Man in a Pony’s World

The Hive was… outstanding. The entire… cavern that the Alpha was in was huge. Lit with what I assumed was love-made resin. Drones walked either on the ground, or flew through the air in a similar pattern to that regular traffic back at home. The sound of water rushing down from the underground waterfall could be heard, and there were canals that all led towards what could only be described as a fountain where drones would stop by on occasion and take a drink. Or fill a container up so they’d have water for later. We landed right by this fountain, as it seemed like the center of the Hive. A good starting point if I wanted to explore this place.

“Welcome to the Alpha, or the main Hive of my kingdom. Echo and Gengar have arrived quite a while ago; they will still attend to you, as though you were living in your old home. For now though… Perhaps a tour?” A changeling dutifully saluted his Queen upon seeing her, before waddling up. “Bob, this is Steve, Steve this is Bob. The human you’ve probably heard of. Bob, this is Steve, the changeling that led the construction of your house and greenhouse. And an excellent drone if I do say so myself.”

Steve blushed a little. I rubbed my chin while processing the name. “So you, Echo, and Gengar have cool names,” I hummed. “And then there’s just Steve.”

“You are one to talk sir,” Steve said with a grin. “You are named Bob, after all.”

“Yeah, you’re right… Wanna belly rub? Cradled? Anything?” Steve looked to Chrysalis, who nodded in approval. “Well?”

“I… would like to be held. That would feel nice,” Steve waddled up to me, his little tail was wagging like crazy. I knelt down before scooping the drone up, and took a seat on a nearby bench. “This is pretty much our equivalent of what ponies would call a park. When we aren’t tending to the Hive, or feeding on one of the food ponies, this is where we spend most of our time.” Steve laid his head on my shoulder. “I was supposed to give you a tour, but the Queen allowed me to relax a little beforehoof. This is very nice; I see why Gengar spoke so highly of you!” And there went the professional talk that he had going; changelings apparently really like being babied.

After thoroughly turning sixteen different drones and Steve into a bunch of cuddle bugs, we finally took that tour. There really wasn’t much to note. Holes in the wall were changeling dens(I would also have one, but more human-sized according to Steve). As I suspected… Changelings love me. One would see me, immediately knew who I was, and wave. Occasionally one would waltz on up to me, give me their name, and nuzzle my hand as their silent way of asking for a few scratches that I was all too happy to give. One even hugged me, thanking me for stopping what would’ve been a massacre should the invasion in Canterlot fully play out. Some just wanted head scratches, and others just wanted to give me a hug. Luckily, changelings are huggable. This is the best I’ve been treated in half a year.

I felt welcomed for the first time in forever.

“Aren’t you just the cutest little thing?” Note to self, changeling foals(dunno what they’re actually called) are actually really, really cute. One was currently gnawing on my finger with his little baby teeth while I rubbed his belly. Another was laying in my lap, snoozing away. Drones, despite them all seeing Chrysalis as a mother, actually have their own mother and father. And usually, drones are left in what is called a nursery for the day while their parents tended the Hive. Rarely are they actually left here; unless it is a special occasion one parent should always be free to spend some time with their children.

With that said, all the changeling foals that were in the nursery at the moment, loved me more than the adults. I could pet them and feed them with affection in doing so, play with them, and act as a pony bed for some of them. A few of the changelings that were standing by, watched fondly as another foal pounced on my head, making cute little growl noises as I toppled over on purpose. “No! Drone and beast are at war once again!” The foal started playfully batting at me with a hoof. “And it’s ugly!” I grinned before snatching the giggly little baby up. “But the beast strikes back, and there’s no way to tell what will happen next for the little drone! Will the drone survive the beasts’ onslaught?”

I tickled the shit out of that baby.

After being shown my den, I nodded. Chrysalis apparently took the time to put a lot of detail in… a bed that looked like it was made for humans, blankets, a huge workshop with an assortment of tools and things to make things out of. It was… wholly impressive as to how accommodating this thing was. There was even a fridge full of food for me! “So sir, how do you like it? Chrysalis gave us the general idea of what you needed, but I led the building of your den. So… how do you like it?” Steve asked, holding a clipboard. “Sir?” I slowly knelt down in front of the drone, and got nice, close and personal with that jaw of his. I started rubbing it, which made him start to purr.

“I love it. Thank you, Steve. Tell Chrysalis to have you lead more build projects if she isn’t; you’re damn good at what you do.” Steve started blushing like a cherry. “D’aww, you like being praised for the good work you put in?” I chuckled. “You’re a good ‘ling, my dude. If you wanna, you can vibe in here, but I don’t know how fun it would be… I’m gonna be in the workshop, working on making a new form of power for you guys,” Steve proceeded to lay down in my lap while I sketched out my plans to make an electric grid for the Hive, which mainly relied on using the underground waterfalls for hydro-blah-blah-blah. Basically there’s an easy way to make electricity without using solar panels, which are out of my skill range.

So then Steve, Gengar, and Echo helped me put together a watermill. Chrysalis stopped by after Steve went to go fetch her, and she hummed while looking it over. “And this can produce energy to fuel lights should we ever run out of liquid love?” I nodded. “Interesting… If we use the energy you speak up, then perhaps that more of the liquid love we produce can go into feeding the Hive rather than powering all the lights.” Chrysalis looked at Steve with a nod. “Go set up a ‘watermill’ in one of the canals, and have Bob hook it up to whatever makes this… Electricity,” Chrysalis gave me a toothy grin. “You, my friend, are going to do wonders for my Hive. Now food production should increase tenfold with this new system in place!” She nuzzled me.

“So, about these,” I pointed at the adoption papers that I noticed lying on my bed when I walked in. “If I sign these, I’m your son, right?” Chrysalis nodded. “Huh…” I booped Chrysalis on the nose. “Won’t stop me from booping, petting, or scratching you in very pleasant ways?” Chrysalis nodded again. “Well, having a mother would be nice. And I can tell Twilight and her friends, mostly her friends, to go fuck themselves should they come out here and try to convince me to come back…” I took a pen out of my pocket and started signing them. Once I was done, Chrysalis squealed before tackling me.

“It has been so long since I have had my own actual offspring! Sure, my drones love me like a mother, and treat me as such, but I have yet to have a nymph of my own! Even if it is through adoption” Chrysalis nuzzled me. “I will make sure to spend as much time as I can with you,” she started purring as her tail went ‘thump’ every time it hit the bed as it wagged. “I will do my damned best to make sure you are happy while you are living here, Bob. I hope you understand this,” she sighed in contemptment. “Well, what would make you happy?” The Queen asked. Well, my mother… That is going to be hella weird; a mother that loves me? Wow, a foreign concept.

“I wanna help your Hive is what I wanna do. Get y’all hooked up with electricity and various other human inventions… Imagine a train like what Equestria uses, but it’s underground, and connects up with your other Hives. It travels at… three hundred and twenty kilometers an hour? That would be fast enough to near-instantly get you from here, to the Hive under Ponyville!” I clenched my fist. “Ooo, I could do so much for you guys, and I want to; y’all have been super nice to me the entire time I’ve known you guys. I repay any kindness thrown my way tenfold, Chryssy. I want to do this. I’ll have a purpose, for once, in my life.” Chrysalis nodded.

“I see. Well, say the word, and whatever you need to achieve what you have planned for the Hive, and it will be brought to you,” Chrysalis nuzzled me. “I hope that, in time, you will begin calling me ‘Mom’, it has been a while since I’ve been called that… Well, Echo called me ‘Mom’ this morning when I teased her about that crush she has on you. Expect that, by the way, quite a few drones, especially the females, have a crush on you.” She chuckled. “Well, I shall leave you to do what you do best, which is come up with gadgets and inventions that improve life. Just so you know, don’t make any communication devices; my drones and I can communicate using what you would probably describe as a ‘Hive Mind’.” Good to know. Damn. There goes that idea.

Anyways, not even a couple of weeks later, we had an electrical grid going in the Hive. Most of the lights, which were fueled with liquid love, were replaced with lightbulbs. A small building cropped up that was basically six or seven drones that built lightbulbs for the various lights, such as the streetlamps, inside lamps, and the lamps you don’t use at all. I also had a water filter system going at every fountain within the Hive, which really just exposed the amount of horrible shit that could make somebody sick, in the water the changelings were drinking out of. Weirdly enough, after these water-filtered fountains were set up, less changelings were getting sick. Of course, I got an award for that one, since it genuinely did improve the quality of life for changelings as a whole.

That bullet train was coming along nicely, after working with magnets, and showed the concept off, Chrysalis started having drones from various hives build railways in the tunnels they were originally using for traveling from one to another. Then another group of changelings was set for building the trains using the concept I had shown off. I went to the group, along with the group that was producing light bulbs and told them I was sorry for giving them more work. Each one looked at me like I was stupid, before going on about how they like having to work… Apparently most, if not all changelings are workaholics. Of course, that didn’t stop me from feeling bad, and asked them if they were down for a short break of belly rubs.

They all accepted, but went straight back to work when I was done.

A few weeks later, I was in my workshop, happily vibing away while working on putting my carbonation machine back together. The trains got done in a week, and the only challenge was getting them to remain powered, but Chrysalis figured she could use the same thing that was being used to power the lights, which was liquid love. Surprisingly, liquid love was actually a really good fuel source, as it only took about six liters for one trip from the Hive to Ponyville’s Hive and back. Which was basically nothing given that the Hive gets its food off of feeding from criminals Equestria didn’t want. And it didn’t affect the food production that much. Then Chrysalis stopped by.

“Hello Bob. I see that you’ve been busy,” I was working on some random device… I was building a radio so Chrysalis could easily communicate with our non-changeling allies better. In other words, she and Celestia could hook each other up with booty-calls better… In other words I was making a radio. “So, what are you doing?”

“Making a radio; you and Celly are gonna be able to set up so much kinky sex when this is done.” Chrysalis snorted. “Aight, I know you came in for another reason. Lemme guess, you guys got a prototype of the bullet train done, and want me to see it?” Chrysalis nodded. “Cool, lemme put this radio aside; once it’s done, you and Celly are going to hit each other up with so many dates and kinky sex. It’ll be great!” Chrysalis snorted. “At some point,” I pointed at a musket I was building. “You guys will have human weapons called guns, things meant to kill other things in a very efficient fashion, from a distance. You can sell’em, keep’em for yourself. And I’m working on a concept for an underground greenhouse so you guys can begin producing food to sell to other people. Then y’all can become a global superpower, or at the very least, start having an economy.”

“You are correct on that front; it is about time that my Hive begins trading, so that we can start importing more goods for you to invent things… The first ‘bullet train’ has been set up, as you suspected, and is ready to be tested. It is only connected to the Hive underneath Ponyville for a test run, where the entrance is just outside your old home.” I nodded. “Would you like to join me for a first test ride? It is a sign of faith in your contraption if I, and the current Prince of the Changelings, were to ride on it at the same time. And I can stop the train should anything go wrong,” I nodded.

“We won’t have to go into Ponyville will we? I know the only thing I left there was a table with a stove built into it, and I might as well see if anyone’s broken into it or the greenhouse yet.” Chrysalis nodded, and knelt down.

“Come on now, I know you will enjoy the flight to the train station… When we get to the Ponyville Hive, you can ride on my back on the surface,” Chrysalis pranced in place.

“You really like it when I’m riding you, don’tcha?”

“Of course I do! You enjoyed it, so I want to do it again… It would give me a chance to spend more time with me.”

“I literally woke up to you laying next to me, holding me close by with your legs, and drooling all over me. Feck, that’s how I woke up a couple of times, and you sometimes even try to groom me before we go to sleep.” I grinned at Chrysalis’s cheeks turning slightly red. “You’re the best Mom I’ve ever had; it’s not saying much, but it sure does mean a lot to me. You actually praise me for being smart rather than insult me for ‘not having testosterone’ or some shit. Needless to say,” I scooted next to Chrysalis and hugged her neck. “I love you, Mom. Seriously, you have done so much for me that I cannot even think of how I should repay you… Thank you.”

We tested out the train, spoiler alert, it works perfectly, and doesn’t need much love to fuel it. That’s pretty cool. Apparently the changelings that were working on the train were trying to make it as efficient as possible, and they did a damn good job of building off my concept and making the train. I rode the Chrysalis on the surface, out front of my old home, where we found a few changelings from the Hive below helping themselves to pudding. Apparently I left a recipe book for a few of my snacks and food items, and the buggers just love pudding for some reason.

Specifically chocolate pudding. I don’t know why.

Oh yeah, Twilight Sparkle was sitting in front of the door, ears drooping, head hanging. So of course, I hopped off of Chrysalis’s back, and ran to meet her. When she heard my footsteps, her ears turned to me, she perked up, and excitedly pranced over to me. “Hey Bob! Were the changelings worse to you than us ponies? Are you coming to stay in Ponyville again?” Her eyes narrowed at my adoptive mother when she trotted up next to me. “Perhaps you should get a restraining order.”

I shrugged. “I would, but the changelings are actually quite lovely. Nymphs are super cute, love getting put on babysitting duty whenever I have to. I actually helped a very advanced train system be made, which’ll become more widespread amongst the various Hives of Equestria. Everyling loves backscratchers though; I was gonna give the design to Filthy Rich, but like, seeing a changeling do the leg-kick while they get at an itch is super adorable, and worth way more than the money backscratchers woulda made me. I’m also working on human weapons; changelings are gonna make a fuckload off of selling those.” I hummed. “Hey Mom, what does the Hive need?”

Chrysalis hummed. “Well, more magnets would be nice; it sure would make building the railways easier. And we can sell our services to griffins, cats, anyone who would like a faster method of traveling than their current trains. Do you know of a way of making airships faster? I believe we can sell those to other countries.”

I hummed. “I may have an idea for that actually… I ruffled Twilight on the head. “I’ll stop by in a few months and rub your belly if that’s cool.” Twilight’s left eye twitched.

“Did you just call that thing your Mom?” Twilight was sounding a bit irritated. That’s fair; she hasn’t been the biggest fan of Chrysalis for fairly understandable reasons. I wish she’d drop it already, but whatever.

“Well yeah, Chrysalis has been treating me like her child ever since she brought me to the Hive, and even curls herself around me in order to ‘protect’ me or something. It’s pretty cool,” I hugged Chrysalis. “She’s been more of a mother to me than my actual mother; more so than Celestia or Venice at times.” Twilight’s anger quickly turned to shock. Seriously, Mom’s cool as fuck. Chrysalis knelt down and let me climb up on her back again. “Well, I’m gonna head back to Alpha with Mom, I’ll see you around Twi!” Chrysalis started galloping in the opposite direction of where the entrance for the Ponyville Hive, before circling around and reaching the destination.

About three, maybe three and a half weeks after that, I ended up just wandering around the Hive. Because unlike in Ponyville, I wanna explore the Hive, and greet my ‘subjects’ because I guess I’m their prince now. Occasionally one would stop and bow to me, only for me to stop them. Every time one bowed, I made them stand back up and would give them the talk. It basically boiled down to this. “I’m just some dude, I don’t demand respect or to be revered. You’ll give me a greater deal of respect by treating me like a friend, not a Prince.” Of course, word spread quickly, and the ‘lings would just come up, ask for head pats and whatnot, like they were before they found out that their Queen adopted me.

It was pretty dank; they even let me boop their snoots when given the option. Hell, the ‘lings working on some of the concepts I put out, thanked me for giving them a new job that they seemed to like. Of course, I made sure they took breaks and petted those changelings on their breaks: These cute fuckers deserve every bit of love and affection that I can give them.

I love changelings. Seriously, they’re really cool.

One day, Chrysalis trotted into my room while I was taking a break from building the radio, by reading a book. She came up around me, and rested her head on top of mine and sighed. “Some ponies are above us, Bob, they wish to speak with myself and you… You may recognize them as they’re all residents from Ponyville.” Chrysalis chuckled. “They aren’t super happy, as they took a bullet train to get here, and I may have charged them ten bits each. It’s usually five bits a train ticket by the way.” God damn. “Well, except for one. I believe you’ll recognize a pony named Venice Arrow?” I perked up slightly. “I knew you would; your best friend I believe?” I nodded again. “Well, would you like to speak with them? If not, I can send them back to Ponyville. Do note that Princess Celestia is among them.” I raised an eyebrow.

“Well, we might as well see what they want. I know I’ll wanna chat with Venice, even if she will yell at me, and punch me in the gut for probably making her cry.” Chrysalis knelt down. Probably to let me ride her again. “Can we walk? I want to take my sweet ass time with seeing these asshats again.”

“I see. That is fully understandable; we may walk. If you don’t wish to speak with them, we can tell them to ‘fuck off’.”

“Nah, we need to talk to’em.” Chrysalis nodded and we started walking side by side. Chrysalis even turned one of her wings into a pegasi wing, before draping it over me. This talk is going to suck.