Xenobiologist(s)

99158 and 99112 drop down through the final narrow, vertical shaft, reaching 99766’s last known location, or at least the correct level. The network of shortcuts accessible only to the response team has allowed them to descend all the way within three minutes, but they both know that they might be way too late already. Normally, emergency cocoons are the final resort when the drone is fleeing and can’t escape, and while the escape is still happening, the response team is already on the way due to a timely hive mind alert from the potential victim.

Three minutes can be way too long to get to someone if the alarm comes from using the cocoon itself. What’s worse this time - neither of the response drones have any idea what they’re up against. Still, they’re equipped with boomies and melties that deterred even the Hey-ing Waver, so the main concern is 99766’s survival.

99158 is galloping ahead and thus spots the green cocoon lying on the floor first.

“Weapons ready!” it mentally calls out. In response, a hole in 99112’s foreleg that’s near the fetlock widens enough so that the drone can just swing its hoof and the payload will fly out.

It stops by the cocoon, eyes narrowed into the darkness ahead, listening for anything, and cursing its beating heart, the blood rushing in its ears, and its quickened breathing for making things more difficult.

Both response drones have seen the final moment of 99766’s pre-cocooning experience, so they don’t waste any time guessing if using the emergency cocoon could have been an accident like in the early days after its invention when most of their job was hauling green blobs from random spots in the hive whenever a drone got spooked by literally anything, sometimes even when unrelated drones got spooked by a hive mind signal of a drone actually in danger.

“I’ll carry 99766, you cover my back,” orders 99158, loading the cocoon onto itself. The two are so tightly mentally connected that 99112 doesn’t even need to acknowledge the command.

“HSC? Since we have no clue what we’re up against, we might need some of 99856’s experimental stuff,” asks 99112 as it walks past 99158, ready to throw.

“No, GC is much closer and better fortified. I’ll feel better someplace we can lock and barricade ourselves in.”

Not a single spoken word was exchanged during the pickup, much to the disappointment of the ‘absolutely nothing inside the tunnel’ that begins silently following the retreating drones.

***

”You said you were the High Score, 10k, right?” asks Three, taking a short break from telling the duo following a step behind him about the Crystal Empire.

10k snaps out of observing the crystal buildings on the seemingly endless avenue and doing its best to not think about reasons why Smiley wouldn’t have made it to the meeting. They’ve been walking at a brisk pace for over an hour and, had Smiley made it to the train station and met with 99111 who stayed there, those two should have caught up.

“Hm? Yes, I am- I mean I did.”

“And that k means a thousand, right?”

“Yes, it’s supposed to be a pony thing,” 10k nods.

“I don’t recall much from the hive, boss said I was one of the last drones hatched before everyone left for the invasion, but wasn’t there a drone ranked nine-something?” when 10k sighs, Three stops and turns to face it, “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you didn’t. I am the current High Score. 9999 sacrificed itself to bring us everything we have today, so despite the Queen wanting to make my rank higher, I refused. The idea to add ‘k’ instead of using a full number came from 65536. 65536 is a-”

“I know 65536!” Three beams, “I visit it in Canterlot sometimes when Gem takes me there.”

“Gem…” 10k furrows its brows, “Do you mean Miss Gem? The one 65536 talks about? The changeling who looks like a zebra who taught Smiley how to write?”

“Yeah, Gem is my sister! I mean- boss’ daughter. Her rank in our hive is Four!”

They both stop talking and stare at each other, Three with a huge smile and 10k with a puzzled expression.

“Your hive?” asks 10k after a while of staring.

“Not allowed to talk about it!” Three pauses before adding, “But yes.”

“Are you telling me that there’s a different hive of changelings? One with other drones?”

“I’m definitely not telling you that,” Three winks, “But yes.”

“Whoa!” 10k’s jaw drops, “Any other old drones? Does the Queen know about you?”

“Nope, just me. And the boss, but he doesn’t count as a drone anymore. He got promoted to the boss, but he can’t dig anymore. I wouldn’t take the deal, but he didn’t have much of a choice,” Three frowns, if only for a moment, “And neither did I, really. As for the second question - Queen Chrysalis knows about us, buuut last time she tried to send an infiltrator, Miss 156, to check up on us, Miss One caught her here in the Crystal Empire and told her that she’ll send anyone she catches snooping around home in a tiny box,” Three pouts and looks at the sky, “I never really understood that one. I like tiny boxes, they’re cozy. Aaanyway, no one ever came afterwards.”

“You know 65536 and Miss Gem…” 10k shakes its head in disbelief, “Why didn’t 65536 ever say anything about any other hive? It knows how happy all of us would be to hear that there are drones doing well somewhere outside the hive- our hive, I mean.”

“It’s complicated,” uncharacteristically, Three sighs before immediately perking up with a confused expression, “Wait! It’s not anymore. Boss wanted us to stay hidden from everyone, but since Queen Chrysalis knows about us, 65536 knows about us, Smiley is out and about and knows me… I gotta ask Miss One again if I could write an article for the Scribbles! I gots new arguments! EEEEEEEE!” now beaming from ear to ear, Three pulls 10k into a bear hug.

And yet, it’s not crushing.

10k can’t explain it, but it instantly understands why 99380 looked so confused when Three hugged it earlier. Like a hot cocoa in freezing winter or a cold soda on a blazing summer day, the love inside 10k spreads from its core towards its stubby little horn and to the tips of its hooves. For a moment, it reminds it of the now ancient memory of a pink shockwave burning its love from the inside and blasting it out of Canterlot in its intensity, just… the exact opposite.

When Three breaks the hug, 10k doesn’t just feel full -all three visiting drones have been brimming with love even before disembarking from the train- it feels rejuvenated. Puzzled, it raises its foreleg and almost swallows its tongue. The faint white scars left all over its carapace from the damage it sustained while escaping the island Silversmith facility a full decade ago are entirely gone, replaced by smooth, strong, and sturdy chitin.

“What? How?” it whispers.

Three just shrugs and pokes 10k’s chest.

“Yeeeah, that sometimes happens when I hug others. It works on ponies too!” it happily bounces up and down, “There’s this place called the hospital where ponies who feel really bad are and they’re always happy when I visit. They like me in a place called cancer ward the most. I’m not sure what that’s about, but ponies there are always tired and sometimes they don’t even have their coats so they need all the hugs and let me sleep with them in their beds too. The staff always says they get better afterwards!”

“Is your special talent healing?” asks 10k, its mind racing a mile a minute.

I NEED TO INVITE THREE TO MEET 57999!

Even the Queen would understand. Or maybe we could have 57999 meet Three in Canterlot, if the hive wouldn’t work.

This. Must. Happen.

“I don’t think so,” Three shrugs, “I don’t really do anything special. Stuff just happens.”

“Does your goop have any special properties?”

“It’s green, squishy, and I can make it glow. Does that count?”

“No, we all can do that. In my experience, our goop changes in a special way if we eat something, but it can be anything so it’s super difficult to find what to eat. For example, 99526 starts producing more goop when it eats anything, waaay more than it ate or had inside it originally.”

“Wooow, boss never said anything about that. I got nothing,” Three shakes his head, “Does that mean I should start eating more pony stuff?”

“Probably, or at least taste a variety of things,” 10k points at the glowing, purple strings of runes on Three’s carapace, “I thought these had something to do with your special talent.”

“Completely unrelated,” Three shakes his head, “I think these keep me alive. I kinda died before and boss made me this new body. The glowy thingies keep the ‘me’ part inside the ‘body’ part.”

“Whoah!” 99380’s eyes go wide, “We could use that so much. Is there a way your boss or you could teach us how to make the body?”

“I’d have to ask,” Three shrugs, “I was kinda dead when boss did it, but there was this alicorn lady who shoved me into the body. But maybe he got better since then. Boss can do anything if he puts his mind to it!”

“Who’s this boss you're talking about anyway? Some high rank?” asks 10k, glancing into the distance where the seemingly endless avenue finally opens into a huge plaza.

For an old rules drone like me, he seems to genuinely love this high rank. I respect the current high ranks, especially the Queen, because they’re trying to change things and slowly succeeding. I even like 156 and miss 387 but Three’s tone is on a completely different level.

“Boss? A high rank?” Three laughs before stopping abruptly, “Waaaaait… I guess he is now, but he started as a drone just like me. Well, smarter than me. A lot of stuff happened and now he’s a proper King - with all the height, love storage, laser shooting, hive linking.”

“High Score…” 99380 breathes out, earning a slow, wide-eyed, but otherwise completely unreadable look from 10k.

“Huh, you’re right!” Three grins at 99380, “I think he’ll find it funny, but we don’t fight for rank or anything. For us, it’s more of a name. Just me being Three for real - can you imagine?” he laughs, waving his hoof dismissively, “I’d have to be all evil, punchy, have sharp teeth, and skulk around,” he suddenly gasps, “And boss would have to be like old Miss One! He he, that would be funny.”

Three gets lost in his own world for a moment while leading the duo towards the plaza. Neither of the hive drones mind a break in the conversation, 99380 lost once again in wonder of the shiny buildings, and 10k drafting up plans and arguments on how to have 57999 and Three meet.

I won’t lose another one!

Several minutes later, the trio stops under a needle-like spire in the center of the plaza supported by three pillars. In the middle of the open area directly under the spire sit a sharp, crystal stalagmite pointing up and a stalactite pointing down. Between them hovers a heart made of crystal, lazily spinning around. The drones have no clue what it is, but they can sense that it is the source of the love permeating the whole Empire. Three clears his throat, points at it, and say loudly and ceremoniously:

“Behold - the food machine!”