My Kingdom of Rubble

Cold.

I'm a desert guy, I can't stand the cold, damnit.

The sound of a heavy wind deafened the Courier, who slowly came to his senses. From what he could determine in his current position, he was laying face-down in something that was soft and frigid. Gently moving his limbs and body, the Courier found that the only injury he sustained was what felt like a bruise on his left arm. Why did he have a cut on his arm in the first place? For that matter, why the hell was he cold? What was he laying in?

Where the hell am I?

The new world, Laddy boyo. Get up or freeze to death.

Placing his hand underneath him, Ozzy lifted himself up to discover just what was happening. He didn't even need to open his eyes to tell him that whatever he was staring at was blinding, but he did so anyway. Upon opening them, he was disorientated when he saw a vast field of what appeared to be snow. The sky above him was an oppressing gray, and he could barely see ten feet in front of him. Shaking his head to clear his vision, Ozzy slowly stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

Snow. Miles upon miles of snow. Grimacing, Ozzy brought up his Pip-Boy and scrolled to the map. There was nothing, not even a defining landmark.

Goddamnit.

Letting his arm drop to his side, he felt his hand brush against the Mysterious Magnum. Remembering to check his equipment, Ozzy started feeling around his person to ensure that all of his weaponry was still there. 'This Machine', check. Magnum, check. 'Blood Nap', check. Everything else, good to go.

At least I'm not unarmed.

Out of options, Ozzy picked a direction and started walking.

I mean, maybe I'll run into someone who can point me towards civilization. If I don't have to kill them that is.

Everything within the frozen north blended in seamlessly. Billions of years of adaptation and evolution have given its denizens the ability to blend in with their surroundings. From the monstrous snow Yeti to the tiny Arctic Crab, everything was either able to blend into the harsh snow or naturally become a part of it.

Well, most things.

The intimidating figure hid behind a snow bank, a white fox in its sights. The figure, one tall, dark, carapace-covered changeling, was at a huge disadvantage from the other predators in the area. Her black horn poked out from amongst the snowbanks, her wings buzzed incessantly when she tried to swoop down on an unsuspecting meal, and her grimy blue hair did nothing to camouflage her being. Plus, she was absolutely fed up with snow being caught in her skin.

That's right. Stay right there.

Chrysalis thought to herself as the fox continued to prance and play in the snow with its mate. It had been two days since Chrysalis had a decent meal that wasn't based from crabs or snails. Her stomach growled, reminding her of her lack of nourishment. Normally, she would just zap the pair of them, frying them then and there, but being as malnourished as she was, she could not muster up the magical capability of doing so. Thus, she was forced to hunt the old-fashioned way. Of course, there was drinking water as far as the eye could see, but not a morsel of food in sight, at least for her.

Oh, suuuuuure, She thought, If a Yeti becomes hungry, he can devour the entire population of foxes, but when I want something, I have to spend days hunting it!

She adjusted herself, preparing to pounce over the mound of snow, ensnaring the naive pair of foxes. She was so close, and they were right there.

It's perfect. Nothing is going to keep me from my next meal!

Just as she was about to pounce, a high pitch noise followed by a blinding light materialized a few yards away. The event startled the foxes, who sprinted away back to their home. Chrysalis, who was absolutely livid at losing her next meal, screamed to the sky in a vain attempt to bring back her prey.

"GGGGAAAAAAHHHHH CURSE MY LUCK!"

Dropping back to the ground, panting, she decided to make her way over to the noise to investigate. Crawling up towards where she assumed the noise came from, Chrysalis barely peeked her head above the snow bank. What she saw, though, was beyond her comprehension. Laying there in the snow, was what looked like a giant ape, minus the fur. It seemed as though it was clothed, wearing something that didn't match its head color and a long, brown coat. She could make out what appeared to be a symbol on the back of the coat, but through the thick blizzard, she was unable to decipher what it was.

At that moment, the creature stirred on the ground. It appeared as though it was wearing armor of sorts, though the style and alloy it was composed of was a mystery. Attached to the creature in several places were what appeared to be metal... Sticks? There was one on the creatures back that she concluded was a sword of sorts, the blade being stained brown in several places. When Chrysalis saw the creatures face, she was surprised to see sunglasses. At least, that was her guess, some forms of sunglasses being in style in certain parts of Equus.

The creature began to right himself, various groans and moans coming from it. Now standing at its full height, it was even taller than Chrysalis, a fact that sent a chill down her spine. Just as this alien was about to look her way, she ducked down behind the snow bank, hoping that it was capable of civility. Quietly, she peered back over the snow bank, only to see the creature walking away from her.

Should I go after it? It could kill me... Then again, it may make a decent meal.

Using her honed hunting skills, she silently followed the creature, confident in her abilities to remain undetected, even to the most experienced hunter.

Whatever is following me is terrible at hunting.

It took all of about thirty seconds for Ozzy to determine that he was being followed. Even with the sounds of the blizzard circling around him, the sound of the loud, forceful footsteps warned him to watch his six.

Alright, if it's an animal, I'll kill it and cook it. If it's a person, I'll kindly ask for directions... Or kill them. Either one works.

That's right. Give into the resentment.

Shut up.

Continuing his march into the storm, Ozzy waited for the opportune time to throw this tail. Seeing his chance with a rather large snowbank, Ozzy picked up his speed and circled around the snow mound. Now on the opposite side, Ozzy climbed to the top of the mound and crouched down.

You're going to get it, whatever you are.

He unsheathed Blood Nap from his hip, and held it in his left hand.

Come to Daddy.

Shoot! Where did he go? Chrysalis asked herself, the creature now out of her sight.

From this distance, she was able to see that he ducked behind a peculiarly large snow mound, but his current position was unknown.

What if he heard me? Wait, impossible, I am a skilled huntress! There was no way that he heard me! She convinced herself.

Silently moving towards the snow mound, she peered around the other side, only to find that the creature had vanished. She made one, two, three passes around the mound, yet there was no sign of the creature.

Damnit! It got away!

She stomped her hoof into the snow. "Dammit!" She shouted, her voice almost muted by the storm. That was when she felt something fall on top of her. Hard.

As the stalkers back was turned, Ozzy made his move. Bowie knife in hand, he leapt down from the mound, directly onto the creatures back. A grunt of pain could be heard from, what Ozzy assumed was, a her. They toppled to the ground, Ozzy being directly on top of her, blade in one hand while the other was holding her head to the side, exposing her throat. The creature, immediately realizing the position she was in, began to hyperventilate. Her eyes widened upon feeling the blade pressed against her throat. She began twisting and turning her body in a vain attempt to throw Ozzy off of her.

Ozzy, not to be fooled by the beings fearful state, kept her pinned to the ground, blade firmly held in place. First contact with a new race or not, this thing could have tried to kill him. The thing beneath him kept making noises, pleading for its life, Ozzy guessed. He wanted to say something, but this was something that all of his experiences never prepared him for. Floating brains were one thing, but weird horse-bug things were a completely different story.

Fuck it, I'll wing it, Ozzy thought.

Unsure of how to proceed, he went off of the closest thing he knew about dealing with a people that may not speak his language.

"He-llo. Can you un-der-stand me?" He finished with a wide smile, one which apparently did nothing to calm the creatures nerves.

You're going to die, and this thing is going to kill you.

Chrysalis was panicking, unsure of how to save herself from this creature. The blade which she felt against her throat could slice open her neck at the flick of a hoof, and she would bleed out in the middle of a frozen wasteland. At this point, she wanted to speak to the being, but when she tried to speak, only rushed quivers of words came out.

Chrysalis yearned for a lot of things in that moment. She wanted her belly to be full. She wanted to be back in her hive. She wanted her invasion of that wretched city of Canterlot to succeed. She wanted to be warm and away from this monster who was preparing to end her life.

Just as she was about to black out from fear, the creature made noises which resembled words.

"He-llo. Can you un-der-stand me?"

The language was foreign to her, which heightened her fear even more. Was that a threat, a friendly hello? She may never know. Against all of her inhibitions and training, she did something that brought her back to her younger days, which she loathed to revisit. Feeling the warm liquid rush down her leg turned her face bright red, realizing how humiliating it felt to wet oneself as an adult. As if that wasn't torturous enough, she couldn't help but close her eyes as sobs began to rack her body.

Goddamnit, the thing pissed on my leg! Ozzy thought to himself.

Feeling the tepid liquid rush down his shin made him grimace. To top that off, it started crying.

I'd like you to kill this thing solely because it's fuckin' annoying.

I mean, if it's this scared of me, maybe I should just let it go.

You mean to tell me that NOW you have a heart? NOW you have a conscience?! Fuck off.

Pulling back the blade from the creatures throat, Ozzy heard its breathing return to a deep pant, not the hyperventilating it was a few moments ago. Still keeping her head to the ground, Ozzy knew that he would have to communicate with this thing to gain some direction, and more than likely apologize.

God bless the Think Tank. Ozzy thought to himself as he lowered his Pip-Boy towards the creatures mouth.

A remarkable addition to the Rob-Co Pip-Boy, created by the ingenious Think Tank of Big Mt., not to mention a small amount of aid from Dr. Mobius, was the TLK2ME1000-TRANSLATORMOGRIFIER™. The TLK2ME1000-TRANSLATORMOGRIFIER™, as coined by Dr. Klein, scans the DNA sample of a foreign race or being, and inputs their genetic code into the Pip-Boy, making it readable and even speakable to the owner of the Pip-Boy.

The only awkward part about the translator, however, is coming across a willing subject. In this case, she wasn't very willing, but it would be beneficial to the both of them. With his Pip-Boy directly in front of the creatures mouth, he brought the scanner towards her lips, which only made the creature more nervous. Ozzy, not knowing how else to console a creature that he was just about to murder, quietly shushed her, drawing out the syllable in the hopes of calming her down.

With her mouth barely opened, Ozzy scanned the trail of saliva that was dripping down from her tongue. Upon collecting the data, a new note was added into the notes section of the Pip-Boy. Scrolling over to that section of the Pip-Boy, the note was titled:

RACE: Changeling

FORM: Equine

PLANET OF ORIGIN: Equus

Changeling? Weird name.

With the new information stored on his Pip-Boy, Ozzy tried reading some lines from the notes, having to shout over the wind.

"CAN. YOU. UN-DER-STAND. ME?"

What was once an overwhelming sense of fear inside Chrysalis quickly manifested into confusion, with just the tiniest inkling of hope. The creature not only did not cut her throat open, but instead held a device up to her mouth, followed by the odd tingling sensation resonating from her tongue. Then, in perfect Equestrian, it spoke. Asking if she could understand it, which she could not believe that she did.

Soon, that once small iota of hope began to grow, to the point where she imagined that she could befriend this creature. The only thing that stopped her from getting carried away with that sentiment, though, was her realistic and justified skepticism. Sure, it spoke to her, and she could understand, but would it still try to eat her? To KILL her? To call in an invasion force that could decimate the entire planet of Equus?

There was only one way to find out. Her voice shaking, with nervousness still evident in her voice, and with her foremost concern in the front of her mind, her voice amplified over the storm.

"YES. P-PLEASE DO NOT KILL ME."

Alright, that's good. Now to decipher whether or not she's friendly.

Skepticism when meeting a new race is to be expected, and now was no different. If the Changeling was going try and kill him, Ozzy would like to put it down without a fight, not giving it the chance to actually best him. Looking back at his notes, Ozzy quickly formulated his next sentence, shouting. "ARE YOU FRIENDLY?" His tone indicating that he would kill her as quickly as he would let her up. "I AM. ARE YOU?" The creature said, focusing her eyes on Ozzy, or as much as she could from half of her head being buried in snow. "I AM FRIENDLY. I WILL LET YOU UP, BUT IF YOU TRY TO ATTACK ME, YOU WILL FAIL AND I WILL MURDER YOU."

Nice and gently, now. No sudden moves, The pair thought, trying to read the others body language.

Ozzy, being the cold-blooded bastard that he was showed none, and Ozzy was not familiar enough with the species that he could pick up on their patterns. Regardless, Ozzy slowly moved his hand away from Chrysalis' head, stood up, and took a few cautionary steps back. Still not completely trusting it, Ozzy kept his hand on his magnum, anticipating any form of attack that she could muster. Chrysalis, realizing that she was now free to move, slowly rose to all fours, the pain in her back from the aliens fall making her wince. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she turned to face the being, seeing that he kept his hand on one of the strange sticks.

Minutes passed, and the pair stood there sizing each other up as the wind and snow blurred around them. Chrysalis, now with a better view of the alien, could pick out small details about his person. If the masculine voice was not enough to point to it being a male, the facial hair and large muscles were. The facial hair was red, strange for an alien creature, as she had assumed that most aliens would look... Not like he did.

Ozzy, for the most part, was astonished that this thing even had the energy to move. It looked as though it had not eaten in days, the visible ribcage being the main culprit. It was definitely an insect race, the tattered wings and carapace giving that away. Her tail was the same color as the hair on her head, and her total height was surprising. Ozzy realized that he stood just about a foot taller than her, give or take a few inches.

Realizing that they had just been standing there staring at each other, Ozzy was the first one to speak. "I'M SORRY FOR ALMOST KILLING YOU."

Might as well get that out of the way.

Praying that his apology would be accepted, as this was the first sentient being he had come across in this 'New World', he was eager to what it had to say. "YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I AM NOT IN FIGHTING CONDITION. OTHERWISE, YOU WOULD BE DEAD." Her irritated look showed that she was still embarrassed at her natural reactions, but was at least trying to be civil. "I'M SURE I WOULD BE."

Name. Introduce yourself.

"MY NAME IS OZZY. WHAT IS YOURS?" Her eyes widened at his name, but decided to take the friendly route.

"I AM QUEEN CHRYSALIS, LEADER OF- uuuhh, THE FORMER LEADER OF THE CHANGELING HIVE." Her voice began proud as she spoke, but her inflection fell as she finished. She stared at 'Ozzy', waiting for a response.

First thing I come across, and it's an overthrown leader.

This'll be interesting. Time to turn on the charm.

"WELL, CHRYSALIS, DO YOU HAVE ANYWHERE WHERE WE MIGHT ESCAPE THIS STORM? I AM NOT A FAN OF WINTER CONDITIONS." Plus, the constant shouting was tiring his voice. "AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT KILL ME, I WILL TAKE YOU TO MY TEMPORARY REFUGE." She hollered back, anxious at the idea of inviting this alien into her temporary establishment. "I WOULD VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THAT, AND YOU HAVE MY WORD. LEAD THE WAY."

With that, Chrysalis began marching in the completely opposite direction that Ozzy had been walking.

I'll have to ask her how the hell she knows where she's going. I can't see shit.

She looks like she'd taste like boatfly meat.

Jesus Christ, shut up.

As the pair walked seemingly deeper into the storm, Chrysalis had one thought running through her head:

Please, do not make me regret this decision.