They're... ON HOLIDAY?

Day 3 - Storm: 11/11

Smiley isn't exactly sure where everything went wrong.

One moment, it's sniffing and eating weird pony things. Next, there's a friendly zebra hugging it. Finally, everyone splits up because they're all tuckered out from everything that's been happening.

Now there's water everywhere, and it's not the good water like back home which is scary only if there are rings on the surface or if it smells weird or... many other circumstances, but it's still nice water if you're careful. This is running water that made Smiley's throat hurt when it tried to drink it.

Hanging onto the chandelier in the long, now weirdly tilted corridor on the royal deck, Smiley watches the slowly rising water, unsure what to do without any coherent hive link in reach.

What would the best number do? Walk on water, swim, or fly away.

Experimentally, Smiley spreads its wings. They seem to be working just fine, so where should it fly?

*Puzzled face.* *Puzzled face?*

Without any hive mind response, Smiley settles down on the chandelier. Maybe this is all part of this strange trip? After all, from what it saw, ponies had water in big indoor holes too, and they were swimming in those. Maybe they just filled this long tunnel so that they didn't have to keep swimming from one side to the other over and over so often. Groups of swimming ponies passed by Smiley on occasion, but they looked busy and none of them paid the Silent any mind, so whatever's happening wasn't changeling business.

Smiley dips its foreleg in the water that has risen enough for it to reach. It's nicely cold. If there's one thing Smiley doesn't like about this trip it's how hot it is everywhere, unlike the tunnels back home. Granted, it feels great to curl up in the sun, but when it's so hot everywhere that-

Huh. Maybe that's why ponies kept jumping into the big water holes so often! Perhaps it should try it too when things stop being weird and tilted.

"Hey, there's a changeling!" calls out a voice, "Why didn't it follow the- oh, it's Smiley."

Zebra friend!

Smiley stops poking the water with its hooves and waves at Zemi wearing a weird, yellow, bubbly vest who immediately dives into the water from the stairwell and swims towards it.

Stopping under Smiley, she stands up on her hind legs while grabbing the wall for balance, which gives her enough height to keep her head above water, takes her life jacket off, and presents it to Smiley.

"Put it on like I did!" she shakes it in the air.

Smiley watches, tilting its head.

"Spirits damn it!" Zemi curses, taking the vest into her mouth. If there's one thing she'd learned about 'the weird drone' today, it was that it's more physical than verbal, so it pulls at Smiley's hoof and beckons it to go to her.

Smiley unsteadily creeps around the chandelier until it faces Zemi directly and flies towards her outstretched forelegs until she grabs it and pulls it into a hug. With her back pressed against the wall, she quickly manages to put the life jacket on Smiley properly.

"Thanks for making this easy by not resisting. Now come on, the ship won't last much longer," Zemi pats Smiley's head, lets go, and starts swimming back towards the stairwell, "I must apologize to 1313 later. I thought he was just paranoid when he said even the security ponies would ignore changelings in trouble and sent us to sweep for anypony still stuck here."

Confounded but amused by its newfound buoyancy, Smiley paddles its legs and follows her.

***

A fragment of 387's mind is floating in darkness, deliberately severed from the rest of the world and anything that might interrupt its work. The warrior remembers clearly that he carried Chrysalis off into her suite, split up with 65536 in good spirits, checked up on 93, and then decided to go to sleep with the drones.