//------------------------------// // Good Morning Grand Matron! // Story: A Long Life: Twilight's Changeling Grandchildren // by pertelote345 //------------------------------// It was amazing how fast you got used to waking up in a giant changeling cuddle pile. I had somehow ended up snuggling with Xax in front of me and Pinkie spooning from behind. I considered my situation. The hive's main bedroom had plenty of clocks on its walls, so it was easy for me to tell that I'd woken up early. Even Xax was asleep and he was usually the changeling who took care of the place. I looked down the row. Apparently the people who worked days had come back because there were a good sixty changelings scattered about, on the joined mattresses. Trying to extract myself would cause quite the domino affect so I'd need to carefully... It was at this point I realized that I could teleport. And extracted myself instantly, replacing myself with one of the handy stuffed animals to keep the bed consistent. I looked down at my grandchildren (and Pinkie Pie who was there for some reason) with a smile and let myself out into the hive proper. The hive's construction was fascinating, with chitin walls dug into the stone. The place looked so different it was hard to believe it was the place we'd scaled to remove a dragon so long ago... So, so long ago... I shook myself, focusing on the task at hand. This world was going to take a lot of getting used to, but if I broke down every time I thought of my old life I wouldn't get anywhere. Still, my friends... Fortunately, all of that emotional angst got shelved by a certain biological urge. I desperately needed to find a bathroom, but I didn't see anypony (anyling?) who could point it out. The pressure was building. I needed to think fast. Breathe Twilight! Logically, A lot of changelings would want to use the bathroom to brush their teeth and such before their day. That meant the bathroom had to be close by. There were three doors in the hallway just next to the bedroom. One had a list of weekly meetings for subgroups in the hive (apparently yoga and zebra martial arts were quite popular), a second door had a lock on it (clearly a private room or a janitor's closet) and the third had no lock and the faint hum of a fan in the background. Satisfied with my deductive reasoning, I swung the third door wide open. I was greeted by a changeling sitting on one of several toilets. She waved at me. "Hi Grand Matron!" I slammed the door shut, blushing furiously. "OhmygoshI'msosorryI'mleaving!" "What?" Came a voice from behind the door. "No! Don't leave. Come hang out! There's like nothing on early morning TV." I glared at the door. "I'm not 'hanging out' while you're using the- Wait, you have a television in the bathroom?" "Yeah, it's not a great one, but it helps pass the time, even if certain hive mates I could mention tend to hog the remote." I felt my legs getting weak, and stumbled against a wall to support myself. "Wait, you're telling me, that not only is using the toilet considered a communal activity, but you pass around an undoubtedly disease ridden remote while you're doing your business?!" "That's what the hoof sanitizer is for! And it's not like we can't just use... Hang on a second." There was a flushing sound followed by the sound of a sink. My grandchild, a traditional black changeling with green eyes, stepped out. "Look, I-" I rushed past her, got to the bathroom and practically leaped on the first toilet I saw (of which there were six, none of which were in stalls). Intercultural exchanges were important, but so were the demands of the equine excretory system. My grandchild promptly walked in after me with a concerned look on her face.. "Grand Matron, are you-" "GET OUT!!!" I shouted. She held up her hooves, "Okay! Okay! Sheesh..." That said, she finally left and I finally got to relax and take care of business. After realizing this was going to be a more extended sitting, I spotted the infamous remote and used my magic to flick on the device... Which considering that all changelings had access to magic made it seem considerably less weird... I shook myself. That still didn't make barging in on me right! I turned my attention to the TV. I had seen them in the human world before, and they were often entertaining, even enrapturing with their ability to put on live plays right in front of your eyes. But... As I flicked through the channels all I found were weather reports and some long winded earth pony talking about beet gardening. I turned it off. The room grew quiet. Really quiet. All I could hear was the hum of the fan... # A few minutes later, I found myself sitting behind the grand child I'd shouted at. She hadn't actually been that hard to find, she and the two security guards were the only creatures awake at this hour. "H-hey..." I said, somewhat awkwardly. She turned her head from the rec room TV. "Yes Grand Matron?" She asked. Her voice was stiff, formal. I winced. "I'm... I just wanted to say I'm sorry about earlier. You were just trying to be nice and I guess there's still a lot about living in a hive I don't understand." She let out a breath, "It's okay... I screwed up, you'd only ever used the bathrooms in the front before and those are pony style. Dad even told us there would be some stuff like this so I really shouldn't have expected you to-" I held up a hoof. "It's okay... I'm sorry, what's your name?" "It's Grell." she said. I nodded. "Right, Grell...I'm in your house, not the other way around. I should learn what the rules are, as fast as I can." She smiled, faintly. "I guess I get a really neat story for how I met my grandma one on one the first time, eh?" I chuckled. "Let's try to avoid bringing that one up at the next reunion okay?" My little, buggy grandchild nodded. "My lips are sealed... So, want to make fun of morning TV with me." I smiled. "Sure!" I plopped myself next to her on the couch. She was watching that same show about the beets. I groaned. "Seriously, why would you use a miracle of modern technology to talk about beets?" Grell shrugged. "Earth ponies like their beets." I frowned. "That's racist." She raised an eyebrow. "Coming from the mare who freaks out at the sight of changeling customs...?" I gulped. "Fair enough." We watched the show in silence for a bit. "It's yours too you know?" Grell said finally. I blinked. "What?" "Your house." She said. "It's your house too grandma." I smiled. "I guess so..."