They're... ON HOLIDAY?

by Nameless Narrator

Day 0 - Prologue: 2/3

While the vastly decreased number of changelings means more love for everyone despite fewer infiltrators, it also means that fixing collapsing tunnels and keeping the routes necessary for in-hive mobility is significantly more difficult. Drone jobs are more hectic than ever, but there’s one other major difference from before the new rules were implemented.

>BREAK TIME!<

“Wa-za-wha-wut?” 99448 stops clearing a caved-in crawl space, “Uhh, guys? I have a weird hive mind task here. I’m supposed to break something but there’s no pointer on the map.”

“Heeey, did anyone break a leg during worky time? Or are we supposed to do that now?” 99112, busy with digging upwards to connect two tunnels via an air vent, stops and just waits for an answer. Questioning the hive mind is, well, out of the question.

“Nope nope nope! Everyone whose first day this is, raise a hoof,” the veteran drone of the group, 47989, reacts quickly, knowing that some of its companions can sometimes get a bit proactive.

“Meee!” replies 99448.

“Me, but I can’t. Tunnel’s too small,” as expected, 99112 replies as well.

“Alrighty, come here,” 47989 instructs the two, pinging a spot on the hive mind map.

Of course, considering that fewer than thirty drones survived the return to the hive after the invasion, and that it took a lot of time and love to stabilize the situation, there are drones being woken up each day from spare eggs within deep caverns prepared for such a situation. The survivor drones have no idea what happened to the hive mind knowledge base to lose practically all information they used to look up whenever necessary, and neither the queen nor any other high ranks ever bothered telling them. That, however, meant that any scraps of experience with underground threats ranging from natural disasters to hostile creatures had to be passed down to each freshly awakened newbie.

Supposedly, the drones got their own tiny hive mind space to store whatever information they deemed useful for everyone, but no one knew how to find it or do anything with it, and asking high ranks has never been a good course of action if one wanted to avoid getting eaten.

When the three drones group up, 47989 starts leading the newbies away from their assigned work spots.

“So, break time is kinda weird,” the drone rubs a deep scar in the chiting on the back of its head, “We’re not sure what to do, but we’re not supposed to sleep or work. That’s why it’s not sleepy time or worky time. I think 387 once said he wanted us to… ‘organically figure something out’. What that means is a mystery, but we think that a drone who figures it out will become closer to High Score somehow.”

“My thinking sponge is an organ! Perhaps that’s a clue,” 99448 gasps.

“And thinking means figuring things out!” 99112 vigorously nods.

“See? You’re halfway there and you hatched only 14 hours ago,” 47989 beams, heading through the tunnels with the duo in tow, “Anyway, so far we’ve been using break time for the things we used to do whenever we managed to finish our tasks earlier without a high rank noticing.”

“What do you do?”

“First, we examine anything that hurts, stings, itches, or slows us down. If needed, we patch up what little we can. Finally, we trade.”

“Trade what?”

“Anything interesting, really,” 47989 shrugs, “Did you find anything shiny, useful, or weird in a way that doesn’t try to eat us?”

“Oooh ooh ooh!” 99112 raises its foreleg, “I got some shiny lint in my leg hole, look!” it presents it to 47989.

“Neat! Someone might find it interesting and offer something of theirs for it. It’s hard to say.”

“Awww… I’ve got nothing,” pouts 99448.

“That’s alright,” 47989 pats its head, “It took me days to find my first nice and round stone. I traded it for a stick that fit through both my leg holes at the same time. You don’t see that every day!”

“Woooooow!” both drones look at their forelegs, “Do you still have it?”

47989 shakes its head.

“Nope. The cave where I kept my stash collapsed while we were gone.”

“Awwww…”

“It happens,” 47989 shrugs, “Besides, thanks to the new rules I got to keep a shiny I found last month. It fits in my leg hole, it’s green, and it sparkles!” when it sees 99448 bend its neck to the ground, it adds, “I got it tucked away in my new stash so that I don’t lose it while digging. I’ll show you in a moment. We’re almost there.”

47989 slips through a heavily reinforced crack in a tunnel wall that almost immediately widens into a short, smoothed-out tunnel. What lies behind is something… unimaginable by most changelings who never left Badlands no matter the rank. The hive’s current ratio of drones to ranked changelings is around two to one, and the vast majority of the two hundred drones must already be here for whatever this ‘break time’ is.

So… regarding the ‘here’.

It’s a cavern, everything large enough that’s underground is. This one, however, could compare to Canterlot castle throne room in size and shape. Numerous pillars support the ceiling, randomly scattered from the inconspicuous entrance all the way to the back. The walls are baseline smooth but covered by scratched pictograms. There are two short sets of stairs, one on each side of the entry tunnel, both leading onto a walkway lining the entire place. In the back, these two lead up to another floor, and those in turn wind back to the entrance area, and to the top floor near the ceiling. None of this is necessary, not even particularly useful since changelings can see in the dark perfectly as well as fly, but coupled with the shimmering globs of green goop dotting everything it looks completely out of place and absolutely stunning.

For some reason, there’s also a fairly steep… slide leading from the top floor down. A slide currently occupied by a drone jumping on the smooth rock while yelling “Wheeee!”.

Compared to everywhere else, this place is loud, filled with buzzing of wings and chatter of drones not talking via hive links.

47989 leads the stunned duo into the center of the, for lack of a better word, cathedral, where it finally stops and faces a life-sized statue of a drone on the back of which sits a plush toy of a dark blue alicorn radiating a tiny but constant amount of love. It has seen better days, clearly. On the other hole, the drone statue is as majestic as a drone could imagine. Its carapace is made of smooth, obsidian glass. It has a sapphire instead of each eye, and- well, that’s it. Drones don’t have any particular distinguishing characteristics. However, if there’s something special about the drone, it’s its determined look forward.

A stone tablet is glued to its two hooves high base which, uniquely to this place, bears letters instead of pictures:

[HIGH SCORE]

Author's Note:

I decided to at least publish the prologue during one week and then it'll be the usual weekly schedule.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

High Score is yet a Small God?

[The Wind King]

11169420

The small god of the small drones

[Scyphi]

Supposedly, the drones got their own tiny hive mind space to store whatever information they deemed useful for everyone, but no one knew how to find it or do anything with it, and asking high ranks has never been a good course of action if one wanted to avoid getting eaten.

Meanwhile, I'm sure some 'ling's looking at that under-used bit of hive mind space and scratching their heads, wondering why the drones didn't seem to be using it for anything.

And I see the High Score Cave (or whatever we want to name it) has gotten quite an overhaul since we last saw it. I know you keep saying High Score was "just an ordinary drone," but considering how much of an influence they had on drone affairs despite being "just an ordinary drone," I still say they were definitely onto something that the rest of the changelings definitely weren't at the time.

[Kiue Jin]

11169434

11169420

Either way, there is something fitting that the Cathedral of High Score should have a slide built in it.

[Nameless Narrator]

11169420
Faith hates definitive questions that require definitive answers.
11169434
God spelled backwards is drone. Don't believe me? Just have faith.
11169786
Exactly!
11169461
- That presumes anyone cares what the drones are doing as long as the quotas are met.
- Jesus was an ordinary carpenter whose mother cheated on her husband/partner with 3 black guys and look how out of propotions that got blown out.

[LordNobady]

11169879
No Joshep was the carpenter. Jesus was a hippie. All he did was travel around with his friends, have strange expiriences, and proclame we all should be nice to etce other.

[ChakatRedstripe]

With drones now being allowed to advance I wonder how far they will go. Maybe we will see drone libraries, schools\ training center, shiny Banks?

[Scyphi]

11169911
Well, to be fair, he was right about the whole "let's be nice to each other" thing, so one does sort of have to give him that.

[Nameless Narrator]

11169911
Good point, but focusing on pretty much the least relevant thing in my statement.
11169963
Library - technically, we have a precedent from Chrysalis' memories and you may have caught certain scribbles all over the cathedral. At least I hope I wrote they were there. Schools - eh, the concept doesn't make much sense in the long term due to the hive mind, and currently we're seeing a form of tutelage. Banks - okay, so basically, monetary theory states- nevermind. Banks are impossible due to the completely unstable value and concept of "shiny". Plus, drones aren't evil enough to form banks... or hedge funds.
11170123
If Christians actually believed teachings of the New Testament instead of cherrypicking stuff that suits their political values, the world would be a better place. I mean, that fits all three abrahamic religions, but Christians are the most two-faced about it by far. That, or I just have the most experience with them.

[ChakatRedstripe]

11170175
Ah I was under the impression that they weren't using the hive mind as much. Yeah your right, banks would be out. Maybe a version of a safety deposit service..

[Scyphi]

11170175
True, but that doesn't mean the message isn't any less valid, or for the rest of us to try and put into practice in some fashion.

But that's probably getting into topics much deeper than what concerns this fic.

[Nameless Narrator]

11170501
Righ now, no. But eventually, someone'S bound to learn how to use it and then fill it with... something.
11170537
That's what you think. MWAHAHAHAHAAAA!
Drone Jesus go!

[DrPlacebo]

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/%27Moses%27_by_Michelangelo_JBU140.jpg

[Nameless Narrator]

11354656
Can't say the similarity didn'T cross my mind, but I went for a different character. ROUNDHOUSEKICK!