With his newly regained legs, it was hard for White Hat to not be swept up in his nest’s enthusiasm for their new forms. Sure, they were only really toddling for the moment, but they could get so much further now than they could have just by flopping about. They could stay awake for longer, too, and White Hat had noticed that his nestmates had grown playful. Chirps and chitters of laughter rose from the group as they chased one another around an amused looking caretaker. This was an excellent opportunity to strengthen himself while having fun, and he took it - something that relieved the caretaker, given what a withdrawn larva he’d been.
It wasn’t really a structured game, just a lot of running around and shrieking exuberantly, but it was fun. Even if they did have to rest a while afterwards. Not to mention, it felt good to see - and feel - how happy his joining in made the others. As a matter of fact, he could even taste it. That thought brought him up short - what did it mean, that he could taste that? Did that mean..? They loved him, with innocent sincerity, providing little morsels of love like little school kids passing sweets. Not enough for a hearty meal, but oh so sweet and brightly flavoured. What a feeling… Sensing his emotion, the other little ones snuggled in against White Hat as he welled up. Nuzzling him, they trilled softly, just about managing to broadcast little snippets of memory to him, of many times he’d fed them the same way without realising it. Touched, he attempted to hug and nuzzle every last one of them - including the caretaker, since he was there. The older changeling nuzzled them all in return, chuckling softly and giving them an indulgent smile.
A while later, White Hat had the idea to teach his clutchmates some new games. That would be a good way to bond with them, right? He might’ve been stuck there against his will, but he’d always loved children, and now he was surrounded by them, so why not try to engage with them? The first game he tried to communicate to them was hide and seek, which he figured would be some good simple fun. His voice and mouth hadn’t quite caught back up to language yet, but he could send concepts over their growing link with increasing coherence as he practised - images of grubs going to find hiding places while one remained behind with the caretaker, not looking until the caretaker’s signal to go try to find everyone. The wider link waiting in the wings was still greatly intimidating, it was true, but at least he was getting more used to the closer link he and his siblings shared.
The caretaker, perhaps unsurprisingly, was quite happy to help them out as they played. They had a fair few false starts, with over excited grubs either trying to peek too soon or waddle-dashing between hiding spots, but everyone had fun. They even discovered new layers to the age old game. At least, they were new to the grubs. With their burgeoning senses, what sight and hearing couldn’t detect, sometimes scent could reveal. If one somehow managed to avoid that avenue of detection, feeling around mentally for their presence in the hivemind could work. Trying to figure out both how to refine these techniques and how to thwart them became part of the fun, their actions at play building skills for later in life. White Hat still intended to teach them some other games, but for now, this one seemed to be keeping everyone happy.
They all tired after a time, though, and some more impatient of their number began to keen in hunger, turning pleading eyes on the caretaker. With a gentle ruffle of the soft fluff on the hungry grubs’ heads, he lit his horn acid green and used his telekinetic magic to bring their bowls full of love gel over to them, setting them down gently for the grubs to descend upon and feast from. This wasn’t the first time White Hat had seen an adult changeling manipulating objects in this way, but it hadn’t ceased to intrigue him. It was, after all, a skill he wished to master as soon as possible - all the better to actually hold things without compromising his footing. Not to mention, it was a potential gateway to important things like writing, something that he dearly hoped could mean that there would be books of some variety in this hive, and which he could also use in more ritual based magic if he was lucky.
Turning his attention back to the food, he noticed that this time, somebuggy seemed to have added something that looked very much like blueberries to the mix. Upon taking a nibble of juicy goodness to confirm it, White Hat was delighted, grateful for a familiar flavour at last. The others were rather more wary of these strange new blobs invading their sustenance, but White Hat beamed at them, trilling and broadcasting his enjoyment while he eagerly chomped on his share. This seemed to encourage the others, though one or two were still a little hesitant, and nobuggy ended up flinging theirs at the caretaker - which was a win in his books. Not to mention, another sign that the infant marked for heirship was indeed taking the lead. That was encouraging, though there was still a long way to go yet before they’d be ready for the crown.
Queen Setae was not present to watch her grubs play that day, her attention drawn to a rather less frolicsome matter. Following up on a report delivered to her by Pronotum, she had donned an illusion of her more regal younger appearance to join him in dealing with the matter in person. He had done likewise with his own appearance, though he was not quite as visibly aged as she. After all, it was important to present themselves with as much apparent capability as possible when dealing with their more volatile neighbours. It was always a bit of a balancing act, when one had to share space with another settlement, but usually that was a bit more straightforward - like, for instance, in the case of their deer neighbours in Thicket, who as far as she knew had yet to realise there were changelings in the forest. These neighbours, however, were of a rather more dangerous ilk.
She and her chief consort were by no means unaccompanied, a complement of guards in both armour and youthful guises strode with them, intent on safeguarding their ruler and commander. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far to the coordinates of the frightened Scout’s sighting, but the location itself was a worry. There was a little cabin in the area, occupied by a loving couple of earth ponies who for whatever reason had decided to settle in the wildness of the Everfree - skulking near that cabin to feed off the love wafting from them was quite popular. If those two had seen what they would have taken to be a little filly lost and alone in the deep and dangerous woods, then naturally they would have followed her to try and escort her to safety - which was the last thing anyone ought attempt, particularly grown ponies.
For all that they made as good time as they could manage, by the time they set hoof through the borders of the town, the scent of strife was in the air. It was nauseating enough to be in the area, with the twisted and burnt greasiness of the ambient magic, but with the atmosphere crackling with pain and hate, it was even more uncomfortable. At least it was still daylight, though it seemed that even so, the huddled forms of two bedraggled ponies in the midst of a furious mob had little reason to feel thankful. They were still alive, at least - their emotions weren’t yet faded. “Grey Hoof.” The Queen intoned as she strode forward, eyes narrowed while she wove magical resonance into her voice in an attempt to grab the stallion’s attention away from the pursuit of violence - and perhaps the attention of his cohorts as well. “Did we not have an arrangement?”