36658 is sitting inside a toilet stall on the staff deck, its belly bloated with goop. It spits out a small green chunk into its hoof, examines it, sniffs it. licks it, ponders everything for a moment, then opens the toilet, flushes the goop down, and closes it again.
Next attempt.
When the ship suddenly rocks with a burst of noise nearby, the drone's head rams directly into the porcelain toilet bowl.
Thankfully, changeling carapace is made exactly for situations like this, and where a cracked skull would stop a pony, 36658 wakes up on its back with a gasp a short while later and having slid across the tiles towards the wall. With a groan, it stands up, avoiding the shards of porcelain from the broken bowl.
Why is 'up' the wrong way?
"Guys?" it mentally calls out but winces as only chaos and pain enter through its link.
Ow ow ow ow...
It rubs its head, feeling the gash in its carapace. Its hive link seems to be working, somewhat, giving vague directions towards other drones. Unfortunately, it seems that any clear communication is out of the question for now.
"Whoah!" it takes a step through the now weirdly tilted room and quickly spreads its legs to support itself against the wall and the original floor, "Okay, this needs figuring out."
"HELP!"
36658 blinks as the mental voice weaves itself through its link, causing only minimal discomfort and leaving behind a direction to follow. The weird part is that the voice is completely unidentified, something the drone has never felt before. Warriors, infiltrators, the Queen herself, everyone always left some kind of a mark, but this voice seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"High Score?"
Receiving no answer, 36658 blinks, grits its teeth, and fights against another unexpected movement of the ship.
Heh. This is still nowhere near as bad as when I had to walk home after testing the sufferingobliterators for the first time. At least now everything I see is still there after I blink.
A splash of water comes out of the toilet which is beginning to fill up without any lever pulling or pushing this time. When it overflows, 36658 concludes it's time to leave and flies into the air. Everything bad assaulting its senses stops. The ground being at weird angles stops bothering it and its strange movement stops causing problems for the drone's inner ear.
Flying is the answer then. An exhausting answer but the perfect one.
Opening the door leading from the shared bathrooms into the corridor lets in a wave of water which, thankfully, hasn't reached the ceiling yet but is rising at a quick pace. The normal bright lights have been replaced with red glow barely illuminating the area, which isn't an issue for 36658, but the ponies trying to get out can't have it easy. Without the dynamic hive mind map, all 36658 can do is follow the strange feeling which the unknown voice left behind, and ascend two decks above the heads of the ponies pushing through the stairs. Thanking its comparatively small size, 36658 ends up on the royals' deck, still flying over ponies crawling across the floor- wall. The crowd, led by SECURITY ponies loudly screaming orders, thins out quickly as the evacuation progresses, leaving Gem stomping on a closed door which isn't budging.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" she keeps cursing.
Seeing a familiar face clearly in need of help, 36658 approaches her, its wings buzzing.
"Can I help you?" it asks.
"The door is stuck! The cabin must be filled with water and I know a pony is still inside!" Gem gives the door an exasperated kick.
YOU ARE READING
They're... ON HOLIDAY?
Fanfiction[SEQUEL TO: They're EVERYWHERE!] Several years after the changeling invasion of Canterlot, queen Chrysalis gets an invitation to attend a cruise followed by a stay in a luxury holiday resort on an island belonging to the Griffon Empire. Supposedly...
