They're... ON HOLIDAY?

Day 6 - Worky time cancelled!: 3/8

After landing not far away from the apartment complex in a dark spot under the tree canopies, 36658 heads down the hill and to the east, safe in the knowledge that the particular strand of the beach it has in mind contains no attractions or pastimes beyond simple swimming which wouldn't bring others to it while still being close enough to the water bungalows where Mister Shiny must be living in case of Scufflestick.

Even 10013...

It knows the best how things were. We can't go back to the old times. New rules or not, and I don't know what 387 did to pass those, there's no guarantee the good times will last. Are they all blind? Things can change at any moment if love becomes harder to come by again. We must use this moment to leave some kind of an enduring mark.

36658 sighs, muttering:

"What would you do if you were here, buddy?"

Of course, there's no answer. 36658 just smiles, slowly walking down one of the many side paths towards the beach.

"I know they all mean well, even 99111," 36658 keeps mumbling, "387 said we should be examples to others instead of just telling stories. We can do our best to be the former, and we can also do the latter, but no one can be you. Heh," 36658 chuckles as a low-hanging branch scratches against its heavily scarred carapace, "You know I'm the only one who still has all their old scars and marks all over despite having more than enough love to heal everything now? No, don't worry, buddy, I did heal all the real wounds with the exception of one. Our first priority is to make sure we can do our work for the hive, I know. I just kept the superficial ones. That way, every time I see my reflection in the water or inside a shiny I remember you. So far, I couldn't heal my hind leg from the time when I got caught by sizzly piercers and you came looking for me when I didn't return to the safe spot for sleepy time," 36658 kicks its right hind leg mid-step, "I told you not to worry, it works perfectly fine, it just feels, you know, as if something is tugging at something else inside it whenever I run or push harder. But hey, another reminder of a time when you found me unconscious before something could eat me," 36658 sighs, "One of so many..."

According to the hive mind map, the beach should be fairly close. One or two levels down at most.

"But I'm not you," 36658 repeats, "I know that we need something, some way of progressing as dronekind that doesn't rely on the goodwill of the high ranks. If things change again, they don't deserve to go back, not even 99111. We would survive for a time with very little love - 10013, 20100, 57999, me, but the newbies? Every worky time would be a toss-up whether any of them would return from the tunnels or not."

36658 takes the final short path down before coming up from the shady undergrowth near the east end of the promenade and the early morning sun washes over it.

"I want to help us all like you did, and I know that only by doing my drone tasks better than anyone won't do it," it breathes out, "But I'm not you. I'm too small for this."

"Hiiiiiiiiii, 36658!" a cheerful voice tears 36658's attention away from its cyclic and gloomy thoughts, and makes the drone look up and smile when it sees 65536 waving at it.

"...well here's a drone who achieved something unheard of just by working on itself..." whispers 36658 before waving back and returning the greeting with a genuine ray of positivity, "Heya, buddy!"

The guard drone isn't alone, though. That Blueblood unicorn is with it, sitting and watching the sparkling sea. Now that 36658 sees him without the cover of panic caused by the ship sinking, it notices how skin and bones he is.

When faced with a changeling drone staring at him from within a hoof's reach, Blueblood just grunts:

"Yes?"