>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.