An Island of Friendship in an Ocean of the Hive
“Hello?”
“Eek!”
I gave a sharp yelp and leaped into the air, startled by the sudden salutation. The furry, brown rabbits I had been watching for some time now scattered into the bushes with a rustle. Quickly, I wheeled my head around and looked at whoever greeted me.
“Oh … hello” I replied softly as I felt my cheeks blush.
“What are you doing all the way out here?”
“Uhh … f-foraging?” I stuttered, still stunned.
“Are you sure? Because you have been looking at those rabbits for quite some time. If it were me, they would have been brought back immediately”
“S-sorry, please don’t get mad at me!”
To my surprise, my acquaintance gave a warm and gentle smile.
“Why would I get mad at you?”
“Y-you’re not going to report back to the others? To … her?”
“As long as you catch something eventually. I won’t tell a soul.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and laid down on the grass. My companion sat down beside me.
“So, why were you staring at them? Do you find them cute?”
“Cute?!?” I felt my face redden even more.
“Yeah! You should have seen your face as you kept looking at them! The others won’t take you seriously if you looked like that back home!”
I looked down, crestfallen. My acquaintance, upon realizing that she had gone too far, went silent, giving me a moment to recover from her remark.
“So, why do you find them cute?”
I sighed.
“I don’t know! Maybe it’s those small, dark eyes! Maybe it’s their tiny, adorable snouts! Maybe it’s because they’re covered in fur, and I want to feel them to know how soft they are! It’s not normal for me to feel this way, is it?”
“Do you think it’s normal for you?”
“I … don’t know … The others don’t seem to look at the little forest creatures that way … Is something wrong with me?”
“I don’t think so. Maybe there are some who feel like you do too and just don’t want to show it.”
“I wish it were the case.”
A few moments of silence passed. The wind passed through the glade, swaying leaves and causing ripples in the nearby pond to form.
“So,” my acquaintance began “if you find them so endearing, why don’t you go ahead and pet them?”
“Well … Look at me!” I gestured to my reflection in the pond. A dark head with bright green insect-like eyes and a fanged snout stared back, connected to a body covered by a black carapace shielding translucent wings, and rough, gnarled legs. My companion looked into the pond as well, her reflection mirroring mine. “Do you think the creatures would come close to me looking like that?”
“Have you tried changing into a rabbit or some other forest creature?”
“Believe me, I have. Dozens of times! And yet, they keep running off before I can get close enough to even touch them! It’s like they can sense what I’m like inside!”
“Why not try and earn their trust?”
“What do you mean?”
My acquaintance flew towards a nearby tree and returned with a berry-covered branch in its mouth. Giving it to me, she gestured towards the bushes where the rabbits last hid. Slowly, I trotted over to the foliage and placed the branch on the grass, stepping back into the cover of the forest once I did so.
For a few moments, nothing happened, but then a pair of small beady eyes emerged from the bush as a brown rabbit stepped out to sniff the forest fruit. Once it seemed to determine that the berries are not dangerous, it happily nibbled on the sweet juicy food. As it did so, I could sense its love wafting towards me, and gradually, I could feel the emptiness inside began to fill.
Excited, I crept closer towards the creature, only to have it disappear into the undergrowth again once it sensed I was coming. Panicking, I frantically looked around for something else to give and noticed a wild carrot growing in a patch of tall grass. Its eyes stared unblinkingly from the safety of the bush as it watched me dig up the vegetable, place it closer to the berry branch and back away.
The rabbit hopped out of the bush, cautiously at first and started to nibble on the berries, then the carrot before staring at me with a curious look. I stood still, not daring to make any move to scare it off again. Feeling braver, the rabbit hopped closer to me. Inch by inch, I reached out my gnarled hoof to touch it. It flinched at first but did not run away like before. Eventually, my limb connected with the soft furry creature and stroked it gently, both rabbit and changeling being filled with each other’s love.
I looked back towards my companion, who was smiling as she watched the scene play out.
“Please do not tell the others of this place.”
“Not a word.”
***
I kept returning every day, bringing along various fruits or plants I could find in the forest and leaving them in the grove near the pond, watching as the forest creatures great and small, from rabbits to squirrels to deer, accepted my offerings with gratitude, their love enough to satisfy my own hunger. I was tempted to tell the others but selfishly feared that the peace of this place would be destroyed in the process.
For now, the only other changeling who knows is my companion, who comes to visit from time to time when she is not on duty guarding the hive. We talked about many things, mainly about the hive as there was nothing much else to talk about. Life in our hive was a simple one and, as is custom for a changeling society, each of us were assigned roles by the queen to help benefit the hive and she is the one that determines whether you were a forager, a builder, or a soldier. We subsist on the bountiful gifts of the forest, like the wild berries and plants, but we tend to bring back any creature we could find in cocoons so we can slowly drain the natural love inside them, more filling to a changeling than any vegetable or forest fruit, that’s for sure. I felt bad at first, seeing the little creatures being sucked dry of their love in our makeshift pods, but I knew that survival trumps sympathy in this dog-eat-dog world and have accepted it as a fact of life … at least until now.
The hive is usually content to isolate itself from the wider world, and a few bad experiences with other societies in the past had made the queen overly protective of her subjects, but there are those of us who dream of the outside world, and for them there is but one role that the queen may assign them to. There is a small village full of ponies that bordered the edge of the forest, Leafton, if I’m not mistaken, and any lucky one of us may get chosen to go there, disguise as one of the locals and blend into their society.
I sometimes watched them from afar during my foraging duties and I was astonished at how much different their way of life is from ours, and the more I observed them, the more envious I grew of their freedom to express themselves and live as they saw fit, which was much more relaxing than the rigid roles of the hive. I wished to go there, to be one of them and bask in the friendship that they share and enjoy, but the queen had made it very clear that they wouldn’t accept us for who we are and only those who have mastered the art of deception can mingle in their midst. And so, for now, I was content with my grove, my animals, and my companion whom I could share how I felt without fear of the others’ ridicule.
***
“Guess what? They assigned me to the pony town!”
My companion couldn’t contain her excitement when she told me the news that day. According to her, she’s one of the chosen few to go undercover in the pony village. She even proudly showed off the pony-sona assigned to her, a sweet young, winged mare with a light earthen coat, a short brown curly mane and a pair of binoculars emblazoned on her flank.
“Call me … Lookie-Loo! Ooh, that name sounds so silly, but so mysterious at the same time! What do you think?”
“That’s ... great … I’m happy for you …” I said solemnly.
Her look of enthusiasm and pride soon turned to that of concern. She soon reverted back to her own form “Don’t worry, you’ve still got your animal friends, y’know?”
“Yeah, but … as much as I love Snow and his brothers and sisters” I said as I pulled a litter of bunnies into my embrace “it’s nice to have some-changeling who can talk back to me.”
“Then, why not give it a try? Don’t tell me that I’m still your only friend after all this time!”
“I’m sorry, but I just can’t. The others are either too busy with their tasks or too bossy thinking I’m such a weakling to be able to hang out with them. As far as I know, you’re the only one who cared.”
“What about those like you?”
“What?”
“Among the brash, uptight members of our hive, there’s got to be some-changeling who’s just like you: scared and afraid to show how creative, kind and caring they could be because they’re too obsessed with fitting into the collective. They could use some-changeling like you to help them see it’s not so bad.”
I gave her words some thought.
“Tell you what. I’ll bring you a feast of pony foods from the village that we can share together here, if you can manage to help another like you find their true self. Deal?” she put out a gnarled hoof.
“Deal.” I took it, my mouth salivating at the curiosity of what the sweet-smelling treats must have tasted like.
We soon parted with tears in our eyes and promises to never forget each other. I thanked her for teaching me how to earn the forest creatures’ trust and she thanked me for my friendship as well. And so, the only changeling who knew about this place was just myself once more.
***
Since then, I have kept myself busy. During the day, I carried out the long monotonous task of foraging for food for the hive. In the evenings, I brought some of the food to the forest creatures living in the grove. When night fell, I returned to rest in one of the various caverns of the hive. I was content with this daily routine, but I couldn’t get my companion’s words out of my mind, and my envy towards her and my desire to experience the kind of friendships that she would have in the friendly pony town only grew with each passing day.
And so, I tried following her advice and looked for another changeling like me, but it proved to be just as hard as I had thought, at least at first. I tried striking up casual conversations with any changeling I could meet but I was often met with either bluff remarks to leave them alone or strict commands to get back to work. As expected, most of them were too caught up in their duties towards the hive that friendship was just a distant thought to them, and I certainly wasn’t brave enough to go up to the queen herself and offer her my friendship.
I felt that my efforts were beginning to grow futile until one particular day. I was having my afternoon lunch of berries and wild potatoes when I noticed one of the builders, after checking to see if no-changeling is watching, go off by his own into the forest. Usually, builders often went into the forest to find building materials for the hive but the way he acted intrigued me. So, I followed him, taking care to not let him see me, until he reached a small clearing in the woods beneath a small outcropping of rock. And it was there I held my breath at what I saw.
I had heard of distant pony cities, with buildings touching the sky and stretching out as far as the eye could see, but this city was on a whole different scale! Granted, it wasn’t large enough for any-pony, or any-changeling for that matter, to live in, but the sheer size of it almost made me gasp in awe! There were dozens of houses, tiny figures of ponies made from twigs and stones, and tall, awkward looking buildings that I was sure would have collapsed if not for this builder’s expertise. I had never seen any-changeling do this before. Was this who my friend was talking about?
I began to step out of the forest cover to meet him, but decided startling him was not the best first impression. I thought of an approach and remembered how I had earned the friendship of the forest animals in the first place by gaining their trust. And so, looked around the forest for anything I could use and got to work.
The changeling was definitely startled when I emerged from behind the trees, but calmed and looked curiously at what I had in my gnarled hooves. It was a pony house, or at least my honest attempt at a pony house, slap dashed together using twigs, vines and mud. As he watched, I placed my house on the edge of his city and slowly walked away. He promptly called for me to wait, and I looked in turn as he went to my house and fixed it up, straightening twigs, retying vine knots and including a nice addition in the form of, what the ponies called, a ‘chimney’. We smiled as the first threads of friendship began to form in our midst.
We met from time to time, talking about various things, and with every meeting, he began to open up more and more. When I felt that the time was right, I brought him to the grove and introduced him to the animals, who were wary of him at first, but came to accept him once food was provided to them. The peace and serenity of this place had made him feel safe and thus, he often chose to visit whenever he could spare time from his duties. We even helped to build temporary shelters for the animals during a rough storm on one occasion. All in all, I felt so happy to finally have another friend to share my thoughts with and wished that my companion was here to meet him too.
***
I first noticed the book while I was digging for vegetables in the forest. It was buried under a large oak tree under a network of thick roots. Brushing the dirt off of it, I could see that the book was hard bound, with a familiar image of a pair of binoculars on its cover. Curious, I opened the book and read what was written on the first page:
Day 1
The rumours are true! It took a while, but I managed to find the hive of the supposed changelings deep within the Greatwood Forest! They may have enchanted the forest to confuse any-pony passing through, but I knew there was a method to the magic used, a pattern to the misdirection! Sitting in my hiding spot and watching the seemingly endless number of changelings patrolling the area, I honestly feel a bit intimidated. But I have come this far already, it would be best if I documented my findings as much as possible. Disguise, don’t fail me now.
My eyes widened as I read more and more of the words in the book. A pony posing as one of us and keeping a record of everything about our hive that she can observe! And I have a good feeling of which one of us that might be. I felt myself tremble. The only changeling friend I had … and she’s spying on us! I felt tempted, obligated even to bring this proof to the queen, but I stopped myself. I don’t know why, but something inside me told me to keep my trust in her. And so, I kept on reading:
Day 32
I saw one of the foragers wander off into the forest today and followed her to a nearby grove situated next to a pond. There, she would look at any woodland creature she could find and stare at it for a few hours before returning to her duties. This doesn’t seem like the normal behaviour of many of the changelings I observed in the hive. Are there others like her?
Day 33
I followed a few more changelings on their duties and was quite intrigued by their different behaviours. There was a builder who had kept a collection of model buildings not too far from the hive. There was another forager who gathers a bunch of flowers as a soft bed to sleep on. There was a guard who idly draws images in the ground and erasing them before his fellow watch-changeling could notice. This really changed my perspective on their species! They are not mindless drones following the orders of their queen and doing the duties of their hive! They have feelings, hobbies, interests, goals and aspirations, just like us ponies! I wonder if I could offer my friendship to one of them …
The more I read, the more conflicted I felt towards my companion as she went on to describe how she got closer towards myself and the other changelings she had mentioned, being supportive and giving us a friend to share our thoughts and feelings with when we felt so alone in the hive. Tears streamed down my face as I read her last entry:
Day 53
The end of the second month approaches. As much as I wish to stay in the hive, I need to head back to Leafton and record my findings. Hopefully, the knowledge of the changelings’ culture would be the beginning of an understanding between us and them, and I could finally meet every-changeling I encouraged in better times. I would tell them the truth then. Hopefully, they will understand.
I closed the book with a sigh, my faith in my friend renewed. If her words were true, then an end to our isolation will come and we can experience the outside world without the need for secrecy. But first, the secret needs to be kept. I looked to my left and to my right before putting the book back in its place among the roots. I then went about my day with a hope in my heart for the peace between our societies to come.
***
There was a palpable tension in the air when I walked amongst the hive a few days later. Whispers and rumours of danger spread among my brethren. I tried to go about my duties as usual, but I found that I couldn’t ignore the unease brewing around us. And so, I tried listening closely to the others’ chatter and gossip, trying to make sense of what was going on.
My blood ran cold at what they said.
“Haven’t you heard? They know about us now!”
“They’re going to come for us at any moment!”
“What are we going to do? They’ve got powerful magic!”
“Don’t worry! Our queen is gathering every-changeling she can!”
How would they know? The only way they might have known is through …
Wasting no time, I rushed towards the place where my companion’s journal lay.
It wasn’t there. I was breathing hard and fast.
If our queen knew about what was in the book, she would most certainly take this as a sign that the hive and its secrets are in danger. There were too many past bad experiences with ponies for her to give them a chance at friendship. If any conflict between ponies and changelings would arise, she would definitely strike first, which means …
No! The village!
An ear-piercing scream confirmed my worst fears. I instinctively galloped towards the pony town as fast as my gnarled hooves could carry me. I knew I wasn’t going to like what awaited me when I arrived.
***
Fire.
Fire and chaos.
The streets of the pony town of Leafton are filled with it.
The army of the hive are overturning carts, harassing ponies and setting homes and shophouses ablaze while the ponies are trying to put up a desperate defence, with blurs of Pegasi wings, blasts from Unicorn horns and bucks from Earth Ponies holding them off as those who weren’t able to fight tried to escape the horror around them. I stood, paralyzed by the chaos of it all until a soldier grabbed me by the hoof and pointed towards one of the houses with a barked order to drive its inhabitants out. Fearful of what would happen if I disobeyed, I quickly ran towards the house and, after a few blows, burst open its front door.
The first thing I noticed was the light-coated winged pony before me, ushering a few ponies, old and young, into a trapdoor leading below the house for safety. She instinctively grabbed a nearby broom to fend off the intruder before our eyes met, and familiarity began to set in.
We said nothing, our gaze locked at each other.
The young ones kept urging their elder to “Get in before the monster eats you!”
But she and I still stared, not moving.
Her eyes began to water, as if to plead for her life and the lives of those she’s protecting.
My eyes began to water, as if to show her my own conflicted feelings.
We stood and stared.
Then, slowly, I backed towards the door, closing it behind me, and then began to run.
I didn’t care if any-changeling saw me and thought me a traitor.
I didn’t care if any-pony saw me and made a move to attack me.
I had to get away.
Away from the fighting.
Away from the chaos.
Away to the only place where I felt safe.
***
All was silent.
Only the wind spoke, rustling the tall grass and leaving ripples in the pond as it passed through.
Only the trees spoke, as they groaned and swayed in the passing breeze.
Only the animals spoke, squeaking, chittering and chirping with concern as they crowded around.
I didn’t speak.
Only my thoughts spoke.
Would everything have gone differently if I hadn’t found the journal? Would it be found by another changeling who would certainly bring it back to the queen? Would things change if the pony had taken the journal with her? Would it be better if she hadn’t come at all? Would it be better if we were left alone for all time to come?
Only the voices in my head spoke.
But they were joined by one more voice.
“Are you alright?”
I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I didn’t turn around to see who it was. I didn’t need to.
“I don’t know.”
“You have to believe me! I was going to tell you in the future.”
“I know.”
“You do, how?”
“I … read your journal.”
“Really?!? Where did you find it?”
I pointed in one direction. She stifled a gasp.
“I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean for you to see it this soon! It’s just … a racoon took away the journal while I wasn’t looking and hid it somewhere! I’ve been looking for it ever since! I–It’s my fault all this happened! I-I shouldn’t have come here! I– “
I gave a reassuring shush.
“It’s alright. It’s in the past now. I’m sorry I didn’t keep your secret hidden well. So much for peace between ponies and changelings, huh?”
No one spoke for a few moments.
“Is it over?” I asked.
“Yeah, we … managed to fight them off. No-pony was seriously hurt. The mayor’s calling for more guards now to protect the town while we rebuild. What’ll happen to you?”
“If it’s anything like the last time we encountered ponies, our hive would have to move again. Possibly to somewhere more isolated. Like we always do.”
“And … you’re going with them?”
“Usually, I am. But now … I feel calm here, happy even. I have never felt this way before in all the places we’ve moved to! I don’t want to leave this all behind!”
“Then why not stay?”
“Huh?”
“If you aren’t satisfied with your life in the hive? Why not leave? Why hadn’t you left?”
“To be honest, I hadn’t thought about it before now. I’ve been with the hive for so long that … life outside it seems … unthinkable!”
“Then … then come with me! I’ll help show you that there is more to life than foraging for the hive every single day without the freedom to care for animals without worrying about what the others may think! This is your chance!”
The offer seemed tempting. I could stay with her and the animals and be content for the rest of my days. Then, I remembered the builder I met and how happy he felt when he shared his interests with me.
“Thank you. For your offer, I mean. But it’s like you said before: there are changelings like me in the hive that have no one to share their interests to without fear of being ridiculed. They need some-changeling like me to show them that its okay to have those feelings … like you did.”
“I-”
“Don’t worry about it. You may have accidentally threatened the hive and set Leafton ablaze, but you brought happiness to at least a few changelings, maybe it’s time we ourselves changed.”
“So, no hard feelings?”
“None at all. In fact …”
I turned around and gave her a warm hug.
“Thank you. Thank you for helping me to help the others.”
She returned it and we embraced, one last time. The forest critters even got in on the action. With a solemn promise that we would see each other again, we parted ways, each to our own destinies and a hope that when we do return, it would be in the arms of friendship between our two societies.