Courier in Equestria: Intro, part 2

>Day 1, Equestria

 

>You're making good progress, you've halved the distance between you and the mountain range.

>Your body was slowly healing, due to your implants.

>The bleeding has since stopped, but not before your blood crusted over it.

>You're surprised that you were able to lose this much blood and stay conscious.

>Your senses have dulled severely.

>The trees were strange indeed, nothing like anything you've ever seen before.

>If anything, this looked more like a swamp than a forest.

>The rush of the events earlier that day had long since worn off, leaving you exhausted and pained.

>Out of the corner of your eye, you kept seeing strange lights, shifting figures. You dismissed this as nothing more than your mind playing tricks, a side effect of your lost blood.

>Perhaps it was a bad idea to dismiss them.

>You stumble forward, not taking notice of a cluster of rocks by your feet.

>Behind you, you hear steps of some kind.

>And it was accompanied by a disgusting hissing noise.

 

 

>Raising your head slightly, you look behind you to see a black quadruped insect of some sort. It looked as if it had wings.

>Three more flew in behind it, and all of them had a devious smile on their faces.

>Similar to the mutations present in your own desert, these large bug things had ripped wings.

>You pull yourself up, and attempt to grab your rifle.

>The one in front of you quickly smacks it out of your hands, and knocks you back.

>You tackle the creature to the ground, and place your hands against it's throat.

>It kicks you in the stomach, making a sickening crunch on impact.

>You fall to the right of the creature, but not before you grab onto one of it's wings.

>You rip it off, causing the creature to shriek.

>By then it's friends have reached you.

>Unable to defend yourself, you feel their... "Hooves"... collide with your body, furthering your pain.

>You take a final hit to the back of your skull from one of the others, and you lose consciousness.

>Slipping in and out of consciousness, you remember very little of your journey.

>You remember two of the uninjured bugs carrying you through a swamp muttering and chirping the entire way.

 

Day 2, Equestria

 

>Scattering light, caves. Musty smell. Foul odor.

>Disgusting.

>Your mind awakes, and is greeted with one horrible sensation after another.

>Your arms and legs, you assumed, were bound.

>Your clothes were gone.

>The crust of your blood, you felt, was gone. But your body, with the exception of your head, was covered in what felt like thick mucus.

>Writing in mental disgust, you attempt to control yourself, to conceal that you had awaken.

>Too late.

>You felt a soft breath on your head, one that was... under control.

>An animal about to eat you would not be this calm.

>Hopefully.

>You open your eyes, and take in the form of a larger bug-like organism.

>Smaller ones, similar to the ones that captured you, buzzed all over what appeared like a hive.

>The larger one seemed a bit more... well kept than the other ones, despite the numerous injuries you assumed it sustained throughout it's existence.

>Its wings were torn, it's legs had holes.

>But it's most curious detail, is the horn protruding from it's head. It was misshapen and crooked, and looked as if it could impale you with ease.

>The horns on the other creatures were smaller, and not as... unique in shape.

>Fungus appeared to be growing from it's head, and something analogous to hair fell from it's head.

 

>It looks you straight in the eye, and begins, what you assume, is an attempt to communicate.

>It has to look up to you, only being about five feet tall.

>~"Hello, little one. You hurt one of my drones pretty badly. But you'll want to thank me, I'm in a forgiving mood today..."~

>It's speech was obviously syntax based. But without a cypher, or some sort o-

>Your line of thought is interrupted as the... thing... presses it's horn against your head.

>Excruciating pain. Thousands of memories floating about.

>That thing had just touched it's mind to yours.

>And it was forcing knowledge directly into your brain.

>You quickly try to shut it out, preventing it from accessing any more of your mind.

>Unable to get any farther into your mind, the mental presence of the creature fades.

>You let out a pained yell as the sensation subsides.

>"I assume you can understand me now, little one?"

>Talking. Most certainly talking. It's words sounded the same, but you were able to comprehend them.

>"Do not worry that I cannot understand you, my pet. I ripped the knowledge of your language out of your mind... before you shut me out."

>This thing can invade your mind. It has an army of minions.

>And it's sentient.

>You lift your head up, and fix your eyes on it's scarred, hideous face.

 

 

"What... What are you, insect? Some sort o-"

>"We are the Changelings, and I am their queen. Chrysalis. And we have big plans for you, my pet."

>No point in resisting right now. If you resist, they'll likely kill you, or try to break your mind.

>No, your mental discipline is strong, but not strong enough to withstand repeated mental attacks by this thing.

>"We are going to war soon. And you're going to help us."

>Shit, they found your weapon. If they know what it does, they'll think you have the capability to build more...

>"Are all members of your species this painfully silent? Answer me. I grow impatient."

"I..."

>You swallow your pride, and attempt to make your next statement sound genuine.

"I apologize, Queen. My mind has... been dulled from my injuries. It... will not happen again."

>"Goood. We're going to tend to your injuries, my pet. We'll feed you. We'll keep you safe. We just want one thing in return."

"You want me... To m-"

>"Love us."

 

>You close your mouth, dumbstruck. No weapons?

>It is possible they have not discovered the purpose of your rifle. They may have thought it was little more than a club.

>If that is true, then you might be able to escape, if you were to find it.

>It could be possible to make it draw energy off your internal battery.

>But finding where it was, without making it sound important, would be a challenge.

>Modifying your calorie-to-electricity generator to power the rifle, in addition to your implants, would also take time. It would also mean that you would need to consume more.

>You decide to wait to ask where it is, to avoid suspicion.

>"So, my pet? Will you accept my generous offer?"

"Y... Yes. I'll love you, if that's all you want, in return for what you're giving me."

>"Good. Now love me. Look at me, and love me."

>You reluctantly stare at the face of this... abomination, and attempt to muster some feeling, any feeling, of affection.

>As you do, you find your energy being sapped. Your mind growing dull.

>You quickly turn your feelings back to ones of disgust and hate for these creatures.

 

 

>Looking at this... Queen... She seemed to be invigorated by this.

>"Thank you, my pet. It's time for you to go to sleep, now. You're going to have a lot to do tomorrow. Hahahahahahaha..."

>She turns her back to you, and walks toward the exit of the chamber you are in.

>When she leaves, you observe the room around you.

>One exit. This place was most certainly a cave.

>You assumed this chamber connected to many others.

>Wandering randomly, you would never find your way out.

>You check your wrist, wriggling about, to see if you could find your pip-boy.

>It was still attached to your arm, which meant that you could probably use it to find a way out.

>But that was a moot point, however. If you managed to escape, in your current state, these things would hunt you down. And the next time they might prefer to eat you.

>The light in the chamber came from some sort of bio-luminescent blue and green lanterns on the roof and walls.

>The... "Changelings", and she called them, flew around the large chamber, which housed other creatures. They, however, were fully restricted.

>Most of the creatures were also quadrupeds.

 

>You counted yourself lucky.

>If this queen could be made to trust you,

>If you were able to buy enough time to recover,

>If you were to find your rifle,

>And if you were to rig your Pip-boy to map the caves,

>You had a chance of getting out of here.

>That's a lot of if's.

>But you've gotten out of worse.

>After a few more hours of contemplation and meditation, you try to relax your head, and go to sleep.

>You can't find a position to rest your head.

>This container may be comfortable to the rest of your body, but...

>THIS DAMN CONTAINER HAS NO PLACE TO REST YOUR HEAD.

>You finally just rest your chin, and close your eyes while attempting to ignore the smell.

>You'll continue plotting tomorrow.