay in the boat's cabin. Perhaps they were comforting one another after hearing such a tale. 

I opened the door and found the plants strewn about, broken clay pots, books were thrown about and there was dirt everywhere. The room was chaotic, as if somepony had just spun around trying to knock as much stuff as they can over. The room was turned topsy-turvy, and in the middle of it all, the elderly grey mare Summer lay unconscious. there was a vase next to her head, and blood steadily trickled from a small wound on the back of her head.

I had paused for a split-second before I was filled with confusion. "D4!" I bellowed, not realizing that I had let go of the disguise in my haste to find the changeling. I had started to walk into the next room, when I saw D4 stand in the doorway. Her Bob disguise had come on, and the smirk that she wore just served to confirm what I had already suspected. "D4," I said quietly as I tried to keep the anger that started to rise in my chest in control. "What did you do?"

D4 looked around the room before turning her grin back at me, "I trashed the place and hit that old bag over the head. What, does it look like we had a slumber party or something?"

That did it, I finally let my anger go and just screamed, an incoherent noise that only served the purpose of letting my rage known. I started to charge the changeling who I thought was my friend before I realized that I wasn't moving. D4 held me in her magical grasp, shifting back into her changeling form. She gave a big show of sniffing the air, taking a deep breath and letting out a contented sigh. "This is how you feed, 'Lucky.' This is what we should have done the moment we stepped into the miserable town. We shouldn't have even talked to these pathetic creatures." She paused to give Summers a swift kick in the head, and my vision started to swirl with red.

"Your anger is delicious, did you know? It tastes as if you've been holding it in for years and finally let it all out in one fluid motion." She looked back down at the elder, not caring if she was bleeding or even checking to see if she was alive. "Why do you care about her, you've only known her for a day and yet you treat her as if you would die to protect her."

I floated there, trying to calm down enough to answer her, "Because she was kind, she welcomed us into the town when she could have turned us away, she let Saffron take care of us, and even volunteered to help cure you of your hang over. Was that another lie, just another set up to make me think you were safe to leave alone? Huh?! ANSWER ME, D4!"

Her big blue bug eyes flashed red for a moment, and her voice started to gain a more booming quality. "I. Am not. D4! I AM DRONE 473 AND I AM A PART OF THE HIVEMIND!"

With that, she tossed me out the door with such force that I landed into the building across the street. She followed through with a magical force field that pushed me against the wall, which kept me pinned and unable to move.

She stepped through the doorway, which had the new addition of a changeling shaped hole, and laughed. She had switched from her changeling disguise to Saffron, and now the lime-green unicorn disguise grinned. "Did you really think a hatching born yesterday would be able to overpower me? You haven't even had your first feeding! You are too weak to compare to one who has not only fed from you, but three other ponies in this town. And a word of advice; drop Lucky's disguise. If you don't you'll have to pay the consequences for what she did to those poor, innocent, fillies."

She chuckled, an unnatural laugh in Saffron's body. The noise that had been cause started to garner attention, and ponies gathered around as they watched their resident healer and a changeling duke it out. D4 looked around with pure glee on her face, and she used her magic to pick up a piece of wood that had broken off from the door frame. "I think I'm going to enjoy this," she whispered and she charged straight at one of the fisherponies that had returned, and with a whack she knocked him over the head and unconsciousness fell on him almost immediately.

The other watchers started to yell at D4, thinking that she was Saffron, confused by what just happened. "Everypony, please listen to me!" She yelled, her voice carrying weight as everyone quieted down. "This changeling has infiltrated our homes! The ones named Lucky and Bob are actually changelings! The pony here is the other changeling, disguised as one of our own! We must carry out the punishment for their crimes! String them up and beat them until they leave, chase them if you want, there may be more where they came from!" 

With that, she lifted me and the unconscious pony up and tossed us to the ground, a mob of ponies surrounding us with pure hatred in their eyes. After a moment one of the ponies picked up a rock and threw it at my head, causing me to cry out in pain. That set off the rest, and they picked up anything they could find and started beating me and the poor fisherpony senseless. I managed to remember that I had wings (I really should remember to use these often), and I grabbed the unconscious stallion up with me. I strained to make sure he didn't fall, my forelegs looped under his own. 

He was rather heavy, and we only made it into the forest. I was able to hear the angry ponies from where I was, but it would take a while for them to reach us. I shapeshifted into Lucky and gave the fisherpony a hard slap across the face. He returned to the conscious world with a gasp. "Hey, buddy, buddy, it's all right, just calm down." He stared at me with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what was going on.

"The town thinks you're a changeling, so you're going to have to listen to me carefully. Would you rather find your way to Manehattan on your own and wait our this for a few days and maybe weeks, or do you want to come with me on a dangerous mission that may or may not end with death or brutal mental scarring?"

He gave me one bruised and battered look before he turned to the north and ran as fast as he could. I nodded wisely, "Good choice." I noticed the trail of fear he left behind in his wake, and gave a quick breath so I can gain a little more strength.

I took to the skies again, and I sailed just above the canopy so I didn't attract much attention. The leaves brushed under my wings as I turned back towards the ocean, and I could see the pier from here. It was considerably empty, which wasn't odd since everypony was out hunting for me and the random pony I just saved from a fate worse than death. I reached the boat and collapsed on the deck, as I started to pant as hard as I could. 

Saffron had heard the noise and come back onto the deck, "Oh Celestia, Lucky, what happened to you?!" She asked. I struggled to stand up and felt my legs give out. The adrenaline had started to wear out so I felt the bruises on my face and body, in particular one nasty bruise just on my side, which ave the possibility of a broken rib. Just what I needed, eh?

By now Drop Shot had emerged as well, as he took stock of my injuries and my panting. I lifted my head to reply, "Changelings... they... they got into the town.  The apothecary is trashed... Summers was knocked in the head... and bleeding. One... one of them was impersonating you, Saffron. The other ran away... but not... not before he gave me a good beating... heh, I've never been a good fighter." I chuckled dryly as Saffron lifted me up and carried me back into the cabin. 

Jetsam gave one look at me and dove back into the water. He came back a second later hold what looked like a clam shell with water in it. "Here," he said perfectly fine through clenched teeth, "It's a Healing Clam. Water that's been drunk from the clam's shell dulls any pain that you may be feeling." Oh, good, natural painkillers. I like Atlantis already. 

I gulped down the sweet tasting water, the shell put off to the side. "We need to get out of here, the changeling convinced the entire town to follow it. It could be heading down here at any moment." I said, making sure to use 'it' instead of 'she.'

Drop Shot ran over to the front of the cabin, where one of those wheels you see on ships lays in wait for somepony to steer. "All ready to go, the anchor's up, the line's been cut, and we have food to last us a few days. I think it's time to say goodbye to our home for now." Jetsam nodded and ducked under the cabin, not wanting to get trapped by the moving boat.

Saffron looked outside the window of the cabin, as the boat started to leave the pier. The town started to grow smaller and smaller, but not before a pillar of smoke reared its ugly head from the middle of town. The pillar of smoke was the last to disappear as we sailed away from the shore. The noon light shone down right on my, giving me its warmth as the healing liquids from the clam started to ease away the bruises and sores that I've started to gather since last night.

I had said that this was exciting, but this was a little too much excitement for me. I let myself drift off into unconsciousness as I missed the days where my biggest worry was catching up to the latest TV show.
> Adventure is Out There!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8



Adventure is Out There!


After we escaped the mob that was surely going to destroy their own town, we traveled for a good while. I was still in panic mode when we left, so I hadn't really thought about taking a short nap on the boat while disguised. Turns out I forgot about my little, ah, "condition," and I woke up with the nausea and stomach pains with such a start I nearly flew into the ceiling in order to get away. Instead I slammed against the wall, the force rocked the boat enough so that water sloshed onto me and a weeping Saffron.

"Lucky! What's gotten into you?" she yelled as she shook herself, droplets of water covering the entire interior of the room. The door slammed open as Drop Shot walked in to find me in the fetal position, groaning and moaning in pain.

"What happened?" he simply asked. Saffron came over to examine me, and I felt a hoof on my shoulder as she pushed me to get a better view of my stomach.

"Lucky, are you alright?" she whispered, any trace of frustration of being wet disappeared the moment she saw me in pain. I tried to answer, but my mouth could only hang listlessly and draw sharp breaths as the pain coursed through my entire being. 

Eventually, I was able to remember how talking worked and asked, "How long have we been out?" before relapsing into cramps and nausea. 

"A few hours, we left a little before noon I think." Drop Shot replied. After that everything became a blur, the pain was the only thing I could vividly remember. I heard Saffron shout something but the ringing in my ears had drowned her out.

I braced my fore hooves onto the floor and started dry heaving. I couldn't actually throw up, but I simply felt as my stomach tried to empty itself of whatever contents I had. For a moment, I spotted a dark goop splatter itself onto the floor. When I was able to examine the spot where the goop was, I found that the goop was gone.

Disappearing black goop was never a good sign. Ever. But I didn't think much about it at the time because I was trying to keep everything from spinning in circles.I slammed hard against the floor on my side, the dry heaving slowing down but the pain increasing tremendously. The white noise wasn't help much either.

I knew exactly what to do. However, I couldn't do it here. I had to get away, had to make sure they wouldn't see me. As I struggled to find a way to escape, I shakily climbed back to my feet. I heard Saffron saying something, but I couldn't hear her. I slammed the door open and felt the warmth of the sun on my fur as I charged onto the deck. I gave my wing and experimental push and pain shot through my body with every flap.

Saffron saw what I was doing and tried to push me down with her magic, and I struggled against her for a moment before Drop Shot said something that made her stop. My wing lifted me as I clutched my chest with my forelegs. I closed my eyes as I flew up, and decided to just hover there for a moment. 

I opened my eyes just enough to spy Drop Shot's boat drift away, and let my disguise go once I judged them far enough. I let myself spiral lazily towards the open ocean, and noticed how far up I actually was. I buzzed my wings and slowed my descent enough so that when I hit the water I didn't get crushed. The belly flop didn't help, though.

The water was cool, and refreshing, but for the moment all I was glad for was that the water hid me from view as the boat continued to move along in it's journey. Sure that I was now safe, I just let myself sink into compete bliss as the pain receded. The water soothed the aches and bruises that had accumulated throughout the day, and everything just felt good for a short moment.

Said moment was interrupted when a certain tangerine colored figure appeared out of nowhere. He took a hard look at me, then turned back to the receding trail the boat had left. I sank deeper and noticed the fish part of him for the first time. I had expected something like an actual seahorse's tail, but it was more like a mermaid's tail than anything; the scales were the same color as the smooth skin of his.

He watched me sink into the depths for a bit before he grabbed by the scruff of my neck in his mouth and started hauling me towards the surface. Once we broke to the surface I gasped for the air that I forgot to include in my escape plan. But before I could take another breath, Jetsam pushed me under again with his fins. I struggled against him as I lost the air that I just got back. He pulled me up again and faced me with a cold stare.

"What are you doing following us?" I felt a shiver run up my spine, I was sure my cover would have been blown. 

I was going to say something threatening, but instead what I said was "buzz buzz chirp whistle chirp buzz." 

He growled, a throaty sound that threatened to rip my throat out. "Don't follow us again." The command was backed with the underlying threat, and I would be wise to have followed it. I wasn't sure how I could have escaped, I was burnt out so there's no way I could have communicated with him. I looked back up into the clear blue sky and felt an idea bloom in my head.

I hauled my wings out of the water and flew away, my forelegs hooked around Jetsam and pulled him up and out of the water. The effect was immediate, he forgot about the changeling in front of him and started screaming. A horrible sound, like fingers dragged across a chalkboard set to the music of Nickleback, I resisted the urge to just drop him immediately.

"PUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWNPUTMEDOWN" he screeched in that Australian accent as I flew higher and higher. His fear was creating a thick black pillar as we rose in altitude, and my stomach growled as if I stepped into a free all-you-can-eat buffet. After I found that we were sufficiently high enough, I let him fall to the water. He disappeared back into the pillar, but I was able to hear a splash and saw an orange figure speed away towards the north, away from me and the boat as well.

I watched him disappear as I flew down the pillar of fear to absorb it all. I was starving, and I recalled that small black gloop that I coughed up. I should probably be a little more careful about my disguise if I didn't want to lose my food.

The buzz from my wings were the only sounds as I examined my surroundings. It could only have been described in a simple phrase - In the middle of the ocean. It was eerie watching the water and expecting movement but getting nothing. The stagnant water just sat there, like we were insects on a small puddle.

After a brief looking around, I spotted the boat off to the east. I flew slowly, waiting for the ten minutes to pass. I just hoped that Jetsam's pride kept him from telling the others about the changeling that scared the crap out of him. I felt mt stomach settle finally, and put on that familiar mask.

I flapped my orange wings as I glided back down to the boat. I could see Saffron and Drop Shot exit the cabin and watch me slowly descend to the deck. I'd like to say I landed with grace, but I hadn't had much practice so I landed hard on my right foreleg. It bent forward sharply and I fell forward. The deck made a loud whump as my face collided hard with the wood, my leg on fire.

"Lucky! Are you alright? Why did you fly away like that?" Saffron said, she floated out a vial and poured the contents down my throat. My throat was drier than the Gobi Desert, and I happily drank whatever the concoction was. I felt the burning of my leg dim to a simmer, and I tested to see if it would hurt if I put pressure on it. When I put all my weight on it without bursting into tears, I stood back up and faced the couple.

"I just wanted some fresh air, that's all." I replied.

"But you were crying in pain only a short while ago! What happened?" Saffron stared curiously at me.

I bit my lip as I tried to come up with a good explanation, when it hit me, "Wing cramps," I responded. That was a thing, right?

Apparently it was, as Drop Shot nodded in sympathy, "I get those after a long day of fishing and no flying. You should stretch your wings if you haven't flown in a while." 

Saffron frowned and bent to examine my injured leg. "It doesn't look like you sprained or broke it, just a little bruising where you landed. It should heal in a bit." We returned to the cabin, where the unicorn stashed the empty vial in a pair of saddlebags that laid in the corner. 

"Now that everything's settled, let's get to the obvious questions first. You said changelings attacked Minnow's Rest?" I nodded. "Well then, we'll have to call for reinforcements. The Manehattan navy should be able to take care of the little buggers easily."

"Not necessarily," Drop Shot intervened. "You heard what Jetsam said, right? A group of unicorns broke the treaty between Atlantis and Equestria, if anyone in the navy knew about this they'd be spending all their resources trying to capture these criminals!"

"Well... they could send a small amount of ponies to help them out, right? There were only a couple, if I remember correctly," Saffron looked to me with the question in her eyes.

"Yeah, it really shouldn't be that many," I answered. "But these changelings are crafty - they convinced the town that we were actually changelings and were going to come drive us off."

Drop Shot growled, "The bastards, are they really that easily swayed?" Saffron wrapped him in her legs and pulled him close in a hug, she whispered some words in his ear and let go. Drop Shot cleared his throat and blushed in embarrassment. Some things never changed even in other dimensions, it seems.

At that moment Jetsam popped up from the open hole, looking around and resting his eyes on me. I noticed that he let out a sigh of relief when he did so. "Oh good, you're here. You won't believe what I caught out in the ocean." He recalled the encounter with a rouge changeling that was following the boat, and he deftly left out the part where he was scared out of his mind. 

Saffron and Drop Shot exchanged a look, "You don't think they'll come after us, do you?" Saffron asked.

Jetsam shook his head. "No, he flew away far to the south. I doubt we'll see him again."

I raised my hoof, Drop Shot looked baffled for a moment before he nodded for me to speak my part, "Now that everything's settled, what are we going to do once we reach Manehattan?"

Drop Shot opened his mouth but didn't answer. We all knew what we had to do, but none of us knew how to go about doing it. I ventured a suggestion, "We could lure them out with Jetsam and storm their ship."

Jetsam's eyes widened, "Wha- But- That wouldn't be- Wait!" He stammered.

I waited for his protests to die down before I continued, "We know only two things for certain, they capture seaponies, and they have a ship."

"And they all wear masks," Saffron interjected.

"And they're unicorns," added Drop Shot.

"And they're torturing my friends." finished Jetsam.

I raised my hoof to stop the flow of interruption. "Those are things that are subject to speculation. They aren't necessarily true, the masks that Jetsam saw could have been his imagination, ditto for the sounds of torture. There could be ponies inside the ship that aren't unicorns, too. You have to take all possibilities into consideration before making a move." They mulled over that for a moment, then grudgingly agreed with me. Jetsam wasn't thoroughly happy with the plan, but  he accepted the role anyways. He gave me a frown and disappeared back into the ocean, possibly to sulk. 

I inquired about the journey to Manehattan, which apparently would take only a few hours. Better than walking there, which took a few days if I recalled what Saffron said when we first arrived. I got to thinking about the ponies I met that day: Sewn Summers, Saffron, Jack Flash... I remembered how happy everypony was to welcome two strangers into their quaint little town. D4 was a quiet pony then, she had preferred to watch how I worked before she made her move.

And then she went and ruined all of my work, drove me out of town, and is probably basking in the amount of anger than she had stirred up. The townsfolk were rather mad at me and the poor pony she pinned as a changeling. Her methods were unorthodox, but I had to admit that it worked. She got ponies riled up and was able to hid her identity as well. Perhaps she's the changeling that the Prince needed, not me.

The Prince... I wondered how he'll react when he heard about what happened. Ignore me and let his star pupil gather food for him? Chase me down and bring me back for punishment? Would he even punish me? Perhaps he had kept D4 from acting on her impulses in order for me to do my work, but was dissatisfied after a couple of days and let her loose. Who knows what went through the ruler's mind. I knew for a fact that I'll have to confront him sooner or later, we weren't going to  stay long in Manehattan, after all. 

I soon found a spot next to the window where I stared at the passing ocean. I soon ran out of things to mull over, so I started to hum a tune. It was just a random tune, but eventually the sight of the ocean and the glistening of the sunlight on the rushing water inspired me to start a small song to myself. I've never been much of a singer, but such a sight was too beautiful to not sing a song to accompany it.

If all the days that come to pass
Are behind these walls
I’ll be left at the end of things
In a world kept small

Travel far from what i know
I’ll be swept away
I need to know
I can be lost and not afraid

We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light

Remember we’re lost together
Remember we’re the same
We hold the burning rhythm in our hearts
We hold the flame

We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light

We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light

I had raised my voice unknowingly, and Saffron and Drop Shot had heard. However, they started singing along with me. I stopped singing and looked at them, then we all smiled at the same time and kept going, this time all together. Eventually Jetsam had appeared and joined with us, but we didn't care. We just kept the music going, and enjoyed the moment. The sun streamed down on us as the music continued and we all started up the song again.

I’ll find my way home
On the Western wind
To a place that was once my world
Back from where I’ve been

And in the morning light I’ll remember
As the sun will rise
We are all the glowing embers
Of a distant fire

We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light

Come on and trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
We’re gonna trip the light

We’re gonna trip the light
We’re gonna break the night
And we’ll see with new eyes
When we trip the light

After that musical number (which no one spoke about ever again), we returned to our normal duties of wondering what to do. I got up from my spot and I exited the cabin to inspect the boat. I wasn't exactly an expert on everything nautical, but I was fairly certain that boats usually had a sail on them. This one didn't, only the cabin and the deck. I leaned over the wooden railing and stared deeply into the water, curious as to how we're moving so fast without a sail. 

I didn't hear the telltale sound of a motor, but when I inspect the back of the boat I saw the propeller spinning and making us zoom across the still ocean. I wondered how the propellers moved before I spied a small colorless glow from below. The propeller was surrounded in the grey aura, which seemed similar to how objects looked when magic was used on them. Perhaps this boat had been infused with magic?

I entered the cabin and found Drop Shot looking out the window, and I noticed that the helm to the ship was unmanned. Unponied. Whatever. I trotted up to the captain, "What can you tell me about your ship?"

The seafaring pegasus flashed white teeth before my eyes as a hoof went around my neck. He pulled me out of the cabin back to the rear of the boat and pointed down to the propeller. "You see that thing right there?" I nodded. "It's a little something special that me and Saf put together one day, a long, long time ago. You see, when I was young I wanted to have a ship that was fast. I didn't care for all the big ships that you saw back in town, I wanted something small and quick. 

"Thing is, small ships don't really go fast, they're made for small groups wanting to get out and see the ocean or something of that nature. They were usually manned with oars or a small sail, this one was made with oars. This ship looked like something I could use, and it was going for only a few bits too - it was in poor condition and the previous owner wanted it gone." By now we were back inside the cabin, Saffron was wearing a small smile as she watched her boyfriend prattle on about  the ship. 

"So I bought it on impulse," he continued, "fixed her up, and tried to think of a way to make her go fast. Saffron was only just learning about her ability with magic, and she wanted to explore new avenues that no one had thought of before. One day, when we were visiting Manehattan, I spotted an airship. Or, more accurately, I spotted the propellers on the back of the airship. From there Saffron devised a small spell that kept the propeller moving indefinitely, and I can control how fast we're going using this lever." 

He pointed to the lever that was attached to the helm. It was a small lever, and it had labels to what speed the propeller moved: Still, Cruise, Speedy, Fast, and Ludicrous Speed. "So, if we're in a hurry, why aren't we travelling at Ludicrous Speed?" I asked, my hoof indicating the current setting the lever was resting on.

With a shake of his head, he responded solemnly, "Trust me, Ludicrous Speed isn't a speed that could last very long. The propeller wouldn't last five minutes on that setting, much less a few hours."

Saffron's ears perked up, "It looks like we won't have to wait a few hours, boys." We rushed over to take a look outside on the calm ocean. A dark spot slowly came into view on the horizon, and Drop Shot grabbed a spyglass and took a closer look. 

"Lucky?" he said. "It looks like your plan is starting a little prematurely."

I snatched the small bronze spyglass and scanned the ocean. I spotted the brown of a ship and focused on that. There, I saw the makings of a ship much bigger than ours, and on it were unicorns of various sizes and shapes. All of them wore a mask, just like Jetsam had said. The masks depicted a normal pony face, except for the mouths. The mouths were all open, and they showed off the fangs that looked completely unnatural to them. What Jetsam didn't mention was the color that was painted on those fangs, the red color of blood. Each mask had blood splattered on them, and I was unsure of whether it was paint or not.

There were two unicorns that caught my attention, though. These two ponies were big, bigger than Big Mac for sure. I was able to tell because between the two of them they held a familiar figure. Held aloft in a net with magic, the orange scales glistened in the sunlight and flashed everytime Jetsam struggled to escape. Both of the unicorns looked right at me, as if they knew I was watching. One of them raised up a knife and held it to the seapony's neck, the threat as clear as the sky was. The cold metal made Jetsam freeze up, and he looked towards us with terror written in his eyes."They're going to kill him if we follow them," I relayed back to the others, and was returned with gasps.

I could only watch as the ship sailed off along with the only seapony I know. I gave the spyglass back to Drop Shot and walked out onto the deck, not sure what to do now. I looked down into the water, zooming by us as we made our way to Manehattan. An orange pegasus with freckles stared back at me with worry written all over her face. I don't remember adding the freckles, though. I heard hoofsteps behind me, and a lime-green hoof gave me a comforting pat on the back.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back." She paused as she looked to where the boat had sailed off. "If only we had some way of tracking them without them noticing." She sniffed, and went back into the cabin.

Wait... some way of tracking them... or at least of being able to tell where they went. I looked up and spotted the dark spot on the horizon, but it wasn't the boat. I ran back into the cabin and snatched the spyglass and looked at the spot again. Sure enough, it was a large and dark plume of smoke-like substance. 

Of course! They had a boat presumably full of scared seaponies, and wherever the boat went, the ponies inside would leave trails and trails of fear just waiting for me to suck up, or more importantly, see. I briefly wondered if the statement Saffron said was normal within the confines of the Equestrian universe, but shoved that thought away as more pressing issues surfaced to my mind.

"Drop Shot! Saffron! The chase is still on! Head that away!" I yelled as I pointed to the dark spot that was sure to be invisible to everypony else. Drop Shot grabbed hold on the helm and spun on on our way to saving the captive seaponies. 

Now we had to figure out what to do in order not to get our friend killed.
> More Than Meets The Eye
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 9



More Than Meets The Eye


"Oh. Look at that. We reached Manehattan," droned Saffron. 

I stared in shock as the plume of black smog of fear that had twisted and turned throughout the trip had suddenly disappeared, and we ended up in the same destination as we were originally going to be. Hell, we might have caught up to them if I hadn't decided to follow the column of fear in hopes that we could catch up to them.

The ship had been travelling for some time, and I had to fly to 'stretch my wings' a few more times, but I also flew a little bit ahead to see the trail do loops and make a long trail, but I never saw the ship again. There were even a few times where I saw the trail disappear, only to reappear a little ways away.

Drop Shot shook the last bit of weariness from him as he took the first steps away from the helm in the last six hours. The sun was just disappearing behind us, and the city's lights were starting to emerge. Manehattan wasn't as flashy or bright as it's Earth counterpart, but it certainly beat everything else I've seen so far. 

The buildings weren't the biggest, but they certainly were tall compared to the ones I've seen on the show. They reached about fifteen stories at the most, which is this type of setting would be considered huge. As we approached, I could hear the clippity-clop of hundreds if not thousands of ponies trotting to their place of residence in order to prepare for the coming night. Or perhaps this was also a city that never slept. Luna would love this city if that's true.

Our boat continued along it's path until it reached the harbor, which was jam-packed with sailing boats. But that wasn't what caught my eye in the harbor. One of the ships was a big wooden ship - I couldn't tell how big it was, maybe about a hundred feet or so - with two masts and a long hull. Imprinted onto the side was the name The Dishonored Knight in faded gold. 

The sails were torn, so I couldn't make out the symbol on it, but I figured it was the same symbol as the one that was on the perfect flag that waved from the crow's nest. Two swords were crossed behind a skull, but it wasn't a human one, and it didn't look like a pony skull either. In fact, it reminded very strongly of a wolf. The only thing to my knowledge that it could be was a Diamond Dog skull, but I could be wrong. There could be anthropomorphous wolves waltzing around and I wouldn't know it. But that didn't change the fact that the ship was a-

"Pirates." growled Drop Shot. I turned to see him bare his teeth in a fierce expression, his eyes slits as he stared holes into the pirate ship.

Saffron turned to him then to the ship, realization spreading across her face. "Drop Shot, you don't think..." she cast a quick glace at me before turning to Drop Shot.

"No, that isn't the ship. But they're pirates nonetheless, and a Diamond Dog crew, on top of it all." With that, he and Saffron went inside the cabin. Sure enough, a lean and insanely hairy figure popped up from the belly of the ship, carrying a barrel over one arm. He turned his head and I could make out the canine snout and the flash of white teeth. 

With a small shiver that I had hoped was from the cold, I walked back inside the cabin as Drop Shot steered the small vessel to the harbor. Carefully managing to align the ship with an open pier, he climbed out and tied the small ship with a rope to the wooden structure. 

"Why are you so hateful towards pirates?" The two ponies stiffened as if I had casually asked them if they partook in drinking blood, and the atmosphere dropped a few degrees.

"It was something that happened a long time ago, but it doesn't matter now. What does matter is rescuing Jetsam and freeing those captured seaponies. Every second we waste is a second they're left in agony." Drop Shot responded, and I got the hint. Pirates = taboo subject.

After we all leave the ship, I turned to see what the name of the ship was. "So, Drop Shot? What's the name of your ship? You never mentioned it."

He turned back to the ship and his eyes glazed over, as if he was remembering something from long ago. He shook himself and turned back to walk into the city. I sped up my pace to catch up, and stayed next to the aqua blue pegasus. "I don't have a name for her yet, we've had her for years but she remains unnamed. Rather silly, isn't it?" 

Not at all, I thought. "You want to name her something special, something that carries meaning like one would carry a heavy load?" Drop Shot nodded slowly. "One day you'll realize what the name will be," I continued. "You just need time, until then, I'm sure your boat is happy to wait until you give her a special name."

Saffron rolled her eyes, "Don't encourage him, Lucky. Sometimes, I think he spends more time thinking about the boat than he does of me." 

Drop Shot gave an expression of mock horror, "How can you say such things! The one who gave you all those massages after you come back from your travels, the one whose heart aches everytime he sails to the sea, and the one who makes those tiny berry filled cakes you love so much!"

Saffron nudged the pegasus, "I wouldn't need you around if you just told me how you can make the cream so delectable."

The pegasus nibbled Saffron's ear affectionately, "I'll never tell you! You'll have to stay with me forever if you want to find out!"

The two love-ponies kept going, and I eventually started to feel like a third wheel. I told them that I was going to explore the town, and we should meet up back at the boat when the moon rises up. Looking over at the setting sun, I had gauged that we had about an hour or two to go explore and figure out what to do and where to go.

I left the harbor and entered the city itself, where I nearly collided with a wall of ponies. They were everywhere! They crowded the sidewalks, and the roads were filled with caravans going to and fro. It was eerily similar to New York City, and that kinda disturbed me. Just how similar were pony cities compared to our own?

The crowd itself was painful to look at. And I was serious, the bright colors nearly blinded me when the sunlight reflected back in my eyes, I had to hold a hoof in front of my face in order not to become blinded. I noticed a lot of ponies were wearing hats or sunglasses, and I frantically looked to get a pair before I remembered I was more broke than the average Comic-Con attendee.

After wandering around for a while, I noticed that there was an unease among the crowd of ponies. A lot of them were looking over their shoulders, and most of the were trying to shove their way past, hurrying to reach their destination. No pony seemed to want to stay on the road any longer than necessary.

I wandering into a side alley, hoping to get away from the stifling crowd. But if hours of watching Netflix TV shows had taught me something, it's that crowds are a lot safer than it is being alone. That theory was proven right as I heard a sharp thud and felt my head explode in pure agony. Something grabbed a hold of me and started dragging me deeper into the alley, away from the lights and the blissfully ignorant crowd. It all disappeared into blissful unconsciousness, though, so I guess that was a plus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My eyelids had gained a few hundred pounds in just a few seconds, and it forced me to focus all my effort on opening them. I was able to crack open one of them, but what greeted my vision was the same darkness that had greeted my lack of vision in the first place. I fully opened both my eyes as I took a look around from where I was. If I was still in Manehattan, I would still be able to see from either the light of the setting sun, or the eternal glow that the city never fails to keep running. 

The only thing that I could see was the darkness, which didn't seem to end in any direction. I looked at the floor with high hopes to see either cobblestone or dirt. All I got was empty blackness. Even when I pressed my nose up against the ground I couldn't see a damn thing. It was as if I was laying on a giant piece of glass floating through... actually, I wasn't sure what part of the universe would be so dark. I sat up and rubbed my hooves against my eyes. Once I removed the pressure, I once again examined the nothingness to see if anything changed.

Before I could react, a disembodied voice echoed around me, "Your first time in this dimension, I take it?"

I spun around to find the source, but I was only greeted with more darkness.

"Don't fret, child. Focus on my voice."

I concentrated on that voice, trying to pinpoint a location for it. I felt my senses pull me away, to where I couldn't tell. Before I could realize it, the darkness had formed itself into the greenest garden I've ever seen. There were plants everywhere, sprouting up from the ground, entwining their flowers and stems together, climbing up the numerous trees that dotted the edges of the grove. The grass below me gently swayed in a breeze, and trees whispered to each other as the wind passed by them. Above me the sky was a cloudless blue sea, spreading across all direction until it met with the green canopy of the trees. 

I heard a stream nearby and birds chirping a merry tune as they flew nimbly between the branches. It reminded me of a few hiking trips I had taken in the past, when I was met with a startling view of miles of trees dotting the mountains, and the calm waters of a lake started stirring in the breeze below me. The same sense of calm and peace that I had felt back them returned in full force.

The plants were so tall I couldn't see more than twenty feet around me. I was standing in the middle of the clearing, well at least I assumed I was standing. When I looked down at my body, I didn't see my usual pair of forelegs. In fact, I didn't even have a body! I only saw a wisp where my body would normally be located.

"That is your essence," echoed a silvery voice, as if the garden itself was speaking all around me. "Welcome to my abode, child."

An elderly pony sitting in a meditative position appeared faster than I could blink, which normally would have made me jump. Instead I just sort of... floated, if that's what essences do. The elder in front of me was old, incredibly old, and I'm not trying to insult him. His entire body was covered in wrinkles, and I didn't even want to know what it looked like under the white robe he wore. His mane was gone, revealing a shiny grey dome, and what little hair was left was the wispy remains of what once was a beard. 

But it wasn't his body that betrayed his age, it was when he stared at me with those sharp green eyes. Eyes that has seen decades of love, loss, hope, anger, bitterness, and life. Eyes that were full of experience, having already experienced a lifetime and ready to rest at any moment. Eyes that looked strangely familiar...

"You are not the only one that was cast out from the changeling horde." If I had a mouth, I'd open it and close it again as I tried to think up of something to say. The changeling smiled, "This form is not disguised, child. What you see is what I had discovered who I truly was."

What is it with old age and cryptic teachings? Is there a School of Hidden Meanings or something? I thought to myself.

"If there was, I would suspect that I would be the headmaster." he replied, a twinkle in his eyes and smile. "And don't worry, I'm not reading your thoughts. Your essence is practically shouting what you think."

OK. Keep my thoughts in control. How do I got about doing that? It seemed as though it's my only way of communicating, I don't have a mouth or vocal cords. The former changeling's ears folded back as I thought that.

"Don't think so loudly, for starters. Thoughts are dangerous here, there are beings that would just love to hear something that could be potentially used against you. For now, think as if we were whispering to each other in a library. Nothing should be able to get close enough to hear you without alerting their presence to me." 

I imagined turning down the volume of an amp that played my thoughts, and after a bit of concentration the elder's ears returned to their relaxed state. "Much better. Now, I suppose I should get start answering the many questions that you no doubt have." I nodded my wispy form.

With a wrinkled hoof, he gestured to the garden around him. "This place is..." he hesitated. "I apologize, it's been a long time since I've had to tutor someone." I noticed that he never used the term 'somepony.' I'll have to question about that later. The look the elder gave me reminded me that my thoughts weren't as private as they once were. 

He coughed and gestured to the garden a second time, "Simply put, this place is called my Paradise." With the way he said it, I could easily tell the capital he put on the word Paradise. "It is a place very dear to me, a place where I could escape to, a place where I am comfortable, and most importantly, the place where I feel the safest. It is my home away from home. Or, it was. Now it is just my home." Oh, so that must mean... No, bad me! Don't think that in front of polite company!

A smile threatened to crack open his head. "I don't mind, death is a lot more interesting than everyone thinks it is. They're all 'doom and gloom,' but that's only because they're afraid of what it could be." His misted over, as if he were reliving a moment from the past.

"But I'm sure you're curious as to who I am," I gave a ghostly nod. "I am known as Dalit, and before that, I was called by something else... I cannot recall what it was, has it really been so long ago? It seems as if I was part of the Hivemind only a few days past. Time flies when you've been labeled as an outcast, I would think."

That answered one question, but also brought up even more questions with it! I directed my thoughts so I didn't overwhelm Dalit with a flood of questions. First things first, I thought, what is this Hivemind I've always been hearing about? The Prince, D4, and now you have all mentioned it, but never thoroughly explained it.

The hermit's eyes gave a small twinkle as he broke into another grin, "I see you've taken control of what you wish others to hear, you're a sharp learner. The Hivemind is just that, the collective mind of every changeling in the Hive. Every changeling is connected to one another through the Hivemind, and they can all feel each other's emotions, their hunger, and most importantly, their consciousness."

Consciousness? You mean what they can tell from right and wrong?

Dalit's eyebrows knitted together. "That's... partly right. The consciousness is the senses combined to created awareness of everything around you and being aware of everything that you do, can do, or have done. Moral standards are part of the experience of being aware of what you do, but not all of it. There are hundreds of ways everyone can interpret what can be considered part of the conscious state, but we are not here to discuss philosophical ideals." He uncrossed his hind legs and gently stood up "Walk with me, will you?"

I hovered next to him, unsure of where we're going. The place was sealed off, I hadn't seen a path or anything. He started walking in a seemingly random direction, and as I followed the garden shifted. The flowers and trees all blurred into a green whirl, and as we continued the green faded slowly and was replaced with black. The black suddenly grew white specks that twinkled, and before I knew it I was surrounded by white dots of varying size. Below me where I had expected the ground to be were even more stars.

I was walking among the stars, literally. I could point out familiar constellations, I could see Orion high above me, his club raised in triumph. Before I could recall the other constellations, Dalit continued with his answer. "Consciousness is everything you can perceive, and the Hivemind is the collective of all the changelings perceptions. The Hivemind can see into every changeling's heart, know everything they have thought and what they have experienced. Of course, the Hivemind includes the changelings in that ability. All the changelings are a single unit, learning from their mistakes, improving at a rate much faster than any other species in Equestria."

The elderly changeling looked to the stars, a sad look in his eyes. "Unfortunately, the Hive has been split apart. The royalties that once controlled the flow and ebb of the Hive squabbled amongst each other about how the Hive should operate. They could not see middle ground, and they all split off into varying groups, creating their own separate Hive. They created their own changelings, but these changelings were lesser beings than the Hive that once scoured the world. The divide between royal family has hurt the Hive in unforeseeable ways. The new Hives only had a fraction of the power that changelings once had, and if they continue down this path it will surely see to our race's extinction."

I must have shifted uncomfortably, because Dalit gave me a good long glare. "I know what you once were, child, and I know that Discord had sent you from your old life and into this one. Humans are well known throughout the universe as both the most intelligent and creative of species as well as the most arrogant and stupid. There is nothing I have seen quite like them, but you are not one of them anymore. If you had any hope of returning, then know this: Discord has already been sealed away by the Elements of Harmony, only a power greater than one of the most powerful forces in the known universe can reverse the spell."

Ah. Well that changes my long -term goals a little. Well, if I had planned on it anyways, I thought. If you already know all about me, surely you must know that I find this to be the best thing that's ever happened to me.

"Yes, and your presence in Equestria can change the future of the changeling race." I stopped floating, confusion circling through my thoughts. "You didn't know? As a natural-born outcast, you aren't affected by the Hivemind nor are you restrained to follow the royal blood. To put it simply, you can knock some sense into my children and bring harmony back to both the changelings and the Equestrian citizens."

Wait, how? And why? Aren't changelings considered a plague upon ponykind?

Dalit continued walking in a brisk pace, staring hard into space and silent for a while before answering, "Sometimes, parasites are necessary for the survival of both species. There are things - dark things - that want to eradicate the land of Equestria and it's inhabitants. The Hive had reached it's peak when ponies and changelings relied on each other."

And if neither side wants to cooperate?

The old changeling's eyes turned to pierce through me for a moment, and when he spoke it was as if the weight of the world carried each word. "Let us hope that never happens, child."

Before I could respond, the scenery changed back to blackness. Both me and Dalit looked around in confusion, before I heard a familiar tune waft from somewhere in the void. The hermit shook his head in what seemed to be defeat. "And here I thought we could finish this without a little visit from him."

Him? I thought.

"The Milkman?" replied a voice from behind me. I shifted to see who responded and came face to face with a very familiar creature. I was sure to have met the spirit of chaos and disharmony for a second time, but as I backed up and got a better look I noticed that this wasn't, in fact, Discord. For starters, he had four arms - two of them were shiny red lobster claws, and I assumed the two snow white claws were actually polar bear arms. He stood and revealed his legs, one was a bird of some sort, I couldn't recognize it, and the other was a lion leg. His eyes were a startling pink, an interesting contrast to the purple face of his.

He seemed to notice the sudden attention and created a rolling pin, holding it tightly in his bear claw. "This rolling pin is a tool I use to make pies. Pies are delicious," he said stiffly. Against my better judgement, I mentally cracked a smile at the way he acted. I hadn't expected to hear such a reference after I had come to Equestria.

The creature took a deep bow, apparently pleased that I had enjoyed the performance. "The name's Disarray, the Patchwork Prince, the Purveyor of Shits and Giggles, and heir to the throne of Equestria - if I feel like being a politician for the day. As you can see, I'm a-"

Draconnequus? And if you're the heir to Equestria's throne, I'd have to say you're either Celestia's or Luna's son, and Discord is your dad. The Purveyor of Shits and Giggles's face drooped, as if I ruined the surprise. Lucky guess?

Disarray lifted his chin in defiance, "Hmph! I admit you're deductive skills are unfathomable! You are indeed a worthy opponent!" Wasn't it only a little bit of putting two and two together? I didn't think it had much thought put into it, but I took the compliment nonetheless. "I have to admit that's it's rare to see a human here in this dimension, how'd'ya get here, squirt?" 

And I thought being called a 'child' was embarrassing enough. I just got knocked out by some random pony in less than an hour in Manehattan! How am I even here?! I had a sneaking suspicion that Dalit summoned me here somehow, but I had to deal with this kook before I could return to grilling the hermit for answers. The world slumped slightly, and my essence did the equivalent of losing my balance and fell to the ground. What was that?

Dalit looked around the pitch black space, "We're running out of time, you're about to wake up. I'm not sure when you'll be able to return here," both he and Disarray started fading into the blackness. "But know this - you can help shape not only the changeling race, but help create a better tomorrow for all species to live together in harmony." His voice started drifting away as an echo effect made it harder to discern his words. "The seaponies will help you with this goal, no matter what happens, you must help them!" 

His voice still echoed and eventually it disappeared entirely. But before they disappeared completely, I heard Disarray as he yelled his farewells to his 'second human friend.' Before I could decipher what he meant, I regained consciousness with a gasp.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing I noticed was the intense pain in my head. Or rather, the lack of it. I had expected my head to be on fire or something, but as I raised a hoof to inspect the pain I only felt a smooth exoskeleton. Great, I'm back in changeling form, that isn't going to win me any points with my kidnappers.

My eyelids fluttered open to behold who dared kidnap a stupid pony like me, and was face to face with a very being who was standing over me. I worked my mouth, trying to say something but my throat wouldn't work properly. I wasn't even sure I was understanding the situation clearly. Eventually, I was able to only get two simple words out in a question, "D4?"

The changeling nodded with a cruel smile on her face. "Oh, I've been waiting a long time," she said, her tone dripping venom. "The Prince is going to have a few words with you after the invasion of Manehattan is over."

And here I was, thinking that I'd only find answers to questions. Silly me.
> New Discoveries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 10



New Discoveries


My former friend and fellow changeling took a look out the window into the dark sky. The moon was steadily rising, and the night was beginning to grow dotted. I hoped that my absence wouldn't make the Saffron and Drop Shot worry too much. Wait, scratch that, I want them to worry and set out to find me. For all I know this is the part where D4 informs me of my formal execution. I struggled to rise, but I felt resistance to all four of my limbs. Looking up, I saw that I was tied to the frame of the bed, and it was knotted tightly.

D4's black chitin head turned back towards me, he blue bug eyes piercing me with a sharp glare, "You've been more of a hindrance than an asset, being left out of the Hivemind has done nothing for the good of our Hive. The Prince wants to establish a link between you and the Hivemind, we need as many drones as possible."

I shook my head, being connected to the Hivemind was definitely not on my agenda, and if I understood Dalit correctly, the Hive was split apart while everyone was still connected in the collective consciousness. Whatever made them all split apart, being forced to choose a side isn't going to help bring the Hive back together. 

At least now I can get a few questions answered, "The Prince is invading Manehattan as we speak, right? Why hasn't he done this before, or for that matter, why did he send both of us to a rural area where nothing as substantial as this would have been gained?"

D4 faced the window, the glow of the city starting to appear as the moon started to fulfill it's role. She sighed heavily, a remorseful sigh that was full of regret. "He wanted us out of the way."

I tried to lift my head up, struggling to try and see the rest of the room, maybe even what part of the city I was in. I could shoot a signal out the window if I was near the harbor and see if my two companions could come rescue me. I discovered that my head was also tied to the bed, well my horn was. And if I had to guess there would also be something constricting my magic. I'll have to test it out later, right now it's time to play 20 Questions. "I could see why he would want me out of the way, I was a rouge changeling. But why did you get sent with me?"

She flinched at the question, and left the question unanswered in an uncomfortable silence. I was just about to ask another question when she whispered softly, "I... I deserved it."

I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the vague answer"But why?"

Silence filled the room a second time. I wondered if we were still even in Manehattan. Surely there'd be city sounds that could be heard even from the tallest of building? They were very big, after all. 

I had thought this line of questioning entirely fruitless, so I started to begin again, "Alright, so don't tell me that. But why is the Prince invading Manehattan he only has a few drones, you said so yourself."

D4 trotted over to the bed and stared down at me, "That was his plan all along, changelings don't need to be in numbers to be powerful. A single changeling can conquer a town all by himself if he plays his cards right, and what the Prince has planned is truly spectacular."

"And pray tell, what does he have planned?" I responded.

"What, and ruin the surprise? I don't think so." Well, at least I tried. "All you need to know is that there's going to be quite the ruckus from up above."

Up above? What did she mean? Did the Prince have agents in the seats of power of the city? Is he going to try and get the middle and lower class to rebel against the ones in power? That would be a great source of anger, but it wouldn't last forever. Rebellions are known for their inability to last forever, after all. Unless he has a way of getting both the higher and lower classes fighting each other for a long time. Perhaps he can make them just hate each other without being enough support to rally a rebellion? That'd take some work, and it would mean giving the higher-ups even more power and letting the lower class know that revolting is only going to fail. 

D4 smiled as I tried to figure out just how the Prince was going to incite the city into a self-destructive war. She walked away to the far side of the room, but I was unable to see what she was doing. I heard the sound of a door opening, "Now just sit tight, I've got a small errand to run. After all, we wouldn't want your new friends to miss the morning show, would we?" The door shut behind her, and I heard hoofsteps walk away, leaving me in a room full of silence.

Aw crap, I don't think I was gonna get out of here anytime soon if they caught the couple. I struggled against my bonds, and I was rewarded rope burn and fatigue. I decided now would be a good time to test out my magic, but as I thought D4 had bound it. Well, at least I think she bound it. Everytime I tried to use magic it was like pushing a boulder uphill using just my pinky finger, I probably wouldn't be able to lift a candle without nearly killing myself from the effort. 

There wasn't anything else I could do, so I had to lay there and think of some way I could escape. If not, then I'd have to think of some way to get D4 to untie me and escape before I'm taken to the Prince. There was no way in hell - well,Tartarus, I guess - I'm going to share minds with that guy if I could help it, he's too devious for his own good.

I took a look at my surroundings, which currently was the ceiling. It was a nice ceiling, to be honest. There was a crack on the far left side of my vision, but I couldn't tell if it connected with the wall or anything. I could smell some flowers somewhere in the room, and I could hear the deafening silence that accompanies being alone. After a while, I decided now would be the best time to get some sleep. Maybe I could visit Dalit again, and pry some answers out of that cryptic skull.

I wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually the door opened. I felt my heart skip a beat, sure that D4 had captured my friends and came to make me join the Hivemind. I heard hoofsteps enter the room, but the intruder didn't say or do anything. After a short bit I heard a familiar sound, it was as if someone was spraying the area with a squirt bottle. 

After a little more squirting and me staring at the ceiling, unable to look at who this pony was, I heard the unmistakable sound of a vacuum cleaner. The sound was so sudden that I jumped, making the ropes go taut with a loud bang. I couldn't believe it, it was a cleaning pony, and he/she just could be my way outta here.

I shouted over the noise, trying to get the cleaner's attention. The cleaner either didn't hear me or ignored me, as the noise moved to the opposite end of the room. I started to get impatient, I really wanted out of here and this cleaner wasn't helping! Once the noise died down I yelled again, and this time I yielded results.

A mare appeared in my vision, looking down at me. She was a brown Earth pony, with an apron and a duster in her mouth. She looked confused at me, probably wondering why there was a changeling tied in a suggestive position on the bed.

"Can you help a poor guy out?" I said, but she just stared at me blankly. Her head tilted to the side in the universal sign of confusion. If I could slap myself I would have, I wasn't even speaking Equestrian! There's no way she could understand me.

I tried to transform into my Lucky disguise, but I felt the same resistance to magic that kept me from using magic. Stuck as a changeling, and a language barrier was the only thing that kept me from certain salvation! I nodded at my forehooves, tugging at them sharply. Hopefully this mare can understand my frantic motions and not run away screaming about a changeling strapped to the bed.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what she did. With a deep breath, she abandoned her cleaning duties in favor of creating a high-pitched scream as she ran out the door and away from the creepy bug-like pony that couldn't hurt her in the slightest. I sighed, wondering if she could probably send somepony up in her stead... Although on second thought, she'll probably send somepony up in order to 'squash the bug,' or so to speak. Getting out of here would be the ideal outcome before they called the Royal Guard for help.

I sighed my relief, happy that I could get rescued by the Guards, before realizing what that meant. It meant that I'd be moved from being trapped here, to being trapped with the Guards. Exchange one prison for the other. I wouldn't be able to convince them about the Prince's plan since I was a changeling as well, and I'd be aiding the Hive to fulfill whatever plan it had for the city. Not to mention that I'd be no help to Drop Shot or Saffron in prison. I needed to get out of here so I can find a way to stop this, and to warn my friends about what's going on.

I pushed harder against the barrier, but it would budge an inch. I struggled hard, and felt it gave way. It was only a little bit, not enough to free myself, but it was enough to prove that I could do it. If I can dent it, I can break it. I pushed with renewed vigor, and felt all my energy get zapped by the effort. Still I kept going, feeling the barrier slowly give way. I felt like I had run a marathon uphill and underwater, my limbs felt like lead even though I had barely moved them.

I heard shouting from down below, which put fire under my feet as I pushed harder and harder. Eventually, after what seemed like a lifetime, I felt the barrier snap taut and break apart, and something come loose from my horn and fall on the bed next to me with a muffled *whump.* I felt my very essence fill with magic, giving me more power and energy. 

The energy didn't help, I was completely burnt out from breaking the spell. I only had enough energy to pick up whatever it was that fell of my horn. Shakily, the unknown object was picked up by an inky black aura and was lifted into view. It was a ring that looked like it had melted, and eventually had broken down from whatever caused it to melt. If this ring caused my magic to be blocked off, then I probably melted it when I broke the spell the surrounded it. I tossed it to the side and heard it clatter to the floor.

The sound of hooves hurrying towards my general direction reminded me of the situation I was in, and the voices that they belonged to didn't sound friendly. In fact, I distinctly heard the words 'bug' and 'spray' used. In whatever context they were used, I didn't care, I only wanted to get out of there. I tried to untie my bonds, but to no avail. My magic just slipped and my concentration wavered as I felt my eyelids grow heavy. I couldn't burn out of magic here, I needed to escape, find Saffron and Drop Shot, and... well, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it. Right now, escape!

I felt the knot slip through my magic once again, and I yelped in frustration. I couldn't get the knot undone, and the ponies were just outside my door! I barely had enough magic to last me only a few seconds of telekinesis, much less a proper spell. I looked from side to side and saw my limbs tied off, the knot in plain sight but I was unable to do anything!

Unless... it was risky, and I wasn't sure if I could pull it off but it worked I could throw the authorities off without having really done anything. And then there's actually casting the spell, I'm sure that it's probably some high-level magic that I'd have to deal with, and I'd be thoroughly drained after this was over.I waited until I heard the hooves right outside the door.

I closed my eyes shut and poured everything I had into casting the spell. I immediately felt it take effect, and I didn't dare open my eyes lest I ruin the spell and fail. I heard hooves trot into the room, then over to where the ring had fallen. A few seconds of silence, then a gravelly and entirely unfriendly voice piped up. 

" 'e's not 'ere, 'e musta bust outta the spell that 473 put on 'im."

A second voice spoke up by the door, "Well then, let's get after him. Don't want to keep the Prince waiting, after all." With that, the two ponies left the room, and I was all by myself. 

I didn't even realize I was holding my breath until I opened my eyes and let it all out in a heavy sigh. I started to chuckle, I had just turned invisible with only a thought! I didn't even need magic lessons or anything! But enough celebration, it was time to escape for real this time. 

I looked back at the knots, and tried to reach it with my mouth. I could try and untie them if I could reach the rope. With a bit of struggling and feeling like my legs and horn were going to pop out of their sockets, I nabbed the rope with my teeth. The knot was entirely in my mouth, but I was unable to untie it. So I started to nibble. It wasn't the most elegant way to escape, but it was a way. 

I was chewing for a while, and the time let me calm down and think about what I had just experienced. There were two changelings in this building, looking for me. They probably went to search the city for my usual disguise of Lucky, so I couldn't use her for a while. I had to think of a new one and quick, otherwise they'll catch me and I'd be a part of the Hivemind in no time. 

And that was another problem, I had no way of knowing who was a changeling or not. From what I recalled, there were only a handful of changelings back at the Prince's Hive. It's not really a full-scale invasion if there's only four or five participants, so either he was hiding his real force, made negotiations with a fellow Hive, or actually considers the small amount of changelings a force to be reckoned with. And seeing that almost half of his force is dedicated to keeping me here,  I doubted it was the last option.

After a good five minutes of chewing I felt the rope give, and it snapped from its position around my limb. Then I started to work on the other fore leg, and this time with a hoof helping I got the knot undone. It was only a couple of second from there to free my horn and my legs, and I plopped out of the bed and onto the hard wood floor. I had freed myself, but I still felt like I was made of cement.

My adrenaline had worn thin, and I was quickly running out of energy. I felt my eyes flutter close before I pushed them open with sheer willpower. I wasn't going to stop here, I had to get to my friends. I lifted my left fore leg and placed it on the ground, pushing myself up and got onto my second leg. Eventually, I was standing, shaky and completely exhausted, but able to move. I looked around the room, finally able to get a full bearing on where I was.

The room was your average hotel room, there was a bed, a small kitchen, a small bathroom, and a window. No TV, which was normal considering there was no electronics. On the bedside table was a drawer half-open, and I was curious if Equestrian hotels held similar customs to the ones on Earth. Opening the drawer, I found a small book with a blank cover and a title printed in small lettering, 'The Elements of Harmony.' It wasn't a big book, but it certainly looked like a full-blown novel. A quick scan revealed there to be 319 pages to read.

I put the book back and peeked out the window, wondering where I was. Apparently I was at the top of a small building in Manehattan, with a glorious view of the hilly landscape beyond the city. The hills were barren, except for one area where trees dotted the land and it seemed much darker than the rest of the night-covered land. It must be the Manehattan equivalent to the Everfree Forest, I thought. I didn't see the harbor anywhere, but below me I could see the rest of the city spread out below me, so I hopefully wasn't too far.

I turned and took a small peek out the door, expecting there to be somepony out watching the door for something suspicious. It was completely empty, and I decided to don a new disguise. I willed myself to transform, but it was even more of an effort than breaking the sealed room! I gave up and walked towards the hall, not willing to exert much effort into Every step I took felt like I was dying, and I felt the fatigue really get to me in the form of hunger and thirst. I hand't eaten anything in the past day, and my stomach picked now of all times to remind me that food is important, although I wasn't sure what type food it meant. Regular food or changeling food?

I reached the bottom of the stairs and collapsed against a wall, panting and sweating profusely. My disguise still held, which was good. I'd rather ponies stare at an out of breath tannish colored pony than a changeling. I looked around and found myself in a small lobby, with a large desk with a couple receptionists behind it. But the majority of the ponies in the room were in a line, waiting in a queue for something. 

Looking at where the line ended, I drew in a sharp breath. The line ended at the front doors, where two ponies were stopping the ponies leaving and asking them questions, letting them pass after they finished answering them. But what caught my breath was the accent of one of the ponies, it was the same pony that had entered my room! 

The changelings were asking everypony something, but whatever it was it was probably designed to separate those who are real ponies from changelings, which is something I cannot deal with at the moment. I ducked back up the stairs and out of sight from the two changelings, frantically thinking about how I was going to get out of here.

I felt my back pressed against the wall, and the feathers of my wings pressed against my body. I hit myself with my hoof, duh, I could fly! I ran back up the stairs to find a window that opened out into the night sky. Pushing it open, I flared my wings and jumped out, trying to remember how to flap again.

I plummeted a short ways before my wings pushed upwards, lifting me away from the ground and straight into the building on the other side. I was fairly sure my body had taken enough abuse, but the universe apparently didn't think so as I felt a trick of warm liquid seep from my nose. I flapped again, keeping myself from falling to the ground, and directed myself out of the alley I was in and into the sky.

I was sure that under less drastic circumstances, I would have enjoyed the view, loved the feeling of the wind beneath my wings, and spend the rest of the night flying the countryside and exploring the sights of Equestria, but time was short, and I had to get back to the harbor.

I turned around, and found the still reflection of the stars in the water that was the sea, and I flew towards the large number of boats that dotted the harbor. Once there, I landed on a random pier, squinting through the darkness to try and pick out the nameless boat that was Drop Shot's treasure. After a bit of searching, I found the tiny boat and flew right on in, bursting through the door without a second thought.

The door to the cabin burst open to reveal two...no, three surprised faces. Drop Shot had been looking out the window, and Saffron was leaning against the wall while talking to the newcomer. He had a red coat, and a jet black mane. He wore a trench coat that covered his flank, and his beard was scraggly and unkempt. His ears had been pierced with a lot of earrings, and when his mouth was open I could glance a small gleam from a golden tooth. When I had burst into the room, he took one glance at me with eyes that shone like fire. He didn't have a horn, but I could feel his will imposing everyone in the room, like he could always make himself to be the center of attention.

I just stared at my friends and the stranger, confusion written on my face, while they stared back with a mixture of fear and anger on theirs. Suddenly, a shrill shriek sounded from Saffron as picked me up with her magic and tossed me out of the cabin and shut the door hard, and I landed unceremoniously in the salty sea with a splosh. After picking myself up and climbing back onto the pier, I shape shifted back to my Lucky disguise. 

I shouldn't charge right back in soaking wet after a changeling had been thrown from the cabin into the sea. Wouldn't bode well for anyone. Luckily, the cold water gave some life back into my limbs as adrenaline pumped through my veins, trying to keep me warm in the cold water. The first thing I should do is find some way to dry off, and what better way to do that than by flying?

I took off and flew around the city, taking in just how bright the place is. After I flew into the city, I saw a lot of other pegasi flying about as they opted to take the faster and less crowded route than others. The flying felt purely instinctual, and it allowed me to think about all the events that had taken place in just the short amount of time. First of all was the whereabouts of Jetsam. He's here, somewhere in the city, that much is obvious. Why else would his fear trail along with the other seaponies' fear lead here? 

The trail had dropped off around the area of the harbor, and there was much that could be assumed from that: the seaponies stopped fearing their kidnappers, the kidnapped had broken free of their prisons and escaped, ot the kidnappers had killed them before they reached the city. I gulped at that last thought - ponies mercilessly killing others in order to get what they wanted. It was way too similar to how humanity has treated others in the past, and still do. This universe was created from the minds of humans, so perhaps our quirks and personalities had rubbed off a lot more than what we had thought.

Point is, our entire mission is to find out where Jetsam is, rescue him, and live the rest of our lives happily ever after. That ending is looks dimmer and dimmer with every sudden turn, but we have to keep pushing. We have to help the world become a better place, cause if we don't, who will? That stranger from the cabin probably knows something, ad we have to listen to every little detail that can take us one step closer to saving our seapony friend.

But on the other side we have the Prince and his ongoing invasion of the city. If we also let that continue then we can kiss the entire city goodbye, which is what's going to happen if we continue looking for Jetsam. The only problem is that this problem can't be solved without some explanation. If I ask Saffron and Drop Shot to help, they're going to want to know the details. Details that involve questions like, "how do you know about the changeling invasion," and "why did they kidnap you if you had no idea about the invasion?" 

Details like that can turn a group on itself, make others wonder who is on who's side. We can tear this group apart, we may never be able to find  Jetsam if we do, much less stop an invasion that apparently starts in less than eight hours, if the clock on the building was right. If whatever D4 was talking about happens in the morning, it'll most likely start at sunrise. If not, then we'll have more time, but it's always best to plan for the worst case scenario.

I flew around building and zipped along alleys before I had decided that enough time had past and it was safe to return. I flew over the harbor, looking down below me for the small boat before I felt the sheer wall of exhaustion return in full force. Everything just turned to lead as I dropped right out of the air and onto the deck of a ship, although I wasn't sure whose ship it was.

I earned myself a new bruise on my head after that stunt. I rolled onto my back and stared up into the face of the diamond dog that I saw earlier in the evening. Past him I could see the multitude of sails, and I could see the night sky from the holes that most of them have. I turned my gaze back to the pirate, and the diamond dog gave me a full show of his yellow and gold teeth. He picked me up with a single claw and carried me into the ship, which was easy since I was too scared to do anything at this point.

"Oi, yew grungy swine! Tha' looks like a tasty addition ta our sapphire and ruby stew!" yelled a voice that sounded almost guttural. Well, I guess it was just my luck to end up in a pirate ship about to be eaten. Honestly, I probably should have seen that coming.
> As Busy As A Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 11



As Busy As A Changeling


I had plenty of tasks to do, and I liked to think I work well under stress. After all, I worked as an editor for a dying newspaper. Deadlines popped up more often than actual work, which was something that could get really annoying after a while. I've always done my work diligently, which took up a lot of time at work and even some time at home. I didn't mind it though, I never was one to go out often, if at all. But there was this one time where I had finished all my deadlines earlier than usual. I had nothing to do, and I didn't feel like spending more time on the computer, so I had decided to go have a drink or two as celebration.

That was the first mistake. For starters, I didn't know any of the nearby bars and didn't have any friends to help choose one. After driving around for a little, I choose a bar that was close to my home and didn't look very crowded. When I walked in, I saw why. The bar was empty except for a small group in the corner. When I had walked in, they all turned to me with the most vicious glares I've ever seen anyone give me. There were three of them, not including the one carrying me, and every single one of them looked at me like I was a pig with an apple in my mouth.

I'm not ashamed to say that I immediately left and drove home before any of them could get up. I was a bit panicked, but that was natural. I never liked people at the best of times, and this event was one that drove me to hanging out at home more so than usual. I ran with my tail in between my legs, yes, but at least I left the bar alive.

The same feeling I had felt back then returned with a vengeance as I was picked by a being twice my size by my back legs and carried me down into the dark depths of the pirate ship. My back legs were nearly crushed by the force the diamond dog used, and that was probably him trying to hold me gently. 

He carried me down into a dimly lit room, and my eyes took a bit of adjusting to realize it was a dining hall, more specifically, a dining room with a couple tables and three other hungry looking diamond dogs sitting at them. I felt my stomach drop out of my mouth, and it wasn't because I was upside down. The voice I heard before was a diamond dog who was standing at a counter, but I couldn't make out the details. Other than he was a diamond dog, which was fearful enough in of itself.

Well, if I was going to go down being eaten, I might as go down heroically. I took in a deep breath and, taking a heroic pose of heroicnessity, I let out a terrifying squeal and promptly blubbered out something that vaguely sounded like "Oh please don't eat me I haven't bathed in days!" Thanks, mouth. Go ahead and ruin my heroic demise, will ya? 

The collective hounds all turned at looked at me with a state of shock and terror, "Wot are ye talkin' about?" came the response. I opened an eyelid to see the previous diamond dog who had mentioned a sapphire and ruby stew, his mouth agape in horror. "Eat ye? 'Ow did yew come about dat conclushun, pony?" he questioned.

"I don't think she's ever seen a diamond dog, Baron." the diamond dog that brought me in piped up.

"Yeah, lookit her! She's shakin' like a leaf!" another dog added.

"Oi, shaddup, the lot of ye!" the Scottish chef, Baron, replied. 

And then he actually hawked up and spat onto the floor. Right on the wooden floor! The diamond dog carrying me put me on the ground, which cause me to flinch. What if the whole floor was covered in diamond dog spit? My poor body has been through enough already, I don't need to step in spit.

I looked down at the floor, studying it in case there's any more spit visible. I didn't notice the diamond dog asking questions until he lifted my head to meet his eyes. They were hard, but they betrayed a sense of concern. Perhaps there was more to diamond dogs than what I had gathered from the show, it wouldn't be the first time that a species is judged on the acts of a few members. Humans themselves are a testament to that, and I felt my cheeks grow hotter as I realized that I had basically insulted a group of diamond dogs, who were pirates no less, by inferring that they would eat me.

The accuser walked over to me, grabbed by chin and lifted my head up to look him directly in the eyes. His slit pupils gazed back at me, "We ain't gunna eat yew, Rusty brought ye down 'cause yew was tresspassin' on our boat! What were yew thinkin' was gunna happen, flyin' onta a ship dat's obviously not yer usual vessel?"

I just gazed back at him, completely aware that three other pairs of eyes were watching me intently. My little habit of being unwilling to talk in groups came back in full force, and I was really doing everything I can not to break down and run out of the cabin screaming, which irked the diamond dog who wanted answers. 

As Baron pulled away from me I could make out a few more key details. He was big, and I mean big. He was hunching over, similar to how the other diamond dogs were slumping, but if this guy stood up straight he'd hit the ceiling. One of his ears was torn off, leaving ragged straps of flesh that twitch occasionally. His other ear was filled with earrings, and one of his canines was broken off. To top off the aggressive look of a pirate, he wore an apron that said "Kiss the Chef." Most dastardly indeed.

"'Ey, speak when yer spoken ta, lassie!" the diamond dog in that Scottish like accent. Seriously, I couldn't tell if it was Scottish or not with how deep and guttural it sounded. I'm surprised I could understand it at all! The crew members held their silence, even Rusty, which didn't help me garner any courage to speak up. 

My question went unanswered as I was picked up by the scruff of my neck again and held up to meet the speaker's eyes, and there was a look of annoyance about them and his brow furrowed. "Yew ain't gunna try anythin', are yew?"

I shook my head vigorously three times. 

"Did yew board the ship on purpose?"

Shake shake shake.

"Are ye an associate of Drop Shot an' Saf?"

Shake Sh- Frown. Slow nod slow nod.

"Mmm, as aye though' - ye fit their description. The unicorn came aboard no less than two 'ours ago, an' the cap'n went ta have a little chat with 'em on their dingy raft o' a boat." He put me back on the floor and I immediately decided it was best to sit on one of the benches that was on one side of an empty table.

Hmm, that wierd pony did have a pirate look about him. He must have like ten earrings, and he had more than a few golden teeth, too. His eyes definitely had the leadership quality about them, and all he needed was a parrot on one shoulder and a wooden leg to complete the whole pirate ensemble. I looked back up to the diamond dog and raised an eyebrow, and I was actually surprised at how much of the unasked question he understood. Maybe I didn't have much of a poker face after all, Lady Gaga would be disappointed in me for sure.

"Aye, the cap'n has the information yer lookin' fer. I ain't gunna say no more 'til 'e gets back - and now we gots somethin' ta insure our well-bein' in case the deal goes south."

Oh well, that's good, it's not smart to go into a deal without wait what? That's not good, not good at all. I can't be a hostage! I don't have the time! Perhaps I could schedule one in after I save Manehattan from an army of changelings and rescue my fishy friend from the unfortunate but tragic fate of whatever horrors that my imagination can conjure up. Ew, except that - that was just putrid, imagination, and frankly I'm ashamed you even thought of that. 

Before my mind could dig itself deeper into whatever deplorable hole it came from, a soft aroma filled the air, causing my stomach to gurgle before stabbing me in the gut in hopes that it reminds me not to skip on it's payment of daily food intake. As bowls were passed out, the three diamond dogs lost their interest in me and began to converse amongst themselves, but I could hardly understand a word they said. They spoke in a fast an guttural tone, and even the parts I did catch didn't make any sense out of context. 

The big Scottish diamond dog carried a pot of the stew around and began filling up each of the bowls. "Well, at least nuttin' kin seperete us from a hearty sapphire and ruby stew! Alright, boys, chow down!" The crew happily obliged, if the slurping sound was any indication.

I stared at the empty table in front of me, as I though about why my friends, Drop Shot especially, would swallow their fear of pirates and start asking their leader questions. When I saw Drop Shot on the subject on pirates, he looked nearly ready to start killing them! And it didn't help they were diamond dogs either, if there was any sort of stigma attached to them.

The question was why, what caused my friends to abandon their comfort zone in order to help find the captured seapony? It just didn't add up, but I guessed that's what makes mysteries fun to solve - being able to piece together all the clues to make sense of the truth.

My musings were interrupted as a bowl of stew was placed in my field of vision, and there was a notable absence of colorful gems in it. I looked up to see the big chef, peering down at me with his sharp yellow eyes. He took a seat across the table from me, sipping readily at his own bowl of soup, with a few cracks as he bit down on the minerals. His eyes never left mine, and my gaze never left his either.

"Lass, do ye have the fain'est clue as to wot's goin' on?"

I glanced at the three rowdy diamond dogs and felt a wave of relief when they continued their own conversation at the other table, oblivious to the two of us. I look back at the big dog, "Depends, what are you willing to tell me?"

The dog's spoon hovered halfway between his mouth and the bowl for a second before continuing on its journey. "So, yer tongue is loose only when ye ain't bein' watched, issat it?"

I felt a ghost of a smile on my disguised face before I became business again. "Let's just say I'm not much of a group participant. Who is your captain, and why have my friends asked for his help?"

The diamond dog took his bowl in one huge paw and slurped the rest of it down, "Good stew, iffen aye say so meself." He stood back up and started to walk towards a door at the back of the boat. Before he left, he turned around and gave me another glare, "Why don'cha ask 'im yerself?" He pointed behind me and I complied. 

I had expected the captain to return, but perhaps not in the fashion he did arrive in. For starters, he was bruised and bloodied, one of his fiery eyes was blackened and his grimace displayed a missing tooth. He was covered in a few more bruises, but that was about the extent of his damage. He was carrying the still form of a pony, and it took me a quick inspection of the second bruised body that it was indeed Drop Shot. 

Huh, somehow I had imagined something like that would happen. Drop Shot didn't seem to like pirates, and this guy was 100% pirate. I rushed over to the captain's side, barely noticing his eyes as he watched me drag Drop Shot blue body off his back, the pegasus' darker blue mane held firmly in between my teeth.

I heaved the guy onto the empty table, and gave him a quick examination. His body was also covered in bruises, but they were much darker than the captain's were, and one of his wings was bleeding from a few cuts, and it seemed much too bruised to move. I guessed that the pegasus got himself bucked in the side, and his wing was damaged enough to keep it from flying. I was no doctor, but even I could tell that wing isn't going to see much action in the immediate future. His head had a nasty bruise, and one of them was bleeding a little. I hazarded a guess that this blow was the one that knocked the poor guy out.

Followed by the captain was none other than Saffron, the lime mare looked completely worn out. It was obvious that she had been crying, possibly when the two stallions had a fistfight... hooffight... whatever. She dragged herself over to my side, her eyes glued to the pegasus' unconscious body. She turned to face me, her eyes threatening to let loose up whatever moisture was left, but they also betrayed her shock at my presence.

"Lucky... What are you doing here? What happened to you? You've been gone for hours!" she exclaimed.

I put my hooves on her shoulder to quiet her, and I looked directly into her eyes, "Long story, but right now you need to tell me what you're doing consorting with pirates."

Saffron sobered up at the mention of pirates. "Lucky... I have some very bad news..." Why can't I ever get a break? "Captain Morgan here knows where Jetsam is." That's good news, not bad, so I waited for the bombshell to drop.

"Manehattan... Manehattan has has an underwater cavern that can't be accessed by a normal boat. The cavern is unreachable by conventional means, so that's where we suspect Jetsam is being held. Morgan said that he saw a few unicorns casting spells to make them breathe underwater, and that he's willing to cast the spell on us, but only if we help him." Well, that figures. 

"Aye, lass," said a deep voice that seemed to be holding back all the anger he felt in his life. In fact he sounded like he had a hearty sandpaper sandwich for lunch. I turned to see the captain giving me a nasty grin, the kind you only see from those who know that you have nowhere else to turn. "And what I require is nothing simple." Of course it is, I thought. "The caverns below the city have been in my sights for quite a while now, but for different reasons than a couple of fish.

"You see, there's a few pirates who like to stash their loot down there," Oh, I know exactly where this is going. "We would like you to accompany us while we take you down there in search of said loot."

"As long as we can go and save out friend, we have a deal." I held out my hoof to shake. The captain didn't expect my sudden agreement, but he shook my hoof nevertheless.

"That's not the only thing we have to worry about, Lucky." Saffron said. She looked at me with a mixture of worry and fear, and eventually fear won out as she whispered, "There's changelings in the city."

Oh... OH! That's right, I ran into the cabin without my disguise on! Well, that was a load off my shoulders. But that still left unanswered questions. "Unfortunately we can't focus on the changelings at the moment, we still need to find where Jetsam is." Saffron still looked scared, but she nodded. I felt a bit guilty, I must have scared her really badly back there.

"Uuuuugh," groaned the now conscious pony on the table. "What happened?"

"Yer friend agreed to the cap'n's deal." said Baron.

Drop Shot and Saffron both jumped, they must have not noticed the diamond dog's presence when they came in. Looking around the room, I found the other three diamond dogs have left. I wondered if they were scared of their captain just as much as Saffron was.

The pegasus gave me an incredulous stare, "Lucky, what?" Why would you agree to help these... these monsters?!" he spat.

"We don't really have much in the way of time and options. Besides, he's was going to do it anyways. We might as well get help than going in alone. And we still owe him got providing the information in the first place."

Baron and his captain both looked hard at me, confused at my actions. I gave them a small smile, "Information is a commodity, so we owe you for that. As long as our goals don't interfere with the others it would be best to work together."

The captain gave me a toothy grin, "I like her," he muttered. He turned to the diamond dog, "You heard the lass, Baron, we're going down to the caverns! Wake the others and get my quarters ready. I've got a spell to cast."

With that, he and the diamond dog ran off to do their work. That left me, Saffron, and a rattled Drop Shot.

The pegasus glared at me, "Why?"

I glared back, "I'm not willing to risk innocent ponies, or seaponies in this case, because I was unwilling to leave my comfort zone. I suggest you do the same."

With that, I walked out onto the now busy deck. There were diamond dogs climbing up to the sails and furling them, making sure they don't get ripped in the process. I saw a couple of diamond dogs pack everything that wasn't bolted to the floor and storing it inside the ship.

"Hey," I caught the attention of one of the diamond dogs, "What's going on?"

The diamond dog grinned, "We're gettin' ready, lass. When the spell goes off, make sure you're holdin' onto somethin'."

I watched as the last of the diamond dogs retreated to the bowels of the ship. I briefly wondered what kind of spell they were going to cast when I felt the ship move. Following the diamond dogs advice, I grabbed hold of the railing and waited to see what happened.

Then the ship flipped upside down.
> Unda' Da Sea
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake, huh? I'd have to admit, the seaweed was quite green from my point of view, which was currently holding on to the railing of the long ship. My legs floated lazily behind me as I was swiftly carried through the vast ocean. The ship kept drifting along as if it was still on the surface, the sails floated through the currents that would normally drive them to smash into rocks. My lungs were burning from the impulsive breath I had taken when the ship suddenly did a backflip.

I struggled against the current the moving ship was creating and put one fore leg in from of the other. I had to use every ounce of strength left in me in order to make it across the deck to the edge of the cabin. From there, I had no idea how I could reach the door and open it without letting go. And if I did that I'd be whisked away to the depths of the sea and drown.

I've been in Equestria, what, four, five days and I've been faced with death more times than I'd like. I had lost track of time after I got clonked on the head by D4 and I suddenly had to save my sea pony friend before dawn lest the city before overrun by changeling. Which I still had no idea how to prevent, much less how they're gonna accomplish such a feat with so few changelings.

The door to the cabin suddenly opened, and my favorite emerald mare was standing on the deck - somehow defying gravity by doing so - and stomped her hooves on the deck. I stared at her curiously as she repeated the action, this time glaring hard at me. I hazarded a guess that she wanted me to put my hooves on the deck, so I moved my hind hooves upward. When they touched the solid wood deck everything suddenly did another flip.

I collapsed on the deck gasping for air, which is theoretically impossible when the ship is upside-down and underwater. I noticed that the water didn't look like water, either. It was as if the entire sea had turned into air. I sat up and looked to the sky. Well, rather the sea floor. Everything was still acting as if it were underwater, without the water being there. I could see the seaweed waving as it hung down from the floor that encompassed my entire vision. There were fish swimming upside-down through the water/air, and I just sat there staring at the whole thing for a good minute or so.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I needed to get back into action, and to do that I can't spend all day gawking at what should be an impossible feat. Freakin' magic and it's freakin' ability to do freakin' anything. I stood up and made my way to the still open door of the cabin and descended into the depths. I was met with Saffron giving me humourous looks. Perhaps I was gawking a little longer than I had originally thought. I looked over to the table where Drop Shot was now taking a nice and blissful nap. I wished I could nap in times of stress like that.

"We are currently floating through the sea acting in a ship that shouldn't actually be underwater right now, and all you're going to do is wait here and act as if everything's normal?" I asked.

"Well, there's not much else we can do," Saffron pointed out as she flipped her mane out of her eyes.

"Not true! We could... uh... alright, well there's nothing we can really do, but that's not the point!" I stated with a hoof poke at the emerald mare.

"Then what is the point?" Saffron asked, one eyebrow quirked in vague interest.

I sighed as sat down on the bench of an empty table. I laid my head in my hooves and started to think. We're about to enter a cavern that's possibly full of cultists, and while we're helping our friend who may or may not still be alive we're gonna help a pirate gang steal away treasure that some other pirate had stolen. My trip to Equestria was far from what I thought it would be. 

On the bright side, after I wrap up business here I can probably make my way to Ponyville and live the rest of my life in happy comfort and joy and love and not have to do anything adventurous ever again. My hooves muffled the second sigh; optimism would be a nice thing to have indeed.

Saffron and Drop Shot had no reason to be here, I'm potentially putting their lives at risk because of this stupid adventure. Why am I here, dragging them along when they only know half of what's going on? Hell, they're one of the few ponies here I've actually taken a liking to! Sure, I haven't known them all that long and know basically nothing about them, but the sheer fact that they're willing to join me on this quest was enough to allow them to come along. 

I should have known something would have gone wrong when Jetsam came asking for help, and now we're going to helping pirates. If one thing was clear from my interactions with the loving couple, it's that they didn't take a liking to pirates at all. Drop Shot's a sailor, after all. Pirates are bad for business. That and a pirate's demeanor are a sharp contrast to a pony's kindhearted and friendly personality.

I lifted my head and looked straight in Saffron's ruby red eyes and I could see the worry plastered all over them. She knew it too, this trip is fraught with danger and there's a chance the two may return from this adventure as different ponies. Just doing that to anyone, not just ponies, is heartbreaking enough. If those... well, for lack of a better term, cultists do anything horrific to the seaponies, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting two innocent ponies get caught up in it.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

Saffron blinked. "Why?" she mirrored.

"Well, you could have left at any time. You and Drop Shot could have left on your ship back home, and lived a happier life than this one. Why did you choose to stay here?"

Saffron opened her mouth for a moment before she turned away and stared intently on the table in front of her. She was silent for so long I felt like dropping the subject and moving on. I opened my mouth to say something but a small whisper escaped the lime green form.

"I'm sorry?" I said.

She lifted her head and locked her now burning eyes on mine as she answered in a stronger voice, "Because you're my friend, you idiot!"

I opened my mouth to speak, but she quickly cut me off, "I know this is dangerous, but we can't just let you do this on your own. You were chased out of our home, you lost your only family, and we're going to do whatever we can to help repay you for your kindness."

A sharp sword of guilt sliced through my chest when she brought up my 'brother.' I don't even remember the name I gave D4 during our short stay. Bob, wasn't it? It's only been a few short days and I've already forgotten small details. 

My thoughts drifted back to my friends, or the ponies who want to be my friends. They considered themselves as such, yet I've been keeping secrets from them ever since we met. That wasn't what friends did, and I didn't deserve to be considered as such. 

I considered my options; continue building the web of lies and even get trapped in a sticky situation at some point in the future that would eventually bring the whole tangled mess down on my head, or stick my neck out, tell Drop Shot and Saffron the truth, and hope they don't bring the ax down. 

My guilt must have shown on my face. Saffron gave me another worried look and I tried not to look into her eyes. If I did then the decision would have been made for me. My mind raced, trying to decide whether I should consider these random, strange ponies my friends. They didn't outright hate me when we met, so that's a start. They also volunteered to help me with my problems, something they didn't need to do. When it comes down to it, isn't that what a friend always does? The question floated around my mind, searching for it's answer within the whirlwind of my thoughts.

The cabin seemed unusually crowded, and I felt the need to walk back on deck, Saffron trailing behind me. I paused to look around me, the sheer amount of fish the swam through the underwater currents and the huge coral reef that was hanging above my head made me rethink the definition of 'surreal.' But the beauty of the ocean could not stop me from returning my thoughts to the fears that plagued my mind. Is Saffron someone I should truly consider a friend?

I knew the question was just a moot point, though. The right decision was staring at me the whole time, but I was just here wondering whether the right decision outweighed the need to conceal the truth. I didn't have many friends, and that's being generous to some of the people I was associated with. Whether I liked it or not, I would eventually have to come clean, so my best bet would be to wipe the slate now before it becomes to complicated and filled with lies. Better to hear the truth from me instead of having to face it in an inopportune time where my friendship and loyalty could be called into question.

I looked back up into Saffron's eyes. "There's something you should know."

I decided to start my tale from the very beginning, even including how I'm not even a resident of this world. I included how I never really had many friends, and how thankful I was that she would want to be thought of as a friend. Then I expressed my guilt, and why I felt as I should be straight with her. "I know this is a lot to take in," I concluded, "but please, I want to think that we're still friends after all this is over." 

Saffron had started just staring out into the vast blue ocean about halfway though my story, an unreadable expression on her face. At least she hadn't thrown a fit and ran off in anger and frustration. 

"You're a changeling." The statement was said through clenched teeth and barely concealed pain. I guess I thought too soon. 

"Unfortunately so," I replied, reverting back into the insectoid that I had first appeared as. Saffron only gave me a glace before turning back to the sea. I changed back into my Lucky disguise, lest anyone walk out onto the deck and see me in my true form.

Saffron was silent for the longest time. I turned my gaze out into the ocean as well, enjoying the sights, just before the emerald mare turned around and stormed back into the cabin. I let a sigh of regret pass through my teeth. Nice job, you just ruined you're chances of ever being friends with the only ponies who would tolerate your presence for more than a day.

I turned my thoughts back to Saffron's response, did she still see me as a friend? Or perhaps she saw me as just another monster who tried to get close to her so I can feed. I didn't see any fear surrounding her, but that doesn't mean she doesn't hate me. 

And what about Drop Shot? What would he think? He seemed to be the more likely one to get angry and let his rage overcome his thoughts. If Saffron still regarded me as a friend, then perhaps she would be able to reign in Drop Shot's temper. If worse came to worse, I could just leave. But as I looked out into the deep blue and watched a school of fish float by and eventually settle on snacking on the coral high above my head, I thought how I would be able to escape. 

The answer came when the cabin door slammed open. I feared for the worst and turned to the intruder. To my surprise, it wasn't an angry mare looking for some revenge at a dirty liar, but the pirate captain himself came onto the deck. The hulking figure of the diamond dog didn't do much to ease my worries. And if that wasn't enough, Baron followed at his heels, the apron continuing to ask an impossible task of placing one's lips upon the chef. 

I tried to give a confident grin, but I was afraid that my nervousness at the scarred captain had crept into my expression. His good eye swept across to mine in a fiery gaze that held me in place. The other was covered with an eyepatch, but I could still see the black and blue even through the mass of dark fur that hadn't seen any water without salt for years. His snarl sent shivers up and down my spine, and the sight of hardened muscles rippling silently under his fur almost caused me to abandon ship and swim to the surface.

The alien feeling revealed itself to me in a startling realization: I was facing a true predator, one that would just as likely gut me as he would help me. The position of being prey was so surreal, and if this was how all animals felt back home I might have to become a vegetarian.

"I know the ponies you're looking for," grumbled the mountainous mass of muscle. "It just so happens we're going to make a deal with them." I wasn't sure if he meant to hide a tone of anger just underneath his words, but they still commanded my respect and compliance.

"You deal in slavery," I didn't say it as a question.

"Nay, slavery is not the way we operate." The captain peered deep into my eyes with his burning stare. "We're going for a whole other reason."

My caution was smothered by my piquing curiosity and suspicion, "What exactly are you planning to do down here?"

He didn't respond, instead he pulled out a map that depicted huge pathways that twisted and turned in a labyrinth of stone. I was given only enough time for a sparing glace before he folded it up and tucked it away in his worn breeches. "Information."

I didn't know much about being a pirate, but based on the map he carried and him looking for information, I quickly put two and two together. "You're looking for a guide of the caverns."

"Aye," the dog simply replied. His face gave no hint as to whether he was surprised, his face made of the same stone that held his prize from him. "We arrive in a few minutes, you best prepare yourselves for the spell to let go. Once we surface, I expect us to stay out of each other's way while we conduct business of our own."

With that the giant turned and walked back into the cabin with a slam, which left me and Baron out on the deck. The cook came up to me with a big smile on his face, "Well, looks like ya go' a new friend, eh lass?"

I smiled at the cheerful pirate, "Is he always like that?" I glanced at the door's frame, which contained a few new splinters.

"Aye, he's got a reputation ta uphold, ya know. No' many pirates become captain by praising how magical the power o' friendship kin be." Baron rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't mean he should be rude all the time."

"He ain't, that was him bein' polite ta ya. You should see 'im on a bad day."

The thought sent shivers up my spine. Baron chuckled before making his way back inside the ship and I decided to follow his tail. It wasn't long till we hit the surface, and I wanted to clear up the air with my friends before we found ourselves stranded together in what could in fact be considered a 'danger zone.'

I had entered the cabin and looked around at the tables, noticing a lack of green and blue ponies. "Where'd Saffron and Drop Shot go?" I asked no one in particular. I saw a couple more doors, one was wide open and I could hear the guffaws and laughter of the pirate diamond dogs. No way would they be in there, I looked to the other door on the opposite end of me. That one had looked a bit too fancy, it probably lead up to the captain's quarters. That left one last door.

I turned to face the door to my left. I wasn't 100% sure they would be there, but I had to start somewhere, and I might as well start at the most likely spot. I entered the room and found myself in what looked like the storage. Barrels of water were stacked up to the ceiling on my left and boxes of food were on the right, enough of both that the crew on board would be well fed and hydrated for weeks before having to resupply. In the back of the room were items and weapons that could be classified as 'miscellaneous,' but also occupying the back were the very two ponies I was looking for.

Saffron was speaking in hushed tones, like she was telling her mate a secret conspiracy, which technically the truth could be classified as such. She looked at me when the door announced my entrance with loud squeaks. Drop Shot had a stunned look on his face that didn't change when he saw me. His ears were flattened against his head and his mouth wide open. Hid wounds were all bandaged, but I was afraid that any sudden movements from him could cause the pegasus to injure himself.

"Are you really....?" The aqua blue stallion asked.

I didn't give an answer aside from a simple nod. Drop Shot looked around the room, as if looking for an escape. I raised a hoof to get his attention. "I'm not hostile," I responded simply. "In fact, I'm trying to keep Manehattan from being invaded by changelings, if the city hasn't been conquered already."

"You could be lying," Saffron accused. "You've been lying for days; you're probably just trying to keep us near you so you can suck all of our love dry!" Her voice was a low whisper but every word slapped me as if it were a physical hit. I winced.

"I don't feed on love, I feed on fear." At that the couple both tilted their head and looked at me strangely. "Look, I don't know why it's fear, I don't know why I'm not part of the Hivemind, and I don't know how we're going to deal with the changelings that are coming to invade the city at dawn. But I do know one thing:" I glared between both of them, "Jetsam and the seaponies have been kidnapped. And I'm going to go save them. He asked us to help them, and we agreed. I'm not going back on my word just because I'm not a real pony. I'm going to go in there and risk my life because if we don't who else will?"

I looked between both of them as I let the question hang in the air for a moment. Saffron turned to face her mate. Drop Shot gave a quick glance at her before nodding his head slowly. Saffron turned back to me, "You're right, this doesn't change anything. Jetsam's still in trouble, and if we don't stop them then the seaponies may never be on friendly terms with Equestria. This isn't about us, this is bigger than that. Your true form isn't going to stop us." 

With that, Saffron got up and walked determinedly past me and out the ship, where the pirates have started to gather onboard the deck. Before she left, thought, she turned to me one last time. "If you turn out that you really were just using us, you'll wish those ponies will have taken you instead when I'm through." I turned back to Drop Shot after she left the threat hanging, and he shrugged and followed her out the door.

I turned and left, thinking about the threat Saffron left me with. At least she had agreed to still help, I thought. With that, I left the cabin and walked onto the deck. I spotted the couple again and I met up with them, their silent glances the only acknowledgement that I was there. 

The cavern was immense, big enough to fit a small city. I could spy stalactites - or perhaps they were stalagmites - far above me. The walls were far apart that the sound of dripping water could not bounce off them, which created an eerie silence that was not usual for caverns.The grey rock stretched on past our vision, and the darkness only seemed to grow even as we made out way off the ship. 

Captain Morgan and Baron took a look at the gathered diamond dogs, thirty in all. Where most of them were when we were on the ship, I had no idea. Perhaps they were rowing us through the water, which seemed silly to me at the time. The captain had barked orders to make their way past the caverns. There was no reason to let the only group with a dozen torches leave us be with only unicorn light to guide us, so we went along with the pirates, much to Drop Shot's anguish.

The darkness of the cavern soon swallowed us whole, the ship disappearing behind us as we made our way into the labyrinth below with only our wits and a bunch of pirates that want to make a deal with slavers. Nothing could possibly go wrong, right?
> Hindsight is 20/20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You know how all those nature documentaries have that soothing voice of David Attenborough, and you go on the wonderful adventure through the dense jungles of South America, the sweltering deserts of the Mojave, or the deepest and darkest parts of the known oceans? It's always enjoyable to sit on the couch for hours at a time and just be awed at how beautiful and majestic our tiny little marble of a planet really is.

Those documentaries don't even compare to the real thing, especially when you're exploring the depths of an alien planet. The soft sounds of hooves and pads on the damp stone was the only sound that penetrated the enormous cavern that we had found ourselves in. The flickering flames of torches held by the diamond dogs was engulfed by the darkness that surrounded us in the tunnels underneath Manehattan. A drop if water had fallen on my head, which shook me out of my trace.

Saffron had the same inspired look on her face that was certainly upon my own, she kept looking around the giant cavern, eye opened wide and ears turning every which way. Drop Shot gave tentative glances at the pirates that lead the way, oftentimes finding himself staring at the Captain's own glares. After the second time Morgan had caught his eye, Drop Shot lowered them to the floor and concentrated hard at making sure he put one aquatic blue hoof in front of the other.

The Captain and his crew stared ahead, purpose filled Morgan's eyes. Baron looked about as nervous about this endeavor as the rest of us, which made me reevaluate the first-mate/cook. He was probably more intelligent than he would like to admit, which gave me the impression that he's the first-mate more so to look after Morgan than to follow the Captain's orders. Most Captains would have to be a special brand of insane if they wanted ton make their way in the world of pirates, I would assume.

We continued on in tense silence for what seemed like hours. The path eventually started to slant downwards, and we almost reached a wall at some point but the Captain got us to turn and walk back into the inky black darkness. The cavern was ridiculously huge, and I never would have though that it could get smaller. I was proven wrong when we reached the edge of an underground lake, and it was freshwater, too. Pirates refilled their canteens, while I sulked in the corner because I should have totally thought to have brought canteens or something. 

When we took that rest, I had realized that me, Saffron, and Drop Shot were immensely under prepared. We never really had much when we left for Manehattan, and whatever we did had was still on Drop Shot's ship. Fortunately Baron was able to convince Rusty to lend a spare canteen for the three of us to split, which eased my worry of dying of thirst underneath a city.

With a start I realized that if I have no way of keeping track of time, I don't know when I'd be forced to change back. In all the huss and fuss of everything that's happened, I had forgotten to mention that little detail to Saffron and Drop Shot. I quickly did some thinking in my head. OK, let's see, I did revert back to my true form when I reached Drop Shot's ship. It's been about two hours since then, I think. Could be three since we first came down here. I had maybe a couple of hours before I needed to change back into a changeling. I just silently hoped that we reach our destination quickly.

The break ended and we continued walking. I noticed that the walls were actually visible for the first time since we had entered the caverns. I looked up and spied the roof once more, happy to see that we were actually going somewhere instead of walking circles in a giant cavernous space. I was curious as to how the Captain knew where to go, but I thought nothing of it. After all, diamond dogs might be much better equipped to working in dark places underground than ponies.

Soon after that the cave started to close in on us, and the water dripping from the ceiling started to echo. It sounded like a proper cave, but in addition to the now smaller caverns, a light source flickered in and out of view in front of us. It was hard to tell how far it was, but when we got closer we found ourselves in a room that could have held Drop Shot's ship with room to spare. Torches were placed regularly across the walls, and across from us there was a simple stone doorway. On the floor there was a large circle that was carved into the rock. A smaller circle was carved inside of that one, it was big enough for a pony to stand on.

I shivered and felt peering eyes stare at me and the group from somewhere. I couldn't tell where, but I knew we weren't alone in the room anymore. I looked about the damp stone, but if there was anyone or anything watching I wasn't able to tell from where. 

Morgan shuffled across the hard rock, his feet became soaked as he stepped in a few puddles of collected water. His one good eye never left the door on the other end of the room, and the way he stared at it betrayed the sense that he wasn't expecting anything good to come through it.

"I'm looking for a guide."

That was all that needed to be said, the unknown watchers lifted their gaze and presumably went to fetch a diplomat. Sure enough, only a few minutes had passed and a masked unicorn exited the marked doorway. The mask was very ornate, with carved lines and a few symbols engraved into the headgear. 

"We are willing to provide you with the necessary services." His voice was a monotone, neutral tone. The only thing that kept me from thinking that he was a robot would be the lack of a metallic sound. "On the account that you have payment."

"Aye, I have what you need. A fine couple of specimens, too. I'd be willing to bet that you'll be having a tough time with them as well." Morgan smiled as he said those last words. What sort of specimens did he mean?

A horrible thought entered my mind. I turned to look at Baron, the only diamond dog I considered friendly. He looked back at me mournfully and shrugged his shoulders, as if he had no choice in the matter. I faced my friends and was about to give them a warning, but a long hairy arm snapped around my mouth. I flared my wings, but the dogs behind me pinned me to the ground as more diamond dogs went to deal with Saffron and Drop Shot.

The pegasus, only just recovered from his injuries, put up little fight against the strong brutes. He was able to get a good buck in, but the dog only grunted in response before tying his wings down with rope. Then he was pushed don to the ground and pinned by another dirty dog.

Saffron lifted her captor with telekinesis, only to have her concentration broken when a second dog tackled her to the ground. She struggled under the weight, but was unable to find leverage against the pirate. The dog reached into his pocket and pulled out a small hammer.

I watched with terror in my bones, I felt my stomach drop to the floor as I realized what the dog was going to do. I opened my mouth to yell but the arm that covered my mouth and the weight pushed harder down on top of me. I tried to yell to Saffron, to warn her of what was going to happen to her, but the furry arm that covered my mouth muffled anything that could potentially save my friend.

Time seemed to slow down. I couldn't look at anything other than the steel hammer rise up, tiny in the diamond dog's paw. It came don swift and hard, and it made contact with a sharp crack. Silence filled the scare room, but that was broken by the whimpering of Drop Shot as he stared wide-eyed at the hammer's target.

Saffron slowly lifted a hoof to her forehead, eyes bugged out of her skull. When she reached her horn, she felt another crack go through it. Then she saw her horn, cracked and broken, fall from the top of her head and land on the ground beside her. Her eyes never left the shattered remains of her horn, lifeless and still on the cold, hard rock. 

Then she screamed. Her voice, high-pitched and loud, shook everyone else into action. The dogs had picked me and Drop Shot up and hefted us over their shoulders. Neither of us felt like fighting anymore, we had lost this battle, and Saffron had lost even more than that. Morgan shouted for someone to get the mare to shut up, and eventually someone complied. The cavern filled the void of noise; droplets of water had never before sounded so loud.

"Three healthy ponies is more than enough for what you ask for. You're a generous dog." The masked unicorn observed.

"I'll be even more generous if I get my guide." The dog smiled. The unicorns were not the only ones that wore a mask, it seems.

"Very well. Follow me and you can have our pick of the very best tracker. You can drop these," the unicorn nodded his head towards the three of us, "off just down the hall. We'll take care of the rest." His crew deposited us at the spot that the unicorn had indicated, and we were immediately surrounded by guards.

Before we were carried off like cows to a slaughter, I turned to face Captain Morgan one last time. "I seem to recall you don't deal in slavery." I yelled. 

"Aye, we don't. What you're goin' into ain't slavery. It's a mandatory workforce." With that the pirate turned and started guffawing. His lackeys joined in on the fun, and their hoots and howls disappeared down the hall and out of earshot.

Pirates were no longer were cool in my books. Ninjas are totally the best, anyways. The guards that surrounded up bound our legs together and wrapped some sort of cloth around our snouts. Once we were thoroughly gagged and restrained, collars were strapped around our necks. The cold metal seemed to suck all the heat out of me, and no matter how much time passed, the metal never grew warmer. Chains were attached to the new accessories, and we were dragged roughly through the dark hallways of the underground.

The journey continued for some time, it could have been minutes or hours. Our hoofs had started to crack, and with every step we took the pain shot through our legs like they were on fire. Our mouths became a desert, hungrily lapping up anything that could help sate of dehydration. We had made a few short stops to rest up, but the three of us were given no food or water. We weren't even allowed to sit down, lest we feel the slap of the masked unicorn's whips or a harsh yank on the chain. On the walk I felt my stomach do a little backflip. I prayed to whatever gods that resided on this planet that I'd be able to hold out before we reached wherever we were going.

We were taken to what I believed to have been a dungeon. The numerous iron bars and rooms full of bones and unrecognizable shapes locked inside them were a pretty big hint. One of the shapes moved and cried out for a mother in a soft-spoken tone, as if he knew that his mother wouldn't come no matter how hard he cried. The guards ignored him and continued to pull us along until we got to the end of the hall.

Most of these cages were empty, but the biggest one that spanned the entire back wall of this particular cave was close to bursting with occupants. Which is strange, considering all of it's inhabitants are contained in a small lake that had eaten up most of the floor. 

"Drop Shot, Saffron," I whispered. They both gave me the same uneasy look. The couple had both saw the cage, and they know exactly who was in it. My whisper earned up another yank on the chains. The guards gave me an impatient glare, it seemed we had arrived at our new place of residence. By now it took everything I had not to start heaving right then and there, but if I held on for just a few more minutes then I'd be scott-free.

We were each taken to a different cage; I was locked in a cell all by my lonesome, Saffron was taken to the cage directly across from me, and Drop Shot got locked in the cage to the right of Saffron. Once the guards left us with no word and no telling if there was going to be anyone to come down here and feed us, I let go of the mask I was holding onto for dear life. I felt my form melt away until all that was left was a shiny black carapace. I looked across the hall and saw Drop Shot staring at me. I guess he hasn't really seen the 'real me' before, has he?

Saffron on the other hand... The unicorn was in bad shape. She laid down on the hard rock surface and stared unblinkingly into nothing. Seeing her eyes unfocused like that unnerved me a little, so I turned to the pegasus and nodded my head in her direction. Drop Shot seemed to have snapped out of his surprise and rushed to see to his mate.

Unfortunately, a rock wall stood between him and Saffron. Looking around frantically, he tried to flap his wings against his binds. He started to whinny and rear up on his legs. He turned and bucked at the wall, as if that was all it took for him to get to her. Eventually he wore himself out and he rested his head against the wall. He spoke but I was too far to hear what he said. But I was able to see that he was repeating Saffron's name over and over.

His eyes began to moisten and tears fell down hard on the stone below. What could I do besides watch? They wouldn't be able to understand me if I tried to speak, and that would only serve to remind them that I had lied to them the whole time. Instead I turned my attention to the cage that was just down the hall from us. I was able to catch a glimpse of it before I really had to stick my head between the bars in order to see more. I squeezed just a bit more, but I wasn't able to slide past the iron guards.

I pulled my head back to see Saffron had focused her staring at me. She didn't look mad or anything, she looked more curious than anything. As long as it kept her mind from falling into despair now that she lost her horn, I'd be happy if she had looked at me with anything, even fear or anger. When I thought of the word fear, my stomach began to rumble. I hadn't had much in the way to eat for a while now, and I'd need some fear soon or... well, I assume emotion-deprivation is the same thing as hunger. 

I turned my attention back to Saffron and gave her a weak smile. A few straggled breaths later and she smiled just as weakly back. Neither of us knew how we'd get out of here. There was no way we could take a seapony with us either, even if we do manage to escape somehow. It was going to be a long night, and the masked unicorns aren't even the biggest threat. Changelings are gonna do something in the morning. I'd hate to imagine what, but for right now, we can't do anything about it but rest up and prepare for the worst.





I think it's been about an hour or so when we heard sounds of a guard coming. I spent the time trying to think up plans about escape, but most of them wouldn't work or were just plain stupid. Saffron regained some of her strength and she started to converse with Drop Shot. Both were worried sick about what would happen, but they both agreed it wouldn't be so bad as long as they were still together. I had chuckled silently at the rather cheesy line, but they believed it so who was I to rain on their parade?

The moment we heard sounds of a pony making their way towards us, we stopped what we were doing and hid at the back of our cells. A sudden inspiration hit me like a truck made of brick going mach 5, and I disguised myself as a unicorn with one of those masks. Drop Shot and Saffron watched me and they seemed to have gotten the plan when they saw my disguise.

We waited in silence, and I laid down on my side, feigning unconsciousness. Eventually a pair of masked guards came, as I cracked open one eye I spied that one of them held aloft three trays of hay and bread with a sickly yellow aura. The other one looked only slightly bored to be there. I reverted back to my 'unconscious' self, hoping the ponies didn't notice me just yet.

"Alright," one said in a rather oddly high-pitched voice, "once you're finished we're going to take you down to the lower mines." I could hear the cell doors of my friends open up. "You have five minutes to eat what you ha- what in Tartarus?"

I waited until I heard my cell door open and heavy hoofsteps quickly made their way towards my side. I took this an my cue and weakly opened my eyes. "The prisoner..." my voice sounded much deeper than I was used to, but I was able to hide my surprise with a cough. "The prisoner escaped, Hit me right in the head."

I coughed some more as I waited for the response. I was surprised they didn't immediately bolt out and raise the alarm. Instead they stared curiously at me, then they gave me a rather unnerving grin. "Why didn't you say what you were in the first place?" One of them said.

I broke my poker face for just a moment to raise an eyebrow quizzically. This only served to make their grins grow bigger, then both my eyebrows shot up and I saw their fur melt away. Their eyes became a glossy red, the fur disappeared and was replaced by a thick black and all too familiar shell. Their horns became curved and twisted, and insect wings appeared on their sides as they laughed joyfully.

"The Hivemind works in mysterious ways, doesn't it, brother?" The one with an unnaturally high-voiced had apparently been a girl, while the other one was male. I still couldn't tell the difference between both of them. It was probably a Hivemind thing, after all.

"Indeed, dear sister." The other one cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something. "Wait, I don't think that this one is-"

My shock kept me from taking my eyes of either of them, so I also didn't see how exactly Drop Shot was able to get the drop on both of them. I had chuckled inwardly at my little pun after the event. The blue trays that had carried food smacked both of them hard on the side of their heads. They collapsed against each other and slid down to the ground, green ichor was dripping out of their head wounds.

I turned my attention to the pegasus, panting heavily and surprised at his actions. I looked behind him and noticed that the changelings had forgotten to close their gates when they noticed me on the ground. I turned back to the stunned pegasus and licked my lips, shifting back into my Lucky disguise, which turns out didn't seem to be so Lucky after all.

"I really hate Manehattan," I said. The couple nodded silently as all three of us wondered just what exactly was going on in this crazy place.