Creator Hatch

by Josh Crapo

S1E6b Vacate-Hatch

Hatch starts to hyperventilate when we find out we only have ponies to replace in Rainbow Falls.

“So what? Now we have a place to-”

“Are you thinking too far ahead again?!? The hive depends on us getting more love by having ponies to replace!! For a place named Rainbow Falls, it sure is accurate to what its named... only at the cost of being able to concentrate!! When we first met Diamond Tiara, I got a bad headache from the rainbow colored water falling onto the clouds and ponds!”

“What if we don’t need to?”

“Why do you say that Gac?”

“Because the ponies left all their love behind.”

“That love isn’t fresh... now PAY ATTENTION!!! FOR I HAVE A PLAN to make it possible to successfully give the grubs the freshest love from Rainbow Falls to feed off of!”

“And what’s that?”

“We will study the relationships of the top five poorest villagers of the town, and whoever is friends with those top five will be replaced. We won’t replace the top five poorest villagers though, so we have to be a little careful about who we replace. Do you have that?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. After studying their relationships, we have to assign some of the grubs to the villagers’ friends so that they could study and later properly pose as said friends. Tonight, you and I will cast comatic spells onto the fillies and colts there so that the grubs can replace the foals.”

“So, could we put those foals into cocoons after that?”

“Yes. Now, let’s move out, Gac!”

“Yes, Queen Hatch!”

-=-

Going through the caves is a synch, but when we enter near Rainbow Falls with all of our grubs in tow, no one expects that Rainbow Falls would look like a ghost town, unlike Our Town. One grub tugs my wing, beside me.

“Queen Hatch, why is the town empty?”

“I don’t know. Maybe one of the changelings from either Queen Chrysalis or Queen Light’s hive came here already. If that’s the case, then that can’t be good.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Gac and I should check it out first since we came up with disguises in the first place, and pose as Catcher and Brown.”

When Gac and I jump over the moat, we are finally in Rainbow Falls once again.

“Look everypony!! It’s Catcher and her dog!!”

Because of the stallion and his outburst, the entire town surrounds me and Gac, giving us the impression that they’re relying on us somehow.

“What’s going on here? Why am I suddenly famous here?”

“You’ve come to find him yet again!!”

“Him?!? Okay, this is genuinely confusing, young colt.”

“You know Gac, right?!? Do you?!?”

“Little filly, what are you talking about? Is it about the changeling that found me? Isn’t he gone now?”

“Exactly, Catcher! He escaped the ponies of Our Town!!! Where is he now?!?”

The stallion from earlier bites the tip of his hoof as he comes up to me.

“I don’t know. I do know though that the ponies of Our Town went further south into Equestria to get him.”

Then, a pegasus mare comes to me.

“That’ll have to do. What should we look for?”

“Any unnatural form of land.”

“Come on then, everypony! Let’s go!!!”

When I look at the place the grubs previously were, they all move into the caves to avoid losing stealth. And so, the pegasus mare I’d just talked to leads the rest of the entire town, including all the fillies and colts, to move south. Leaving over the moat, all the pegasi help the earth ponies over to the other side. Half of the unicorns levitate themselves, surprisingly, while the other half needs help from the pegasi to move south. Finally, the entirety of Rainbow Falls’ population disappears from view.

I facehoof.

“Rahit... hunur... duru!”

“What’s going on, Hatch?”

“We lost it, Gac. We lost our chance of getting more love for the hive.”

“No we didn’t. The ponies just left.”

“Don’t you understand, Gac? Love doesn’t last- wait... what?!?”

“I just said that the ponies just left in search for me.”

“Yeah, okay. There’s still fresh love here. But it won’t last forever.”

“At least we still have an open area to make our hive now.”

“Wait. What town?”

“Our Town.”

“Okay, true, Gac. So, what other town should we try now that both Our Town and Rainbow Falls are abandoned?”

“No town for now.”

“Oh. Well, looks like it’s time to get some leftovers then.”

So, for the time being, we go through every single house in the area and gather all of its love for the grubs to eat, stored inside our horns. Finally, when we get to our area in the cave, we light our horns to let the grubs see us.

“My grubs, we’re home!”

And just like that the grubs gather around me and Gac, just waiting for the love we stored to satisfy them as we lend said love to them. Afterwards, the grubs hug me and Gac, sharing their love with us. I turn to Gac, smiling, while Gac does the same.

“Well Gac, I think it’s time that we sat down and relaxed. Enough traveling for while.”

Gac nods.