And now, it was past midnight.
It was not Hearth's Warming Eve anymore.
It was Hearth's Warming.
However, in the very early hours of the morning—the sun was not out yet—many changelings were asleep. One could hear a collective snore if close enough. Few were awake and most of those few were guards in their armor, patrolling with happy smiles—there was one who was holding a picture of him and his friends both changeling and pony as he flew about, winding through halls, rooms, open spaces.
As he passed by the quarters, the individual living rooms, he took quick glances at each. Most of those he saw were sleeping soundly in their beds, dozing off and, usually, snoring as well. The exceptions that were awake made him curious—one was reading a book under a bright night light, another was writing something on a piece of paper with a tear-drenched face, yet another was eating his midnight snack as he did his best to make sure no one was watching him or even caught a glimpse of him eating his stash of secret food. Then, there were the rooms which had more than one changelings awake: a room where two or three changelings whispered to one another, for example.
One of those rooms had those four changelings talking in hushed voices.
The guard smiled as he passed by each room.
"Do you want to sleep yet?" Neon Guard asked as he sat on one of the four rock beds there.
It was a small room just like the rest. It felt cramped with the four of them there, but none of them had annoyance on their faces. Rather, all four of them looked OK with it, none of them growling about as they sat on their own rock beds. A table and a cabinet was what finished the room.
"No!" Humerus shouted as loud as he could while whispering. "I want to stay up all night, as ponies say, and I won't be staying up all night if I sleep now!"
"That's just an expression, you know," Red Noise quipped. "It's not like ponies will sleep in the middle of the night and then feel regret at lying to themselves. That's ridiculous."
"Ridiculous to you, but not to me!"
"Stop it with your antics, Humerus."
Blue Alarm just smiled.
Red Noise turned to that blue changeling. "And, what do you have to say, now that Humerus's wrecking about caused all of us to jolt awake?"
"Not much. At least we had a good Hearth's Warming Eve. Now that it's the actual day, I'm kind of excited."
Neon Guard nodded. "Good, that's good." He looked at his hat that was on the table. "I'm prepared for it, too. Well, I need to have the energy, so I need rest right now."
"You won't be resting until you give this one—" gesturing to a smiling Humerus "—a proper punishment."
"Are you gonna send me to jail for, what, waking you up?" Humerus protested.
"In some places, it's a serious offense. Their cultures value sleep that badly."
"You're just making that up!" Humerus accused, pointing at Red Noise in disgust.
"Equestria is ruled by a pony who can get into your dreams," Red Noise countered, crossing his forelegs. "It's not much of a stretch, really."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Weren't you the first one of us to be visited by Princess Luna?"
"I can retract my statements!"
"OK, you're just here to win an argument, aren't you?"
"I'll prove myself innocent in front of all the hive so I can show everyone that—"
"Woah, woah there," Neon Guard said as he stepped in between the two. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I know that both of us want to sleep—even Blue Alarm. So, why not call it a night and wait for the morning to, uh, settle this in a non-vitriolic way." A pause as he looked at the two of them. "You might just be grumpy because it's very late. The day is going to refresh everyone's minds."
Humerus looked at Neon Guard, then at Red Noise. He nodded and smiled.
"Ugh" was what Red Noise said before he lay down on his bed.
Blue Alarm stood on a natural balcony.
This balcony overlooked the great forested expanse before the hive. It was not that much of a sight since a good chunk of it was covered in snow and many trees had shed their leaves for the winter. However, the evergreen plants stood out in the sea of white and brown and gray—vivid points of colorful color against a dreary backdrop.
It was also cold as a chilling breeze descended on the hive.
Blue Alarm, not wearing any clothes, shivered as he felt it.
Then, he drew in breath.
He took another step closer to the balcony's edge.
"Here it is. Hearth's Warming. That Equestrian holiday, famed as it has been even through now. Ponies celebrating by giving gifts because of something that happened over a thousand years ago, uniting the three tribes together in harmony and friendship, fighting against enmity and disruption. Everyone here knows that.
"And here we are. Over half a year. Maybe even more. I'm not sure. To think that...we used to not care about all of that. That the lives in front of us were food as long as we hung around them, getting their love without them knowing it.
"To think that it all happened in one day. Just one day. Only one day. Some didn't believe us because it was one day. They would've if perhaps the Princess sent some of her best friendship ponies here every once in a while—that sounds more believable. But, here we are—evil in one minute, good the next.
"It was...sudden. I did not expect it myself until Starlight made that riveting speech. I don't think it was peer pressure when I saw my comrades join Thorax in sharing love.
"Was it because I did not want to be boxed in? Was it because I finally wanted to be an individual?
"Not really. It was because of love. Sharing love.
"I didn't think that well. I was hungry, hungry hungry. Starving. It stays in your mind.
"That's the reason, I think.
"And, look at how far we've gone. A hive full of loving colorful changelings. Not what I expected, but I'd take it over continued slavery under an evil queen.
"We're not even done with the first year of being good, yet I could think of the many things we've done both on our own and, more importantly, together as a hive, as friends.
"I knew from the beginning that most of us would treat life outside the hive as a foal would. We knew a lot about it before, but it was only so that we could steal love better. After that, knowledge alone was not enough to help us live life. Funny—we've been pretending so much that, when it comes to the real thing, we know nothing.
"But, there's the wonder.
"Everything was new. Everything was a lesson about life—from the morals to the simplest of things like a kitchen sink. Everything was outside the hive was a thing to experience.
"And not just the things. Everyone, too. The ponies, most especially. But it's not just the ponies—griffons, dragons, yaks, and more. All of them unique, all of them with their own likes and dislikes, all of them with their own passions and desires, all of them with their own characteristics that make them different from one another. Conversation is had, relationships are formed, and friendships are made, and that's how it goes."
Blue Alarm sighed, looking upon the vast nighttime winter landscape before him.
Then, the snowflakes were falling.
"Where next? Where to? I don't know. This is only the beginning for this hive, for all of us, for me and my friends. One thing is for certain, though: I won't be abandoning my friends and they won't be abandoning me. Friendship is just that good."
And he contented himself with one smile on his face.
The wind grew harsh—rougher. The howl of the pre-dawn gust hurtled and threw snowflakes into the changeling's face. More leaves of what remained of the evergreens were snapped off, floating away into any and all places nearby. It was slowly becoming a winter tempest.
Then, hoofsteps.
Loud, distinct hoofsteps.
Not of one, but of three changelings.
Blue Alarm turned around.
"What are you doing out there?" Neon Guard asked above the wind's commotion, bracing the many snowflakes and the forceful gale. "I know you like your contemplating nights, but don't you think this isn't the best time?"
Blue Alarm looked back.
And saw a fog descending upon the hive.
"Right," Blue Alarm said.
Then, he flew back under good cover, safe in the confines and the shadows of the hive.
As they passed by the Hearth's Warming lights that were still on, Red Noise asked, "Let me take a gander at what you're thinking about: the holiday, I presume."
"In reality," Blue Alarm replied, turning to all of his friends who were walking beside him, "it started that way. But, I thought about the close friendship we have..."
And, after a night's sleep, most of the hive awoke to a new day.
Unlike the last few days, the sky was clear and blue. Not a cloud was in sight. The sun shone with nothing to obscure it—a sight for sore eyes, as one would say.
Although the snow did not melt instantly, there was at least no more additional snow for the time being. What was left was the accumulated amount of cold white substance—or, snow.
A few minutes later, a great noise arose.
It was the chatter, the talk, the conversations, the discussions, the words—exchanged greetings of "Happy Hearth's Warmings!", the usual rounds of "How do you do?" and "How are you today?", their respective responses of "I'm fine" and its variants—jokes and riddles and puns being pushed to the forefront, plans and ambitions being made and created, ideas and concepts articulated and examined.
Aromas of food wafted out, a great aroma that reached far beyond the hive: a hearty breakfast feast that combined the best of changeling and Equestrian cuisine as could be seen by the cakes, pies, and cakepies (although Pinkie Pie was not there) being on the same tables as beetles, bug jelly, and stuffed worm.
Music blared from within, all of different voices and of different instruments but playing the same song, the same carol that celebrated Hearth's Warming—a carol that was from a long time ago, perhaps all the way back to that cave where three certain ponies sang and lit up the Fire of Friendship.
And, even though it was daytime, no one thought of turning off the decorative lights.
The hive stood as a beacon of harmony and friendship in a thriving land where its plants were growing back. The hive stood as a civilization in its early years, in its days of child-like innocence and curiosity. The hive stood as a ray of light, of hope, for the changelings themselves—that though their past was one of darkness and despair, their future would only be better than their joyous present.
This was their society.