Cover Image

They're home.

by Nameless Narrator
After Canterlot, little changeling drones survived many threats on the surface, but nothing has ever been as dangerous as the deep, dark tunnels under the Badlands they live in. It's finally time they claimed the tunnels and made them their home.

Ayyyy, featured despite the sequel curse on 16.10.2023! Can we keep the last spot in the box? What's in the box? Why is the box?
EDIT: Added a character cheat sheet on the bottom.

Updates: Weekly-ish

Six years have passed since the Canterlot invasion. While the relationship between the Changeling Hive and Equestria is warmer than ever, the relationship between the deadly tunnels under the Badlands and the small, mostly defenseless changeling drones who live there isn't.
However, thanks to the knowledge granted in the recent years by a mysterious "smart box", and the guidance of drone veterans who survived under the "old rules", the post-Canterlot "new rules", and the terrifying "shippy time", fewer and fewer drones perish daily while mining materials for the hive's day to day operations.
Fewer, though, still means far from zero, and there are those among the drones who are doing all they can to finally transform the underground from fatal threat to something the drones deserve - not just a place to hide, but a true home. With copious amounts of goop, unstoppable curiosity, copyrighted board game, and a blessing from High Score, there's no way they'll fail, or at least not for long.
Drones know that everything is a trade and life is just a price. Unfortunately, sometimes there are near-invisible asterisks.

CHARACTER CHEAT SHEET:

--High Ranks--
Chrysalis - no need to explain.
99 - a classless changeling. You figure out her rank on your own.
156 - current highest rank infiltrator. She and 387 might be an item.
387 - current highest rank warrior. There's nothing special about him.
2119, 3012 - unlucky top floor guards
--Drones--
10000/10k - drone leader
20100 - a drone supposedly out on a mission for the hive. Painter, the worst nightmare of casinos
57999 - the closest Ds have to a doctor, grows plants in a greenhouse
65536 - a drone living in Canterlot, a Nightguard. Sort of Luna's adopted kid.
99380 - hive mind manipulation specialist, that might be a curse.
99111 - mechanist, tinkerer. Engineer would be too... successful.
99856 - alchemist
99200 - explorer/survivalist
99012, 99066, 99971 - quicktrotters
99911, 99158, 99112 - drone crisis response team
99999 - a drone.
Smiley - a Silent who surived long enough to gain some mental capacity. Can't talk.
--Other--
Gloom, Night Hunter - Canterlot Nightguards

Teen
Complete
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Comedy
Adventure
Violence
Alternate Universe
Drama
 
QCO

141801 words: Estimated about 12 hours to read

46 Chapters:

  1. (A)Way (from) home: 1 2023-08-10 20:09:16 UTC
    1533
  2. (A)Way (from) home: 2 2023-08-14 05:28:11 UTC
    1677
  3. (A)Way (from) home: 3 2023-08-21 08:20:15 UTC
    1853
  4. (A)Way (from) home: 4 2023-08-28 13:27:01 UTC
    1857
  5. (A)Way (from) home: 5 2023-09-04 06:00:59 UTC
    1551
  6. A puzzling morning: 1 2023-09-11 07:27:51 UTC
    1350
  7. A puzzling morning: 2 2023-09-17 20:15:06 UTC
    2701
  8. A puzzling morning: 3 2023-09-25 05:51:42 UTC
    1360
  9. A puzzling morning: 4 2023-10-02 07:31:28 UTC
    3036
  10. Everything old is new again: 1 2023-10-09 09:56:07 UTC
    3777
  11. Everything old is new again: 2 2023-10-16 05:51:50 UTC
    2748
  12. Everything old is new again: 3 2023-10-23 10:38:15 UTC
    2489
  13. Everything old is new again 4 2023-11-04 09:06:01 UTC
    2639
  14. Crimes against the Hive, and crimes against Equestria 2023-11-06 13:21:37 UTC
    13094
  15. Oops!: 1 2023-11-13 11:07:12 UTC
    2682
  16. Oops!: 2 2023-11-20 07:35:42 UTC
    2248
  17. Oops!: 3 2023-11-27 08:05:10 UTC
    2894
  18. Oops!: 4 2023-12-04 04:53:19 UTC
    3177
  19. Oops!: 5 2023-12-11 05:25:53 UTC
    3351
  20. Oops!: 6 2023-12-18 04:42:34 UTC
    4005
  21. Playing games: 1 2023-12-24 22:38:44 UTC
    4891
  22. Playing games: 2 2024-01-01 13:09:04 UTC
    3455
  23. Playing games: 3 2024-01-08 06:21:28 UTC
    3208
  24. Playing Games: 4 2024-01-15 08:03:34 UTC
    2797
  25. Sharing truths: 1 2024-01-22 10:36:09 UTC
    2447
  26. Sharing truths: 2 2024-01-29 09:40:17 UTC
    3058
  27. Sharing truths: 3 2024-02-05 07:51:13 UTC
    3418
  28. Sharing truths: 4 2024-02-13 06:40:48 UTC
    3020
  29. More questions than answers: 1 2024-02-19 05:59:36 UTC
    3025
  30. More questions than answers: 2 2024-02-26 08:27:46 UTC
    2956
  31. More questions than answers: 3 2024-03-04 07:20:16 UTC
    3458
  32. More questions than answers: 4 2024-03-11 09:05:36 UTC
    2182
  33. More questions than answers: 5 2024-03-18 06:00:18 UTC
    3342
  34. More questions than answers: 6 2024-03-24 19:18:54 UTC
    1788
  35. More questions than answers: 7 2024-04-01 04:46:26 UTC
    3364
  36. More questions than answers: 8 2024-04-08 03:24:27 UTC
    2970
  37. Power of perseverance: 1 2024-04-15 05:07:17 UTC
    3490
  38. Power of perseverance: 2 2024-04-22 06:13:31 UTC
    3295
  39. Power of perseverance: 3 2024-04-29 01:00:49 UTC
    2784
  40. Power of perseverance: 4 2024-05-07 01:00:36 UTC
    2630
  41. Power of perseverance: 5 2024-05-14 12:08:47 UTC
    2215
  42. Power of perseverance: 6 2024-05-20 05:03:28 UTC
    2589
  43. Power of perseverance: 7 2024-05-27 05:46:38 UTC
    4648
  44. Hard Swaming Eee: Drones 2024-06-03 07:09:31 UTC
    5379
  45. Hard Swarming Eee: High Ranks 2024-06-10 08:37:16 UTC
    3023
  46. Hard Swaming Eee: Epilogue 2024-06-11 08:01:54 UTC
    2347