Grasshopper poked her head around the doorway. She watched for a moment, then gingerly stepped inside.
“Hey, Lukey,” she said gently, “How you doing?”
Lucanus--Luke, Lukey, Lil’ Luke, or a dozen other nicknames--pulled his thin blanket over his head. “Fine,” he lied.
Grasshopper smiled. The cave was warm in the winter and cool in the summer, so blankets weren’t really necessary. Just something nice to comfort the little ones. Even so, Luke had held onto his blankie a little longer than most deemed proper. And, to cap it off, it was too short. Now that he’d pulled it up over his head, his back hooves stuck out the bottom--along with the tips of his oversized wings.
“Your wings look like they’re coming in nicely,” Grasshopper said.
Luke pressed his wings close to his body. He hesitated a second, then rolled on his side, hiding them against the wall.
Grasshopper watched him for a second, then took a deep breath. She sat down on the pile of straw that served for his mattress, then started rubbing his shoulder.
“You wanna talk about it?” she asked.
“No,” he replied. A second later, he shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe.”
Grasshopper smiled a little. Every changeling in the hive were siblings (after all, they all shared a single Mama) but Grasshopper had always had a special sort of bond with little Luke. Oh, sure, everyone was fond of him--with a hive this small, every grub was precious--but Luke was different. He was a Drone. A boy.
Every other changeling in the hive, except for Mama herself, was a worker--a girl, but a girl that couldn’t have babies. That was how it was supposed to be. Could you imagine the chaos if anyone could run off and start having larvae of their own anytime they wanted? Nevertheless, every so often, Mama laid a special egg. Luke was one of those: he was a Drone. A boy. And that made him special.
Luke had just had his first molt a few months ago. He was barely getting out of grub-hood, and he looked it. He stood about half of Hops’s own height, even on tip-hoof. And he was adorable, to boot--but just don’t let him hear you say that.
“You wanna go on a walk?” Grasshopper said.
Luke hesitated, then peeked over his hooves. “Outside?” he asked cautiously.
Grasshopper smiled. “In the woods? Sure.”
Luke deflated the slightest bit. “Oh. Sure,” he said, sullenly.
Though the Hive had very strict rules about who could disguise themselves as Pinkie, and when, the rules were a little more lax regarding other ponies. Changelings who wanted to go get a milkshake together, for example, could parade through town as a pair of visiting tourists from Canterlot, or Dodge Junction, or even places further-flung than that. However, you still had to have Mama’s permission. Grubs, who could barely hold a form other than their own for a few seconds, weren’t allowed outside at all until after their first or second molt. And even then, they had to go with an adult. Until they could prove they’d mastered their transforming, the only real place to go was to visit the outskirts of the Everfree forest, outside the back entrance to the hive.
The two of them walked back into the main chamber, then towards the tunnel that led to the exit tunnel. Mama, still inspecting the ranks of newbies, shot Grasshopper a look. Hops responded by giving a significant nod towards Luke, then towards the exit. Mama rolled her eyes, but went back to her work.
The exit tunnel wasn’t as nice as the other tunnels, but then again, it wasn’t supposed to be. It shot off horizontally through the rock, slowly growing narrower as it did, until the two of them could barely walk side-by-side. Then, suddenly, they passed the pinch, and the tunnel widened out again into a dirt tunnel. A few scraggly vines and roots grew through the ceilings and floors, and a couple enterprising spiders had even spun webs across the empty space. And the entire place just smelt icky, like old mud.
And yet, this was the only exit from the Hive that didn’t empty out in Ponyville. When someone needed a little air, this is where they went. But even here, there were rules…
Luke and Grasshopper walked down the tunnel towards the exit, side-by-side, At some unseen signal, both of them transformed in flashes of pink flame: him into a little colt with a golden coat, she, a mare with a curly forest-green mane.
Had to stay disguised, after all, even out here. You never could tell...
A little while later, the tunnel turned sharply upward. Hops helped Luke clamber up out of the tunnel first, then hoisted herself up afterwards. She shook the dirt off her coat, then looked around. They appeared to be alone. Good.
Hops turned to Luke, only to find him inspecting a small bunch of wildflowers, growing in a patch of sunlight that somehow made it down through the forest leaves above. He leaned down, took a deep sniff--then squawked in alarm and scrambled backwards as the flowers exploded into color.
Grasshopper jumped, too--but then started to laugh. Luke turned to scowl at her, then followed her gaze--and stared at the spots of color flying around their small clearing in wonder.
“What are those things?” he asked, mystified.
“They’re butterflies, silly,” Hops said. “Your wildflowers have some visitors.”
“What are they doing?”
Hops shrugged. “They like to eat the flowers, I think.”
Luke stuck out his tongue. “I don’t think they’d taste very good, though…”
Hops shook her head. “Nah… but they do smell nice.”
“Yeah,” Luke admitted.
Hops shook her head, then trotted off down the narrow path. Luke watched the butterflies for a moment longer, then hurried after her.
After a few minutes’ walking, Luke looked up at Hops, his brow furrowed uncertainly.
“Hops?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Why are they so bright?”
Hops looked back at him. “Why’s what so bright?”
He nodded back over his shoulder. “The butterflies,” he said. “They were all bright orange. Most other bugs try and blend in. But the butterflies, they stand out. Why’s that?”
Hops shrugged. “I dunno,” she admitted. “Danni said that she read somewhere that they don’t taste good. So they’re trying to warn things that might wanna eat them to stay away.”
Luke frowned. “So they’re drawing attention to themselves… so they don’t get eaten?”
“I guess,” Hops replied.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” he insisted. “You have to hide to be safe. That’s what Mama says.”
“Yeah,” Hops admitted. “But, I dunno… maybe the rules are different for butterflies.”
Luke didn’t answer, and they walked on in quiet for another few minutes. But it was a confused, contemplative silence--the sort of quiet that, Hops knew, meant Luke was still trying to figure out the contradiction.
They walked on in silence for a few minutes longer, before Hops shot a wary glance at Luke.
“So,” she said casually, “everything okay?”
Luke nodded without looking at her.
“Getting enough love? Anyone picking on you?”
Luke nodded yes to the first question, then shook his head no to the second.
“Then what’s got you down?” she asked.
Luke hesitated, then looked up--not at her, but out through the woods. Hops followed his gaze--and her blood ran cold.
They were standing at the edge of the forest. There, through the last few lines of trees, stood the outskirts of Ponyville.
“Luke…” she said carefully, turning to watch him. “You know what Mama said…”
“I know,” Luke whined, “But…”
“But nothin’,” Hops interrupted. “We gotta stay disguised. If you go out there, and ponies start asking questions…”
“I know, I know,” Luke moaned. “We could all get in trouble.”
Luke had already molted once. And, by all indications, he was getting pretty good at his transformations. But, no matter how often he asked, Mama refused to coach him on how to be Pinkie Pie, and wouldn’t let him go up and explore Ponyville. It was for his own good, she said--and, to be honest, most of his sisters would agree.
Being in disguise was dangerous. It was far too easy to do or say the wrong thing, and get nervous, and almost drop your transformation. Besides, Luke didn’t need to learn how to transform. He was a Drone, not a worker. He had a different job, a very special job. One day, Mama said, he would take those big ol' wings of his and fly somewhere far away to do--well, whatever his job was. Mama had hinted that it had something to do with birds or bees--but had also dodged the question anyone tried to ask her for specifics. In any case, Mama made it clear that there would always be somebuggy around to take care of him, either one of his sisters in this hive, or someone else wherever he ended up. So, there was no need to learn how to blend in, especially not in a town so small as Ponyville.
That still didn’t stop him from asking, though.
“Let’s go,” Grasshopper said, turning away from Ponyville. “I don’t mind walking with you through the woods, but we can’t be out here like this. Not while somepony could see…”
“What’s it like?” Luke blurted.
“Huh?” Hops asked, turning back to him.
Luke still stood on the edge of the woods, staring at the town. He had a desperate, hungry look in his eyes, the sort of hunger that had nothing to do with his stomach. He must have felt the weight of her gaze, because he turned and looked at her.
“What’s Ponyville like?” he repeated. “We live right under it, and I’ve never been… everyone else gets to go, and they won’t let me…”
“Yeah… but you get to see it in the cave, don’t you?”
Luke looked away. “Yeah, but… it’s not the same,” he whined.
Hops bit her lip. It probably wasn’t, to be fair. Part of the magic of the crystal cave allowed any changelings who might be watching to absorb a little of the love picked up by whoever was on shift. Made it so no one starved, not even those who were too sick to go out, or those who hadn’t gotten their Pinkie Pie transformation down pat yet.
“And besides,” she continued, “you’re special. You’re a drone. We wanna make sure nothing bad’s going to happen to you…”
And that was why Luke, more than any of the others, spent time in the crystal cave. She had always been slightly envious--he never had to work the counter during a boring shift, or compose a grand musical number on the fly… and yet, it had never occurred to Grasshopper just how lonely a life like that could be. Always staying at home, watching everyone else go out and have fun, surviving on the few crumbs of affection that they might spill on their way home...
Grasshopper pushed the thought out of her mind.
“Besides,” she added, “you get to go on your big trip when you grow up! None of us get to do that.”
That mysterious, magical trip Mama was always hinting at, where he would fly far away, and find a Queen, and then… um...
“...yeah…” Luke said, turning longingly back to Ponyville. “But I don’t want to go flying away. I want to be like you. I want to go and meet ponies, and get to know them, and…”
He trailed off. Grasshopper swallowed.
“Luke, I promise I’ll tell you all about it,” she said slowly, “but you have to come inside. Okay?”
Luke took a deep breath, then let it out. “...okay,” he said, turning away from Ponyville again. “You promise?”
“I promise,” she said, coaxingly. “As soon as we get you back to your room, I’ll tell you everything…”
aww i wanna give the little bug a hug
This was a downright precious chapter. Absolutely loved the reflection on the only male Changeling in the entire hive as well as the wonder concerning certain aspects of nature (including, but not limited to, why certain butterflies are bright orange).
Anyway, the exchange, characterizations and future chapter set-up are superbly done as usual.
VERY certainly going to be looking forward to more of this.
A little hard for me to pin down when this is happening. Before season 6, obviously, and before the end of season 2?
Eh, doesn’t matter. I like it.
9944944
Chronology is purposely loosely-goosey, but we'll be seeing incidents from Seasons 3, 4, and 5.
Though I'm thinking of saving The Canterlot Wedding for the sequel, if/when it happens.
9943806
-dotter means just as it sounds. "Daughter of". Lokisdotter = Loki's Female Descendant, Daughter of Loki.
9945025
Fluttershy is a reclusive pony who lives in the borders of the Everfree. Popular party pony who thrives in making others happy is a far more interesting profile for changelings.
You mean like the ponies? Heaven forbid!
And then I'm sure he'll decide he wants to go and see everything for himself, so he sneaks out, and...
Still, totally game for whatever happens next. It's an interesting concept, this. Part of me almost wishes the show had done something similar itself, as I can't see any reason why it couldn't.
9944879
Yeah. The only male Changeling in the hive. Think about that for a moment. Pinkie's "husband" isn't around. My mind has gone to a very dark place right now, and I fear for Luke's long term prospects once he finally leaves the hive.
9945383
Please don't get into too dark a place... Luke is just having a hard time adjusting. Krack-fic Kai, my editor, pointed out that his story is basically that of a genderswapped Disney Princess. He's being coddled and set aside so he can get "married off" eventually, but he just wants to, as one princess said, to "let [his] hair flow in the wind as [he] rides through the Glen, firing arrows into the sunset." However, there's a lot more to being a drone than he thinks there is, even though he's upset at all the restrictions at the moment.
In short: Luke will get his happy ending, both in the short and the long term. He's gonna be okay.
9945392
Ok. Ratcheting back the drama dial. That still leaves open the question of why "Queen Pinkie" is an only mother. I can only think of "death", "divorce and moved back home", or "only needed for Princesses/new Queens". I think that covers all the bases, anyway... I'm sure either Rarity or Fluttershy will broach the question once the rest of the Mane Six has been filled in and all the dramatic flailing is over. (Rarity for obvious reasons, and Fluttershy for completely different yet equally obvious reasons.)
too bad its luke not keven
9945418
And this is where biology fails me.
I've been basing the hive on how beehives work--but bee mating practices are wierd. According to my research, Luke will eventually fly away, find a meeting of queens, and... well, shall we say, have an excellent couple days, then die happy. However, I envision a better future for him--though I don't know what that would be.
For now, I'm tempted to side with Hops on this one--Mama hasn't told her what happens when drones leave the hive, and she's content with that knowledge.
ETA: I've gotten a couple of comments about the specifics of changeling mating habits. I appreciate the contributions, and I will happily respond when I get back home, but, in the meantime, discussing the future sex life of a little baby bug-colt is wierding me out. I have some ideas on how to handle it, but it won't become important until the sequel (if/when it happens), and, even if it does, Luke is still likely going to just fly off into the sunset. I have no interest in writing bughorse erotica, romantic or otherwise.
(Sorry if this is a little harsh... This is a conversation I never expected to have, NGL.)
9945244
...She's also a former (reluctant) supermodel, with a beautiful singing voice. And she's also super-adorable... When she's not either in a rage or giving Harry a massage... I mean, I can see how the reclusiveness would pose a problem for love-eaters... But, at the same time, Changelings are reclusive in their own right, so... Hmm...
...Well, it's clear that it's not so in this story, but... What if Fluttershy was also a constructed persona of this hive?
9945550
And now you know what prompted the question in the first place. Thankfully, this is a fanfic. Bull$#¡++¡ng workarounds to these sorts of issues is part of an author's job. And again, we don't need to nail down an answer until the Mane Six have had their freak out, calmed down, and been brought up to speed. Plenty of time.
9945732
My ponysona needs no waiver. He's got a form of resurrective immortality involving transferring memories to a magically-created body. It's magically exhausting, but when you can draw ambient magical energy from the forest around you, that doesn't matter much.
...I just hope that nobody from this hive is in range when he starts pulling... That wouldn't end well, for them.
What? The butterflies? Or the flowers?
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/10/9/998066.png
9945515
not sure if the author is going to go there given the plot holes that generates. Yes they could have just been a hypnotized family but that's a big hole to patch
or they could actually be Mama-pinkie's 'family' and are aware that pinkie is a constructed identity, maybe they found her as a larva and raise mamma-pinkie and then she eventually went off to found her hive, and thus the few times she does visit its mamma-pinkie in the role, legitimately visiting with her family. Still somewhat of a plot hole since pinkie did not exist until being founded in ponyville and the pies have photos of pinkie as a filly
I've been going through a bit of a dry spell whet it comes to my favorites updating, so I took some time to browse for something new and this nice little story you going on here should help fill that void. Only three chapters in and it's already fed me a few pleasant surprises, hopefully the trend continues going forward.
9945822
Changelings behaving like cuckoo birds, slipping a queen larva to an unsuspecting pony family to raise as their own? Seems quite legit. That is actually what the "original" changelings in British/Scandinavian mythology did.
9946868
Course Cuckoo birds kick out the eggs and the child eventually kills it's brothers and sisters.. Just shows a bad fate for most children in that case.
9946868
Yeah, I almost brought that up in relation to a "real changelings have holes, change my mind" memepost on DeviantArt, but aborted it out of not wanting to give Chrysalis ideas.
I just need to say that "everybuggy" is in my top one percent of adorable words.
9974970
Yeah! It's kinda awesome. Can't take credit, unfortunately--I first spotted it in this fic.
- MLP: FiM
- Dark
- Drama
- Sad
Princess Chrysalis comes of age with the help of her mother's "love".Warning: it's kinda dark and messed up.