Why Humans Shouldn't be Allowed in Equestria

We returned about an hour early. Twelve hours since falling asleep, just the same. The rest left as we completed each other, in a very literal sense. We asked Aranea about it, but she couldn't decipher anything aside from a strange dream. She was in that coma-like state before we got anywhere. I got some herbs from Zecora to keep me awake and active as we left again. I left a mark next to where she slept this time, to be certain of that at least.

Twelve hours. A mark next to where she slept.

Twelve hours. Another mark.

Twelve hours. Another mark.

I was right about that much, she was growing at an alarming rate. Each time she was awake, she had nothing but vague notions of dreams, but seemed strangely calm. It was like she was reassured of the outcome, regardless of our inability to do anything but keep her alive. I wondered if she was mentally preparing herself for death, having escaped her old life to this one, short as it may have been.

I felt like I was watching a cancer patient slowly lose the battle. Like she made her own final arrangements. The trips outside involved a lot of numbness and crying. We still had nothing. Luna and Twilight held a lot of concern for the whole affair. They could see it in me, if not in Aranea, peaceful as she looked at those unconscious times. It was too deep to call 'sleep'. It was like a coma every time. It was like death.

The holes never got into her torso. But she had more body. Didn't that mean it was getting worse? More body, more empty space, right? She was slightly larger than Twilight now, between her and Luna. Before her changeling body was only the size of a regular pony girl. Pony girl... It had nothing to do at all with the case at hand. Maybe my brain was changing the subject before I lost my mind with worry.

“How's Sky?”

“Sky?” Twilight asked.

“Sky... Sprinkle I think it was. You're Sparkle, don't think you're related.”

“We're not. Why do you want to know?”

“Dunno why it popped into my head. Just wondered how she was doing. Nice kid.”

Twilight seemed both confused and relieved at the prospect of a pause in our hopeless quest. First time in days I'd seen anything smile. “She's doing well. Celestia is still teaching her. We're still working on why her magic worked when no other pony's would.”

I thought about it for a bit, when it hit me. “That's easy.”

“Really?” Both Twilight and Luna said in tandem.

“Yeah. It doesn't.”

Confusion ruled the scene.

“The magic didn't hit me. The desk did. That's why Zecora could kick my ass.” I said while looking at my bandaged hands, even though she didn't do that. I felt my nose. It was healing, but it was going to be crooked forever now, if only slightly. Could have been far worse really. I've seen people that were really screwed up. Should probably feel worse about it, but there were far more important things to think about. My brain was still hiding from the issue at hand. "Speaking of which, why did you kick my ass?"

Zecora gave a slightly sheepish look, relative to her perpetual calm. "I... had thought her condition the result of your intentions. This from one who's been mistreated, though how I'd rather not mention." She thought I hurt her? I should be furious about it. If conditions were even approaching normal, I would be. Right now I ignored the surprised looks of Luna and Twilight and tried to continue the previous conversation. Anything to keep my mind off the situation for a little while.

“Hope I didn't scare here, blanking out back there. I should visit sometime after all this...” There's reality. “This... ends...” The scene went dour again. We plodded along, unwilling to stray too far from where I had to return in a few hours. I didn't know how much longer it would take for either some sort of cure, or when I couldn't give enough to keep her going.

Twilight studied some insects hanging onto a tree. “Changelings do have a lot of similarities to insects. Do you think there's something we're missing?”

I perked up. “Yeah, maybe we're thinking all pony when something's here.” It didn't have any proof behind it, but it was the first lead we had. We stared at any bugs we could find. A trail of ants, a couple of beetles fighting.

I had to run back and take some of Zecora's herbs to keep myself from collapsing, and keep Aranea going.

As soon as she was in that living-death state again, I somberly joined the others. That bag of bits was about half what it was. Zecora wasn't charging for rent or anything, but it kept us all going while we worked on saving Aranea. More things to study. Ants, beetles, several varieties of spider – A personal favorite, but that wasn't enough to lift spirits. I studied as many as I could, trying to find some relation to Aranea. She took her name from a kind out of her home, after all. Nothing.

Another trip to the hut. I was running on empty. No telling how much longer this could be kept up. Aranea was almost the size of Luna now.

We couldn't understand it. She was growing like a child grows into an adult, only far faster. Or like a fetus grows into a child, only slightly faster. I thought on that and mentioned it to the others. We didn't know what to make of it.

We came across more bugs of varying sorts. There was nothing to tie to Aranea. Until I saw an example that all of us ignored earlier. A cocoon.

“Wonder what it would take if it wasn't in there?”

“Nobody knows. They can't do it without the cocoon.” Twilight answered.

I leaned against a tree and though of it anyway. A line of ants crossed by. Wait a minute...

“Hey, don't know if it's the same here, but what happens when a colony needs something, and there's no larvae to be born into that class?”

“it's rare, but a drone can mutate into any necessary subclass of that species.”

“How much does that take? Like energy?”

“A huge amount supposedly, relative to the body size.”

“Body size... You said the old queen was gone, right?”

“Yes. It's been about two years now. Wait, you're telling me-”

Of course! With no hive to siphon energy from, she couldn't just sit in a cocoon, or anything like it. I got the biggest smile I think I ever did. The kind where your face hurts, but you couldn't care less.

“Heh heh. Heh heh hahaha!” I started laughing like a maniac at the realization. I left Twilight and Luna in the dust as I ran faster than I ever had and readied myself for the next treatment. I'd never been so happy to run back to an unconscious body to wait for an awakening.

Aranea wasn't dying at all – she was mutating! I had no idea what the outcome would be, but one thing was certain.

It meant life.