Self-actualization
"Good haul today, drones," said Scarab, looking among the eight members of his pod. The last of them had just emerged from the cluster's chilly underground food storage chamber, and he looked at her. "Especially you, Odanata. I'll be sure to tell Commander Actius who she can thank for the fresh goat." Odanata gave a brisk nod.
"Now remember, since tomorrow's Saturday, we'll be meeting our volunteers in the morning. Until then, if you need anything, I'll be in my office. Dismissed."
The pod members broke their line and went their separate ways. Only Scarab was going to the pod's living quarters, where his office was. Most of the others would be headed towards the cluster training ground to spar or race or gallop the obstacle course, with one or two going to the new liaison office outside of The Hive's main entrance to meet with a pony or two that they had come to enjoy the company of.
Scarab had barely settled onto his office seat when he heard a hoof tapping against the doorway. "Come in," he said automatically. It was another moment before he looked up from his desk and realized that the visitor was Antenna.
"Pod Leader," she said. "I want answers."
Scarab gave her an odd look. "Antenna, what's wrong?"
"Why are you helping them?" she asked, walking towards him. "The ponies. They're the enemy. You always told us that. They almost killed both of us. I came back to The Hive because I thought you'd be getting the pod ready to fight them. But all this time, you've been telling us to work with them. Why, Scarab?"
Scarab took a slow, deep breath, rested a foreleg on his desk, and leaned forward. "Antenna, do you know why I always ran my pod the way I did? Why I wasn't as hard on you as almost any other pod leader would have been?"
Antenna leered. "What's that got to do with it?"
"I have a duty to this pod, and whatever happens, I carry it out the best I can. If I'd thought it was a matter of survival, I'd be getting us ready to fight. But things have changed, Antenna. Equestria has beaten us. Our whole way of life was built around the assumption that we'd be able to stay hidden, but that's no longer the case."
"You mean you're just giving up?" Antenna asked. "You're our pod leader. You're supposed to drive us to do what has to be done. We can't let them win, right?"
"I thought that if they won, they would kill us all," Scarab said. "We all did. Antenna, I don't like this either, but right now, it's our best chance. As long as we have willing ponies, there's no reason to risk our food supply by turning against them."
Antenna stomped. "But what about our Queen? Papilio is a puppet of Celestia. As long as she's in power, Celestia can do whatever she wants to us. We can't let them define who we are!"
"Queen Papilio has made my job much easier than Chrysalis did," Scarab said brusquely. "I don't have to look over my shoulder before I help a pod member anymore."
"I don't believe this. You're going to just let them go? After what they did to you?"
Without thinking about it, Scarab touched his face. He felt one of the coarse, gray lines of fibrous tissue that divided his headplate, a changeling body's attempt to glue together pieces of its shattered exoskeleton. It was a patchwork job, one that hadn't quite fit everything back together right and one that didn't quite hold his right eye the way it should have.
"Antenna, it's going to take more than a cracked headplate for me to give up on my pod," he finally said, leaning back. "I'm not going to endanger or abandon them for revenge."
"But what if your pod members want to fight Equestria and Papilio?"
"Then that's their decision, but if they want to do it, they won't be doing it as a member of my pod."
For a few moments, the room was silent. All at once, Antenna's hard stare and unflinching posture melted away; she dropped her gaze towards the floor, slouched forward, and let her wings drop.
"Scarab, I should go. As in, leave the pod."
Scarab pulled himself forward. "What? Antenna, what are you talking about?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't be a member of your pod. I don't belong here anymore."
"Antenna, you can't—"
"I can." She raised her head and buzzed her wings. "One of your beloved queen's new rules. Drones don't have to stay in a pod, or even in The Hive, if we don't want to. And why should I stay in the pod that traitor came from, anyway?"
Scarab grimaced. "Pincer... he... what we know now... he was only trying..." He shook his head. "Never mind. It's not worth it, Antenna. A lot of changelings don't agree with you. You'll spend the rest of your life hiding and fighting your own kind, assuming you don't end up in prison."
"I never said I'd start a resistance group. In fact, I'm not really sure what I'll do, but anything is better than this. This isn't the pod or The Hive I spent my life working and fighting for."
Scarab wasn't sure he believed her, but she was right. He couldn't force her to stay, and he wouldn't have even if he could. "If that's really how you feel, then there's nothing I can do to stop you. Goodbye, Antenna. If you ever return, I'll gladly welcome you back."
"Thank you, Scarab." With that, Antenna turned around and walked out, taking a moment to linger in the doorway and look about the pod sleeping quarters. A moment later, she was gone.
The red curtain drew shut, and from the other side, Pincer could hear hooves stomping the dirt in applause. He took a breath, his heart racing from both nerves and excitement, and looked among the three ponies on the stage with him. About a dozen others began to emerge from behind the stage of the small open-air theater, hurrying to take positions.
"Pretty good turnout for a town as small as Ponyville," said Lemon Drop, a butter-yellow earth pony mare, peeking through the curtain at the eight rows of rough wooden benches, packed end-to-end with ponies. "Especially for The Professor's Case. Who'd think a bunch of country bumpkins would watch a show about big city academic politics?" She tapped her chin. "But then again, Hinny of the Hills did pretty well in Manehattan." She looked at Pincer.
"You know," she said, grinning, "for a while out there, I actually forgot you were a changeling."
"Oh," Pincer said, shuffling his hooves, which were currently those of a maroon earth pony. "Thanks, I suppose."
"You were great out there as Pen Pusher," said a sea-green pegasus stallion named Pantomime. "Not often a troupe as small as ours gets someone like you. I'll bet anything you'll have more than four scenes next time."
"I feel like I should be thanking all of you," said Pincer, adjusting the brown vest he was wearing. The businesslike clerk didn't make for a very emotive role, but he'd done his best. "Giving me this chance, I mean, conidering where I come from."
"All in the past," Pantomime said. "You're a member of The Equestrian Thespians now. That's what counts."
Pincer had no time to voice his gratitude, because at that moment, the director, a gaunt white unicorn stallion, appeared from behind the stage.
"The curtain call's about to begin," he said. "Everyone in position?"
Most of them nodded, though a few of the ponies hastily shuffled around. A few seconds later, the curtain whooshed open, letting in the muggy air of the twilit summer evening.
First came the extras. They totaled about a dozen ponies, and in unison, hooves clapped against wood as they trotted to the edge of the stage in a row, bowed, and trotted back to the sounds of stomping hooves and cheering.
Pincer was next. Just as practiced, as soon as the extras had returned to their places, he started to take hasty steps towards the front of the stage. Heart pounding, he had less than a second to soak in the rows of eager ponies packed onto benches before he closed his eyes and let his front legs sink.
As loud as it was, the applause was nothing compared to the love he felt coming from the crowd. It wasn't much, to be sure, but it was there. Thin strands from here and there, from the occasional pony who had become so invested in the play that they noticed and appreciated his performance enough for him to feel it. He allowed himself to feed, knowing that the ponies likely wouldn't even notice such a small amount spread among so many of them.
Among the threads of love, Pincer felt Twilight Sparkle's. It was stronger and heavier than the others, and it had a familiar and pleasant taste. He would have liked to stay there and savor it, but he had to run back so that Pantomime could take his bow.
After the curtain call, most of the actors returned to the backstage, talking among themselves as they shed the clothes they'd donned for the performance. Pincer joined them, dispelling his disguise after he took off his vest.
"I'll see you all in a bit," he said after putting the vest away. "There's someone in the audience I want to talk to."
He dashed out of the back exit of the theater and looked towards the rows of benches. Seeing that the audience was quickly dispersing, he scanned the crowd for Twilight as he cantered toward the seating. He caught her standing near the front, looking uncertainly around the stage. When she spotted him, she smiled.
"Pincer!" she said, trotting towards him. A few other ponies turned their heads at the noise, noticing Pincer, and one or two hastened to leave. Others stood and watched.
"I loved it," Twilight said.
Pincer grinned. "I figured you would. I'm just surprised so many others around here did."
"Well, we don't get plays very often," said Twilight. "Ponyville is too small for most theater companies."
"That's actually why we're here," Pincer said. "We're pretty small-time ourselves."
Twilight smiled. "Well, at least you should always have an audience here."
"I know," said Pincer, "and it's really not so bad. I go to small towns, I entertain ponies, I get love in return. I just wish I could've started doing this a long time ago."
Twilight's eyes drifted in thought, and then she frowned. "Actually, I was wondering about Scarab and Antenna. Did they... did they ever forgive you?"
Pincer looked down. "I haven't worked up the nerve to ask. Besides, I don't even know where Antenna went after they released her."
"Have you tried The Hive?" Twilight asked. "Most of them ended up returning there, didn't they?"
Pincer shrugged. "It's not safe for me there. Queen Papilio officially pardoned me as one of the first things she did, but there are still a lot of them that would probably kill me if they thought they could get away with it. And anyway, that's where Scarab is, so I don't think I can ask him anytime soon, either."
Twilight frowned. "But if Queen Papilio is on your side, can't she keep you safe while you're there?"
"The Queen has bigger things to worry about than me," said Pincer. "Convincing changelings to play nice with ponies, convincing ponies to play nice with changelings, retraining all of those raiding and espionage crews for peaceful purposes, getting a handle on the changes her body underwent when Chrysalis made her the new Queen.... Even with Princess Celestia helping her, I'm not going to make her job harder by charging her with protecting me while I go stir up anger at The Hive."
"But you've done so much for her," said Twilight. "For all changelings. You shouldn't have to walk away like that."
Pincer took in a deep breath, then very slowly blew it out. "I'll go back someday. Maybe in a year. Maybe in ten years. But right now, it's just not the place for me. I'm happy where I am, and there are still a lot of us who can't say that. With all of the loose ends left in this, tying up mine can wait."
"I guess if you really feel that way...." Twilight pawed at the ground. "Good luck, Pincer."
"Thanks," Pincer said. "Anyway, I should probably get back with the others. I'd stop by your library while I was here, but..." He grinned. "With all the traveling I do, it might be hard to return anything I borrowed on time."
"I guess that's one reason I never went into acting," Twilight said, grinning herself. "I couldn't imagine having to carry all of my books and my notes around the country. But I understand."
They said their goodbyes, and Pincer turned and trotted away, towards the backstage and towards the ponies he was beginning to think of as his friends.
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This was a very good story and I very much enjoyed it. One of the better changeling fics out there. If there is a sequel I await it with great anticipation.
Very nice, Starman, a great read the entire way. Any chance for a sequel?
very nice al around i will say. though i have to wonder what will happen next.
Antenna gets sequel?
huh, ends on a sad note. We will see what you do next.
A good story, though I still find it a bit hard to imagine they would try to reform Discord but not Chrysalis. Oh well. All's well that ends well.
I really liked this story! Can I expect a sequel of some sort?
Certainly seems like a sequel set-up, yes. I hope so, otherwise it ends a bit too abruptly for me.
Nice sequel hook.
im glad the changelings are getting a chance.
good story :)
There's room for more reconciliation and peace, but this was a good ending to this story.
That was a great ending I really hope there is a sequel.
I really really hope there is a sequel to this
4821386 When it comes to changeling stories for me, if there aren't multiple hives with that one hive being the exception, then this story is the next best thing!
A fitting low key ending to a wonderful low key changeling story. Bravo.
A lot of people are begging for a sequel. I won't ask for one. However, the inconclusiveness of the plot points indicates you probably already do have something in mind. Am I right, or am I just spewing overanalyzed nonsense again?
I'm with all of the folks wondering about a sequel. Moar pls?
Still, that was very good overall. Even if you stopped here, that'd still be something to be proud of.
Bro! Please! Sequel! I do not feel satisfied.
tell me there is a sequel in the works!
TELL ME THERE IS A SEQUEL IN THE WORKS!!
TELL ME!!!
4821544
I'm with this guy. You kinda left it on a weird spot. Do you have something in mind?
4821374
Haha, I just made that exact point elsewhere. I'd guess a sequel is a good possibility because the structure of this chapter doesn't really conform to either an ending or an epilogue very well.
Huh, didn't see that ending coming, at least not so suddenly.
Great story, I really liked how it made changlings more individualistic.
I'll be waiting to see what (if anything) you put out next.
This is a good setup for a sequel, I'll be eagerly waiting the day when it comes out.
Call it a coincidence, but I imagined this ending like it did. It just seemed like it was gunna happen. But when I think about it, I've thought of thousands of ways of how this story could end, it sort of... fits.
Maybe she'll start her own hive, who knows.
I didn't ready see the ending coming. This is a good story and I await a sequel, if you decide to do one.
holy shit I need a sequal STAT!!!!
Why is it that I can't help but think of the Overseer's speech at the ending of Fallout?
Specifically, this line:
Edit: FiMFiction, why did you doublepost my post?
I smell a sequel.
Good story, though it ended rather abruptly.
Congratulations. This story is now the first recommendation on my user page.
Granted, that's because I sort them alphabetically, and this one starts with "B", but still...
This is amazing writing. Loved the whole thing from start to finish.
I'm bad at compliments.
I find it more natural to point out flaws and give ideas about how things could've been done better. So, I hope you understand what I mean when I say: I really have nothing more to say about this story.
This did seem to lurch to an end. A bit on the abrupt side but over all it was a good story.
Felt the ending was a bit abrupt, but not bad.
I really like changelings, so this story was a special treat.
Thanks for the ride dude, it was awesome.
This was very good, although the ending feels very strange in light of the blog post. You could have had the conversation between Scarab and Antenna be much less conclusive because this is clearly not the first time they talked since the battle, but instead you set up a major plot hook for a sequel you do not intend to write with what looks like Antenna going off to join a rebel faction.
4821967 Year of Sun and Year of Reunion.
I get the feeling you were trying to make this an epilogue with sequel teases. I don't love the ending as it is, but I don't think it needs a sequel.
Nuu don't end with this kind of cliffhanger! I wanna nnow if Antenna and Pincer work things out ;~;
Wait... The End? I don't remember this story being marked as complete when I clicked on this chapter... *Rechecks* Eeyup, complete. Dang, Pincer is going to have to watch his back in the sequel. Scarab may welcome him back with open arms, but it looks like Antenna plans to separate the chest plates over his heart with a blade.
Feels rather anticlimactic, regardless this has been a good read from the start
At first I thought this was seting up for a sequal but then I heard you not going to do one....this makes me sad.
4821816 Keeps happening to me as well.
God damn that's a time skip if I ever saw one.
4822166
Pretty much this, especially with that ending.
A damn good end and it doesn't need a sequel like you said. I enjoyed that it ended with not everything ending peaceful and happy, and that there are still problems left.
Fresh goat?