Creating A Hive

by Authora97

Quest: Part Of A Complete Breakfast

Author's Note:

This chapter has a lot of Fallout references. There’s been a lot of thought put into this, and research going back almost a year. Basically since the birth of the idea of the character Waffle. 
If you get them, awesome! Please comment on your favorite. If you don’t, boo.
Again, can’t stress enough, this chapter was literally just the crackiest crack that I could crack up. Waffle and Poptart are the dumbest characters I can write while still feeling good about myself.

Queen Thorne was a very busy changeling queen. She arguably had the most to do in her reign, even from an early start. Her days were filled mostly with keeping peace both inside her hive and outside of it. You would think there wouldn’t be much. Her hive was miles away from any sort of other population. They could provide their own foods now, with only rarely needed trade. Being queen should be easy.

There was the business of an entire country only knowing them as deceitful liars, which was a given. Could it be helped that changelings had been born into that life, never being given a choice for otherwise? Chameleons changed too. Why was no one hating on them, huh?

Changelings were different now. They were more peaceful, more like those colorful ponies Thorne’s mother had so hated. Changelings had worked to be more friendly seeming to their neighbors. Thorne had to make some sort of peace between their races before the Equestria Games.

There were two changelings that made that job just a little bit harder.

Thorne was sitting on her throne. It wasn’t a proper scary throne like Chrysalis had. She was reading a letter, delivered by a very dependable delivery pony.

Waffle had been in the room at this time. She could see the card in her Queen’s hooves. It had a picture of a purple berry on the back, and letters in bright sparkle. DYNAMITE BERRY’S CUTE-CEAÑERA!

She had learned a new word. Because she had so much room in her head, she could definitely ask for the definition.

“Queen Thorne, what’s a cute-ceañera?” Waffle asked the Queen.

“It’s a party for ponies to celebrate finally being good at...something.” Thorne replied. “Whenever they find their special talent, they get a cutiemark.”

“They get a sticker when they’re special?” Waffle asked.

Never did we say she would retain the definition. Just that there was room for it.

Thorne pointedly didn’t bother correcting Waffle. She had learned over the months that her energy was better spent on literally anything else.

Waffle took that as a sign she was right.

Quest Added!

Quest: Part of A Complete Breakfast

Objective: Learn what makes you special through cutiemarks

==CAH==

The thing about quests is you should never go about it alone. You need someone to go with you! Friendships are an important thing. Waffle was taught that friendship was a myth. At best, a friend could be used as a meat shield. They would always be there to take the hit for you!

That’s what my mama taught me!

The best kind of friend was one that seemed basically invincible, lacks any sense of fear or reason! Also, in the event of an emergency, they could serve as food.

Waffle knew one such changeling.

Her brother, Wildberry Poptart!

The purple/blue changeling was the perfect changeling to go along with Waffle for her quest. She didn’t even have to really explain anything before he was going along with it.

That being said, Waffle had to explain herself as they walked in the Badlands outside the Hive. The lands that had seen much better days since the Great Betrayer had used her magic to make everything look nice. There were flowers now!

Waffle still had to explain everything to Poptart. He was her brother. Friends- especially brothers- would always take the hit for you, but it never hurts to push them in the right direction.

“So...we don’t have special talents?” Poptart gawked, his whole world being shaken by this. This was the biggest revelation he’d ever had in his life. And he had heard about wildberry poptarts.

“Well I think we do! We just gotta find them.” Waffle stated confidently.

“Waffle. You’re a genius.” Poptart praised with the wide eye view of reverence.

“I AM the brains of the two of us.” Waffle reminded him, puffing her chest proudly.

Poptart smiled in pride. His sister was the smartest changeling he had ever known. Sure she couldn’t add count to ten but like...that was advanced stuff. Noling had that many hooves to count! How is anyling supposed to be able to count that high?

“Where do we check first?” Poptart wondered.

“I don’t know.” Waffle sat down, scratching at her head.

Poptart copied his sister, scratching at the top of his head.

They stood there thinking for a long time.

Like...a really long time.

Such a long time that it’s actually sad to say the number outloud.

Waffle gasped in realization at the end of that long wait. “We have neighbors!”

“We do?” Poptart wondered.

“We do!” Waffle remembered. “I would see them sometimes on patrol. You know, back when we had patrol. They were really far away but it was full of ponies!”

Poptart had no idea they had neighbors. He bet they were super nice ponies. They must’ve been nice, if Pharynx had them on the patrol route.

==CAH==

Our Town was a really, really nice place. If you didn’t know what color was. Or what nice was. Or what places were. Basically if you had never been anywhere else in your life, you would think it was nice.

Waffle and Poptart had been places. They still liked Our Town.

The town wasn’t a big town. It had two rows of houses, both facing each other. All the houses were all drab and dull. The ponies around seemed bright and colorful, like all ponies did. Something about them just seemed less colorful. Maybe, it had something to do with everypony having the same cutiemark.

“Did you know ponies could have the same cutiemarks as each other?” Waffle asked Poptart.

The purple/blue changeling shook his head. “I didn’t even know about cutiemarks this morning. Much less that they could be the same.”

The ponies noticed their latest visitors quite fast. Given they were changelings and not ponies, and given that they were used to being friendly to ponies and not changelings, they were worried about them. One of the ponies alerted the village leader.

Starlight approached the two changelings. Her polite demeanor didn’t change just because the visitors weren’t the usual target audience. “Welcome! I’m so pleased to have you here.”

Waffle and Poptart smiled widely. “Hi! I’m Waffle and this is my brother, Wildberry Poptart!”

“I like Poptart though.” Poptart introduced.

Starlight didn’t know changelings could have brothers. Or that they could tell each other apart enough for that. Well, before their change. It had been big news all over Equestria. Especially considering the Princesses had been involved. “So! How did you hear of our little village?”

“I used to patrol it for danger.” Waffle reported blatantly. “Pharynx said ‘do it until danger strikes!’ Only you never striked very hard, so I went about my day.”

Starlight squinted at the orange changeling. She had remembered seeing something around the village some months ago. She had thought it something innocuous, a forest animal lost it’s way. She had fired spells at it to get rid of it. She was certain she had killed whatever she hit. If it was the changeling standing in front of her, then Starlight must’ve been holding back a lot more than she thought.

Like Waffle had said. Starlight’s hit hadn’t hit very hard. So after being hit, Waffle stood back up and went about her day.

“Well, however you found us, we’re happy to have you! We’re happy to have anypony who wants to experience true friendship for the first time.”

Waffle figured there were four things she could say to that. She wasn’t good at sarcasm, so that was locked. The other two options...well...they were like red. That meant she would either die, or not complete her quest. The only option left in green was her natural choice and the one she chose without hesitation.

Something stupid

“We don’t care about friendship.” Waffle explained. “We just want to know about cutiemarks.”

“You...don’t know about cutiemarks?” Starlight asked.

“Changelings don’t get them.” Poptart informed her. He pouted. “It’s like...we’re not special.”

“That’s what’s so unique about our village, you see. Around here, we don’t flaunt our special talents because we don’t have any special talents to flaunt.”

Waffle gasped. “You’re not special either?”

Starlight narrowed her eyes at the changeling. She was holding back the urge to blast the changeling with a more powerful blast than last time. “Perhaps it would be easier to understand if I gave you a tour of the village!”

“We don’t have time for a tour.” Poptart told Starlight. “We just wanna know about cutiemarks.”

“We have no judgements here in our village.” Starlight told him. Each of us was confused once as well, blinded by the false promise of our cutie marks.”

Both changelings blinked. The information was going in. However, like usual, it went straight out the other side.

“In sameness, there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. Free yourself from your cutie mark. Choose equality as your special talent. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Accept your limitations, and happiness will follow. You're no better than your friend.”

“But you have one.” Poptart pointed out.

Starlight’s smile was still so easy. “We all have the same one. So nopony is better than the others.”

Waffle thought about it. “We’re gonna go now.” She stated. Something about this place was giving her a bad feeling. The kinda feeling that said ‘don’t drink the radioactive water’.

Which of course meant Waffle wanted to try it. Just to see how dangerous it actually was.

New Quest Added! A tiny pony in Waffle’s head decreed. Quest: Starlight’s Village

Waffle decided she would get on that...later.

“Okay then. As long as you promise to come back someday!” Starlight informed them.

“Sure thing!” Waffle promised.

“I wanna hear the tour! It sounds so exciting.” Poptart cheered.

They left Our Town with happy smiles, and ponies waving behind them.

==CAH==

“What did you think?” Poptart asked.

“Isn’t her belief kinda like Queen Chrysalis’?” Waffle asked. “Like...we’re all the same so it doesn’t matter what makes us different. Before our change we were all the same. Now we’re different. I don’t think getting a cutiemark comes with being like Chrysalis.”

Poptart will remember that. “Wow. That was insightful.” Poptart replied.

“It was!” Waffle cheered. “Still...if ponies can get the same cutiemarks over and over, then why is it a big deal to get one at all?” Waffle asked.

“But we are different. You’re great for the relay race but I was better in the stands cheering.” Poptart explained. “Thorax proved we could all be different so...why don’t we have cutiemarks? But ponies can all have the same ones.”

“Maybe they haven’t changed yet like us!” Waffle gasped. “Like...maybe they start with the equal signs until they grow up and get what makes them special! And that’s when they have the party!” Waffle realized.

Poptart gasped too. Yep, once again, Waffle proved to be the brains of the operation. “No wonder everypony in that village was so sad inside! I could feel their sadness like one of Tymbal’s Feeling Forums.”

“Yeah...I noticed that too.” Waffle actually felt bad for those ponies. Not enough to go back and fix the problem, but enough to feel bad.

As they were walking, the ground beneath them opened up. Waffle and Poptart stopped in their steps as a massive creature climbed out from outside the hole. This thing was big. It was dark purple and blue, with great big claws and yellow eyes, and a blue nose with tentacles on it.

“Hey. Isn’t that a maulwurf?” Poptart asked.

Waffle tilted her head, squinting at it. “Are you?”

The creature roared in their faces.

When the roaring stopped, the two siblings blinked.

“I think that meant yes.” Poptart noted.

Waffle started to grin. It was not a nice grin.

==CAH==

Pharynx heard his trap being sprung.

He flew over to it. Two ponies were kicking inside. A part of him hoped it was the Great Betrayer and her sister. Then he would have a chance to show the new Queen that there was a threat to the Hive! Oh it would be great to prove Thorax wrong that the Great Betrayer was different.

He pulled the burlap bag up. He prepared to drop his captors out. Battling with the Great Betrayer and her sister would be a great chance to prove the changeling might!

“I captured you trespass- oh it’s just you idiots.” Pharynx sneered at the neon orange and purple changelings on the dirt. The two had somehow ended up in some bizarre pretzel like shape.

Waffle beamed. “Hi Pharynx!”

“Pharynx?!” Poptart adjusted from his position to smile at the black changeling. “Hey there, big guy!”

Pharynx sneered, adding a hiss for good measure.

“That hiss means he’s not happy.” Waffle informed Poptart.

Poptart nodded, sagely at the wise advice. “Ah.”

“Did we spoil your hunt again?” Waffle asked, deflating against her brother.

“For your information, I was after the maulwurf.” Pharynx snapped at her.

“What is half-bear, half-mole, half-blueberry?” Waffle asked.

“What...no. I suppose your weaker minds would think of it that way.” Pharynx sneered.

“Oh that thing? It exploded!” Poptart told him.

“What?! How- don’t say it.” Pharynx warned them.

Waffle raised her hoof. Poptart pointed his hoof in excitement at his sister.

“We found bottle caps!” Waffle held up three bottle caps to prove it. “We made good money today, ‘Tart!”

Poptart high-hooved her. “Heck yeah we did! You were a great fighter, Waffle!”

Waffle hugged her brother. “Aww! Thanks. You’re the best brother.”

Rather than deal with any feelings, or the lack of feelings that this loving sibling relationship was giving him, Pharynx untied the trap. He did not want to think about

He pointed in the distance. “Get out of my sight.” He growled.

The changeling siblings weren’t affected by the threat.

“Now.” Pharynx warned.

The two changelings moved quickly to obey. They untangled themselves from their pretzel shape. Without another command, they walked off in the direction of the Hive.

Now Pharynx had to reset his trap. Great.

“What can we buy with three bottle caps?” Poptart wondered.

“I have no idea! ...oh! Maybe a fourth bottle cap...or a micro fusion cell...or maybe a fifth bottle cap!”

Waffle’s stupidity caused by continued brain damage truly shined like a star.

==CAH==

Pharynx blinked at the smoldering pile of green goop, the only thing in sight of the directions Waffle and Poptart gave him.

Pharynx did not know what an aneurism was. Still, he was having one.

==CAH==

Thorne had actually liked the quiet in the Hive. She was able to attend the cute-ceañera without worrying about it. Queen Morgan and Thorax were overjoyed she’d made it for their child’s party.

The blue pegasus had been so excited to get her cutiemark. She had showed it off to everypony at the party. It was...sweet.

Queen Morgan’s sister, Killjoy, liked hearing about how they handled self defense. Thorne had actually been impressed to see a pony with the same manner of protectiveness as Pharynx. It also scared her but she didn’t want to comment on it.

She returned to the Hive expecting quiet. She found Waffle and Poptart sitting in front of her throne.

She hoped they hadn’t blown up anything else. “What have you two been done?”

They gasped in delight. They turned to face her with wide beaming smiles.

“We got bottlecap cutiemarks!” Waffle announced proudly.

She and Poptart showed off their matching cutiemarks. Yeah, they were one short of having two cutiemarks on each side. The bottlecaps were glued on by what was clearly just grape soda.

Thorne stared for a long moment. “...that’s not how you get cutiemarks.”

“Then we did this for nothing?!”

“Darnit!” Poptart smacked his hoof on the floor. “We got so close to finding what made us SPECIAL!”

Thorne huffed. She whispered under her breath “You two are special enough...”

Waffle’s compound eyes went teary. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

A beat. “We don’t speak often.”

“Yeah. So it’s the nicest thing.” Waffle replied, wiping her eyes with her hoof.

Poptart seemed to be on the same level. “We’re special now, Waffle. Queen Thorne thinks we’re special.”

Thorne could leave. She could walk away right now. She could leave, not think about this anymore than she already had. Nopony or ling would blame her. Some would have left sooner.

“I’m gonna go to bed.” Stated Waffle. “I’m tired now.”

“How long do we sleep?” Asked Poptart.

“I’m setting the bar to 24 hours.” Waffle informed.

“Is that the next chapter?” Poptart wondered.

“Sure!” Waffle replied.

The two immediately stood completely still. Thorne wasn’t even sure they were blinking. Just standing there...waiting.

Yep.

They were plenty special.

Quest: Part of a Complete Breakfast: Complete!

2000XP

New Skill Point Available!

Comments

[DJMEGAMOUTH]

This was well worth 100 hours of fallout into just for this character to exist. Somehow she's taken a life of her own which we don't know what to do about it. Waffle has become a living force of literature, and destruction that can't be stopped. I'm so goddamn proud of my horrific creation.