Survive, Adapt, Evolve, Overcome.

Thick shrubbery, every way you looked it was the same, the Everfree Forest was more of a jungle than an actual forest, the ambient was humid, hot, and no matter how much you slithered, the sensation of eyes following you never quite left you.

It has been about ten to fifteen minutes since your arrival, and you had already crossed paths with one of the forest’s inhabitants, a manticore, a male to go by the mane it sported, at first you had been, understandably, terrified out of your mind, as such, your body reacted to the stressful situation on instinct, leading to you discovering one ability you weren’t aware zerg larva possessed, curling up like the world’s biggest pillbug, which lead to the current situation.

‘oh god dammit, leave me alone already!’ you yelled in your thoughts as the oversized cat gnawed on your shell, trying, and failing, to break through the hardened material that composed your natural armor, you were at least relieved to know that you had the stupidly tough armor of the game’s larvae ‘it takes a fucking tank to kill one of me, you ain’t gonna do shit! Give up already!’ unfortunately, your mental cursing was more or less ignored by the mythological beast, seeing as it was busy trying to pry you open to feast on the soft flesh hidden behind the shell.

Hissing in annoyance, you settled down and curled tighter, there was nothing you could do but wait for the damn thing to get bored, although, judging by the frustrated growls, you wouldn’t have to wait for long

Whisper the infiltrator felt conflicted at the moment, on one hoof, her orders were to observe the creature and remain unseen, with the Night Mare’s return so close, they could not afford even the slightest risk of exposure, many a ling had been lost to the beasts of the badlands, their numbers were at an all-time low, and they were stretched thin, protecting the hive, gathering food, gathering intelligence on Canterlot, and searching for somewhere to move the hive.

On the other hoof, the poor thing must be terrified out of it’s mind, completely helpless against a clearly superior predator, and a vague, obscure sense of familiarity urged her to help it, distract the manticore to let it escape.

In the end, caution won and the changeling settled down on the branch she was perched on, limiting herself to watching, it was thanks to that decision that she realized two somethings, the first, for as much as the manticore bit and clawed, it wasn’t even scratching the larva’s shell.

‘that’s one tough shell you have there’ thought the changeling

And the second, was the size of the damn thing! About two and a half times the length of a pony, but flat enough to pass below anyling’s barrel without touching them, extremely short, nubby legs that were barely enough to slither around, and very small eyes that couldn’t have very good sight, all in all, it was a strange body shape that offered very little in the way of advantages to survive, which lead to the conclusion that it was a larva, which would probably turn into something really bucking nasty, if she were to judge by the sheer amount of armor, and those wicked looking pincer-mandibles.

‘knowing my luck, it’s going to be the start of a doom legion of demon bugs’ whisper’s train of thought was swiftly dismissed as boredom induced mental ramblings, and the changeling resumed her duty of watching the larva.

After about half an hour of constant gnawing, clawing and trying to sting you, the manticore finally, finally, gave up, giving you one last bat with a paw, it trudged off despondently into the forest, to look for an easier prey, still, you waited for at least fifteen more minutes before uncurling, just to make sure it was gone for good.

‘just you wait, you piece of shit cat, you’ll be the first my brood hunts!’

After swearing bloody retribution against the manticore and all it holds dear, you continued on your journey, for the most part, you just wandered aimlessly, trying to find a place that was secluded enough, and spacious enough to fit a hatchery in, and so far you’ve had no luck, although you did find a cave that went pretty deep, deep enough that from the entrance you couldn’t see the other end, and a bog that most animals seem to avoid at all costs.

Looking up, you noticed the sun beginning to dip into the horizon, and the moon peeking from the other side ‘i really don’t want to stay out at night, something tells me it won’t be a good idea’

[] Go back to the bog: more biomass to work with, greater dangers, not really hidden

[] Go back to the cave: less starting biomass, safer, hidden

[] Brave the night, keep searching: ????

Evenings on Manehattan were normally a time for the usually bustling city to slow down, ponies getting out of their jobs to enjoy the sunset, eat something and then head back to their respective homes, and retire for the night, today, with a heavy rain scheduled, the streets were empty, with no one to watch the sunset, or the nebulous vortex that spontaneously formed in one of the many alleys.

Or the apple sized, emerald green, many legged, chitinous creature that was dropped from it, said creature chittered, four eye stalks rising from it’s center mass, it’s multi-pieced mandibles clicking rapidly as it spat a glob of green goo at one of the walls, that rapidly melted through the stone, creating a hole for it to crawl into, it’s bulbous abdomen struggling to fit for a second, before disappearing into it, at first there was silence, but then a screeching hiss echoed out of the hole, followed shortly after by a terrified scream that was abruptly cut off with the sickening sound of flesh being torn apart, followed by a dull thud and more squelching.

The whole commotion was hidden by the crack of thunder, and the dull roar of heavy rainfall.

Meanwhile, miles to the west, in a city clinging to the side of a cliff, in a garden by a grand white castle, a statue chuckled.