//------------------------------//
// Up in the Clouds 
// Story: The Love Must Be Shared! 
// by Timemaster 
//------------------------------//

A white river of chitin cascades off the side of the King's Mountain. The sun is set, the glow of mushrooms illuminates the side of the mountain, and, in the distance, a green hive is full of happy flowers and sobbing, colorful, changelings.  These changelings knew the death of the King had come, for the feelings of Hope permeating the land had died. Their hero's traumatized them and weakened their minds, but now something strange was emerging from his place of death. That white river turns into a great blanket that flies towards this hive, causing great panic and confusion. Colorful little changelings arm themselves and group up, staring down this large and imposing force. Somelings even pass out in fear, causing this white blanket to be full of disgusted faces and laughter as it smothers the hive. Their feelings of disgust and humor crash against the waves of fear, but the fear is undeterred. To the great surprise of the colorful changelings, the great white blanket merely hovers above them. 

One brave green changeling stands against the large force and asks, "what happened to you all?"
Unlike his kin, this changeling was surrounded by a bubble of curiosity. Not a single drop of fear escaped from this one. This seemed to shock a great deal of the colorful changelings, who only now notice that these white creatures were, probably, changelings as well. Their fear starts to become filled with curiosity, as well; but they quickly shift straight back into fear as one of the strange white changelings lands onto the ground in front of the green one.

"Ah," one of the strange white creatures starts, their polished blue antlers softly lowering to address the other changeling, "we found the true path to evolution, Broodmate Snips."

The green changeling looks perplexed, "Broodmate," he thinks for a moment," you sound like Antennae, though you look nothing like my strange broodmate."

"Hmm," Antennae pokes his antlers, "I remember two years ago, you were so jealous of my antlers that you--"

"Shut up, Antennae," Snips says, sighing and releasing his guard, "I get it, already. But, what madness are you talking about? Evolution?"

Antennae perks up, his wings fluttering softly, "Oh, brother, I think you should join us! Look at these beautiful wings, these antlers, this chitin!"

"They all seem well and good, but what's the catch?"

Antennae laughs heartily, his joyful emotions radiating around the whole hive,"Wow, brother, you really think I'd give you a bad deal?"

Snips grins, feeling his brother's emotions, "I remember you tried selling ABC gu--"

Antennae stops laughing with a slight blush and shushes his brother by putting a hoof on his face, "Shut up, snips!"

Both brothers laugh and hug. Snips looks at the huge blanket of white chitin in the sky, "Are your friends just going to fly the whole time?"

"Don't worry about them, Snips. They are just talking through the hive mind."

Snips breaks the hug and grips his brother's shoulders with an excited expression and whispers, "Hive mind? Did you become King?"

Antennae shakes his head, "no no, brother, even better! The Hive Mind connects us all, but there's nobody controlling us!"

Snips whispers, "Yeah, but... are you the king?"

Antennae looks unamused and pushes his brother off him softly, "No, no! Tyranny will never again rule the Changelings. Kings, Queens? Useless."

The blanket of changelings in the sky clap and whoop, a few of them shouting "freedom" loudly. The colorful changelings on the ground grow very curious, except Snips. The fear has mostly dispersed, but the emotions of the blanket are held at bay by a thin wall of suspicion. 

Snips looks to his brother, "But, brother, how do we breed without a Queen or King?"

Antennae grins, "That, my brother, is a secret until you join us."

Snips looks a little skeptical, "Are you sure it ain't because you don't know either?"

Antennae laughs, "I don't, but I was assured we could."

Snips feels his brother's joy and feels no lies escaping his lips, so he smiles as Antennae grins wider.

The grin looked very off to Snips, but the look in his brother's eyes...

Snips sighs and bows his head, "Sure, whatever brother. Please, give me antlers as beautiful as yours."

This gets a chuckle out of Antennae who waves down the rest of the white changelings, "Come one come all, we got some changelings to show the right path!"

The great swarm cascades into the hive and towards the colorful changelings. The colorful changelings brace for magic, but are surprised when the cascade ends with hugs and corny introductory lines. The fear quickly turns to joy as old friends found one another to talk about conversion. In moments, the hive is filled with compassion and love, chattering and laughing, and shared tears over the death of King Thorax. One by one, the once colorful changelings became a uniform white. 

Or, at least, that was what the antlered changelings had thought. 





Muffled cries of joy and tears resound in near perfect darkness. They could not afford for a single mistake in any actions from here on out. Slow and steady steps are made into the dirt tunnel they crawl through. A few get small bugs on them, the tiny feet even crawling over their eyelids, but the changelings are undeterred. Their emotions are hidden and they can feel the joy and sadness coming from the changelings above them.
Slow and steady steps crush the soft dirt beneath them. The muffled cries slowly disappear behind them, but they stay quiet. They do, however, start a small light off of one of their horns. The crisp, green, light reveals a group of 20 Changelings crawling in a very thin hole, barely fat enough to crawl through. 
Slow and steady steps grow into a rapid dash and explodes into flight as the group emerges from their tunnel, several miles out from the hive. The flowery hive is nothing more than a speck from this distance, a speck obscured by a large rock with a small hole in the side. 
Their colorful wings beat fast eastward, no rest taken. Not a single word is spoken.






The Hive Mind






Pretty dots of cool colors erupt into the blissful void. A sense of general warmth surrounds these little bundles of confusion and sadness, their colors shifting the longer they stay.

Whispers of words start among the cluster, which soon become louder as the dots fuzz with energy.

W-wow, this is a hive mind? I feel so... strange!

Agreed! I can't really see anything, but I know you guys are near!

How are you doing that? I can hear you guys, but I can't feel you...

Don't try to look at us! You may just wake up! I think you have to think harder.

Hmmm I'm starting to feel you guys. But, why do I also feel something else far away?


That's the other Changelings Antennae converted, they decided to stay behind.


Oh, I see, but... I also feel something else?


Something else? I think you're mistaken, Lancer.


Y-yeah, I can't feel it anymore... how'd you know I was Lancer? You all sound the same to me.

The other changeling laughs heartily, filling the void with joy. 

Oh haha, just focus your thoughts closer to us and you'll hear us more clearly, Lancer.


Lancer's mind bounces in places and fuzzes greatly, her concentration creating the sound of gears in the mind. The minds around her chuckle softly at the noise, then start thinking hard themselves to make the same noise. Suddenly, with this excess thinking, the hivemind's true form comes into view before their 3rd eye. A soft cloud was below their mind, filling it with a sense of comfort. However, as their minds slowed to enjoy this pleasure, their lights dimmed and the clouds vanished. All that remained was each other.

 Wow, what was THAT? 

Lancer thinks loudly, causing the others to bounce. The other changeling, whose mind was a dull white, bobs. In fact, everyone else's mind had become white washed from it's original color. Lancer's mind was a pale yellow, looking like a star in the now dark void.


When enough of us are gathered and take enough love, from each other or otherwise, the clouds will appear. I think it is to ensure we don't drown in joy for too long, maybe?


That is a very strange system. Was the older hive mind like this?


I don't know, but I know that this is better than the old hive mind. No one to control us, after all.


Makes sense!

I agree.



 Ooo I feel it bubbling back up again!



Tiny blue and pink bubbles surround the whitened minds, then rub onto them. The white peels off and flakes into the void, leaving behind their glisteningly yellow mind. Their orbs jump up and down, looking like a collection of mad stars. A quiet joy fills the now silent area.








CHLIIIIING CHLIIIIIING

With the smack of an angered hoof, the stallion finally silences his alarm clock. 

"AGH!"

However, much to his despair, he silenced it by smashing it with his hoof. The stallion whines and gets out of bed. Mr. Smiggles gnaws on his cage, as one would do in his situation.


"Ah, daen, Mr. Smiggles,"the stallion says, poking the cage, "please stop, these cages cost a lot of bits."

The stallion looks at Mr. Smiggles with a small pout and, in visible reluctance, Mr. Smiggles stopped. The stallion grins and puts on his straw hat, "Now, come on, Great Aunt Applejack is coming over and I'm gonna show her I'm just as cool as her!"

Mr. Smiggles does not react. The stallion stares at Mr. Smiggles before dramatically talking to himself, "Sure, I may not be an Apple, but I am Strong Straw!"

The stallion flexes his muscles at his captive before turning to the mirror to his left, "And I will crush my competition, oh yeah!"

To his chagrin, however, the stallion notices a pair of green eyes staring at him through his open door. He eeps, "Mom!"

His mother bursts out laughing, opening the door, "Ah I'm sorry pumpkin, but you were pretty loud," she points to the door, "and you forgot to shut your door."

Strong Straw's pinkened cheeks remain as he sighs, "Whatever mom," he smiles, "should I make breakfast today?"

His mom's lush blue mane bobs as she nods, "Of course, but you better make it extra good for that silly old mare!"

Strong Straw chuckles, his green eyes focusing on his mother's pink hoof, which has bandages, "Woah, mom, you alright there?"

She swings her hoof around without a tinge of pain on her face, "Already got first aid, but I pricked myself trying to sow. Mrs. Cloth said I've been gettin' gooder, though."

Her son sighs, "Be more careful, mom," he smiles without any pink on his face, "I'd best get to cooking, now."

His mom steps aside and lets him through to the main hallway of their rather large farmhouse. The hallway seemed to be at least twenty ponies long and had 5 doorways. Strong just walks straight across from his room, though, and into the kitchen. A quite tight kitchen it is, but contains both a brick oven and a stove top, ample countertops for easy cooking, and a large super pantry. Strong opens the pantry and begins the great adventure that is cooking.

I really hope Great Aunt Applejack loves my cookin'!