>You are Forlorn Hope.
>Joy!
>...And also resignation, trepidation, determination, and confused consternation from Father, Cadance-pony, Scary White Pony, and Abused Blue pony respectively.
>But the joy’s yours!
>You convinced Father to come back to Mother’s!
>...Well, ok, the Tatzlwurm that ate through Father’s cave was what really convinced him to leave.
>And then a bunch of pony-ape thingies he called ‘centaurs’ convinced him that not going to Mother’s hive was a bad idea.
>But you convinced him not to throw you into a lava pit!
>That counts!
>...Yup, still joy you’re tasting.
>Annoyance starts growing from Father.
>Uh oh, that means Scary Pony’s slowing down the line again, which means Father’s going to whack her and yell at her and then she’ll scream in pain and fight and you’re so close to the hive that it’ll ruin the surprise for all your brothers and sisters!
>Or worse.
>That cocoon-for-brains Unrequited Love will try to steal the credit and claim SHE found him!
>She even tried to say it was HER idea to look for Father, when it was YOURS!
>...
>You’re gonna have to distract him and plug a hole in that annoyance leak.
“Father? Is it true that you used to live here in the hive?”
>Surprise.
>Followed quickly by a light sprinkle of nostalgia
>He twists to look at you, making eye contact.
>Got him!
>”Uuh...it wasn’t a hive back then. It was a shitty home Tirek picked out. You should have seen the one we had before it…”
>While he talks, you magically massage his mind, encouraging him to forget that White Pony’s being a pain in the abdomen, and focus on what’s important.
>Getting to Mother and not throwing you in a lava pit.
>Especially that last one.
>You successfully plug that annoyance leak, allowing...confusion to take its place.
>”Although the canyon looks...wrong. Not too familiar. Did you guys change it somehow?”
>Pride. Yours.
“Mmhmm! Sometimes some reeeaaally big scary things come through screaming and roaring about how they’re going to kill us all, so we have to change the whooole thing once they leave to make it harder to find us!”
>Father’s confusion stays thick in the air, “Uh...huh.”
>He looks back at Cadance-pony, who shrugs, but you know better!
>There’s no confusion coming from HER!
>Looking back, he takes a deep breath, his confusion suddenly cutting out, leaving a void.
>He take a few long strides, until he’s riiight up next to you...too close, too close!
>You aren’t feeling anything from him…
>Nervousness.
>Yours.
>“Right. How much longer, Hope?”
“It...shouldn’t be much longer, Father. I think I spotted some of the swarm hiding on the walls, so they know we’re almost there!”
>There’s a sliiiiiiight tinge of satisfaction coming from him.
>...You really don’t like that he figured out how to hide his emotions from you...
>He nods, “Alright.”
>An inferno of anger explodes around you.
>His claw shoots out, grabbing your horn and yanks you off your hooves, into his side.
“Aaah!”
>Terror joins the tempest of fury surrounding you, blinding you as Father hisses in your ear,
>”Don’t think I didn’t notice the jedi shit you just pulled, Hope. You try that again, and when Nymph sees me, I’m going to be wearing your fucking skull as a hat!”
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry Father!”
>You flap your wings furiously as you kick your hooves, trying to reach the ground as he holds you up by your horn.
>Not now!
>Not when everyone else can see!
>You were just trying to make things easier!
>”Master…” Cadance-pony’s voice cuts through the hurricane whirling around you.
>Father’s claw snaps open, causing you to fall rump-first onto the ground with a thud.
“Oowww!”
>He continues on as though he hadn’t just threatened to hurt you a bunch, the three leashed ponies clippy-clopping along after him.
>You drag yourself to your hooves, rubbing your sore rump. 
>Resentment.
>You’re the only one of the group who hasn't DONE anything to make him hate you, but Father still treats you like-
>Schadenfreude. Someone else's!
>Nooo, they all saw! 
>A whirlwind of mortification and misery whips up around you as you catch up to Father.
>Someone saw and they loved it and they're going to share that memory with everyone, and then they’re all gonna see you fall right on your butt and everyone's gonna laugh at you! 
>Trying to outrun the emotion storm surrounding you, you scamper back over to Father’s side.
“Fatheeer! They all know we’re here!”
>Fear. Apprehension.
>From...Father?
>He tenses up, his eyes scanning the sky, his hand soon tightens its grip on his weapon.
>”Where are they, Hope?”
>...Oops.
>He thinks that’s a bad thing for him!
>Scanning the canyon wall behind him, you spot a side entrance-more of an emergency escape tunnel.
>It’ll have to do if you want to keep the surprise going!
“They’re...um...still inside, still….but it’s cause we made it to the new entrance! It’s right there! Come on, I’ll show you!”
>With a blast of magic, you reveal the entrance. 
>By setting the cover on fire.
>Trotting over, you look back at Father and the slow ponies. 
“Come on, Mother will be so excited to see you!”
>...There isn’t any joy coming from him…or from any of the other ponies.
>There’s only a miasma of dread surrounding all four of them.
>As you tilt your head to try and show Father how confused you are, he turns back to look at Cadance and the scary white pony.
“Alright. I know I said it before I left, but I’m going to say it again. Don’t. Try. ANYTHING. It’ll end badly for all of us, and they’ll probably eat any familial bond you three still have.”
>He’s lyyyying!
>That sense of impending doom says he thinks it’s going to end badly only for HIM.
>You’re not sure why, really.
>Mother’s always treated your clutch SO much better than she has the ones who didn’t come from Father!
>She obviously treated him better than her other hosts, too!
>”I know. You don’t need to worry about me, Master,” Cadance-pony replies.
>A fountain of misery erupts from the white pony as Cadance calls Father by that nickname, before she mumbles with a soft voice, “So be it.”
>Do they really think your hive would be so mean?
>Mother taught you all how to farm the captives you had! Sustainably!
>You only had to munch on Cadance-pony’s love because there wasn’t much else to…
>Guilt.
>Shaking your head, you try to get THAT emotion out of your system.
>”Hope, what the hell are you doing?”
>You freeze mid shake and twist your head to look at Father, an undercurrent of impatience cutting through the fear oozing off of him.
“Noooothing…”
>”Do nothing AFTER we’re inside. Go, lead, now.”
>With a bob of your head, you start clippity clopping towards the entrance you uncovered, the former leaves and twigs having settled into a light smolder.
>Once the five of you are closer, you use your magic to brush it all aside, revealing the slime-covered hole.
“It’s right in here!”
>With every step, your joy returns, doing its best to blot out the growing sense of dread from Father and the two not-blinded ponies.
>With a few more steps, you soon feel the familiar, squishy floor of the hive under your hooves.
>Exuberance.
>You’re home!
>Disgust.
>Wait, what?
>”Oh! Dammit Hope!” You look back to see Father, his face twisted into a sneer. “Fucking REALLY?! Do NONE of you know how to clean?!”
>Perplexment.
“But why would we want to clean-”
>”Ew!” Cadance cries out, her disgust joining Father’s, “It’s getting in my fur!”
>”At least you still have those metal booties! This stuff’s all in between my toes!”
“It’s not THAT bad…” 
>Shame now, does its best to fight off the disgust, to no avail.
>”Hope?” Father gives you one of THOSE looks. “Just...move.”
>Not wanting to risk a repeat of earlier, you do as he says.
>...You aren’t getting a third wave of disgust, when white-pony enters the cave.
>Glancing back, you make eye contact with her, your curiosity abound.
>With a smirk on her face, she conjures up a memory of hers, a view from inside a changeling’s cocoon.
>Is that...Mother?!
>Nooo, her mane’s too straight.
>It looks like it’s the Dreamworld...you even see Cadance--pony there!
>You look back ahead before Father gets suspicious, getting her point.
>She’s used to a lot worse than just a little bit of goo on the floor.
>There’s juuuuuust barely a bit of confusion, followed by fear-both from the blue pony-that’s managing to cut through Cadance and Father’s disgust, as she makes it into the cave.
>...This isn’t THAT bad!
>The slime’s comfy against hooves!
>Stewing in a mix of shame and resentment, you work your way down towards the hive.
>Confusion.
>Somebug else’s.
>Your shame gives way to a growing excitement as you have to fight the urge to gallop ahead and meet them.
>Just a little bit more...and…
>It’s…
>Wait, what?
>Crushed Dreams is standing there, but his fur is a bright orange, his carapace an equally bright green, and there’s some kind of shell half-covering his wings.
>Fremdscham. Yours.
>His confusion gives way to amazement.
>”...Forlorn Hope? Is that you?”
>You beam a toothy grin as your pride and excitement whip around.
>Somebug reeaaaly needs to tell him, but you can’t help yourself!
“Mm-hmm! You’ll never guess who I brought back!”
>Disbelief. His.
>But not for looooong!
>”You didn’t ACTUALLY find him, did you? Everybug else gave up a long time ago!” 
>”Hope? Who are you talking to?”
>Father emerges and stops dead, staring at Crushed Dreams.
>His dread returns, but it’s a different flavor than before.
>There’s...guilt now?
>Doesn’t maaaatter!
>Crushed Dreams’s jaw drops.
>Shock. Awe.
>So much awe!
>Joy, excitement...too many things for you to pay attention to whip around you!
>You just cover your massive grin with a hoof.
>”Father…?” Crushed Dreams takes a tentative step forward.
>”Oh no…” Come his mumbled reply.
>”Is it...really you…?” Your brother looks up at his-and yours!-father, his jaw practically swimming in the goo.
>”Yeeep. So Hope’s told me.”
>Cadance-pony from behind!
>”Master? Who are you...oh.”
>Cadance stops behind Father, her head poking out from his side.
>Rather than talk to his own child, he looks back at Cadance, “Yup. Green AND orange. Apparently my kids get to be multi-colored.”
>Uh oh.
>Moooore fremdscham.
>Even more confusion comes from Cadance as she looks up at him, “But why would they be different colors? All the changelings on the surface were black furred.”
>As Father looks down to discuss...well, you don’t even know what with Cadance, now would be the perfect time.
>Carefully, ever so carefully, you lean into Crushed Dreams’s ear, whispering.
“I know this is REALLY, suuuper embarrassing, but you kinda forgot to turn back all the way.”
>Bewilderment.
>“Huh? What are you talking about?”
>You subtly tap a hoof against the big shell on his back.
“It’s ok, I won’t tell anybug!”
>You can taste his epiphany as he finally gets what you’re saying.
>”Ooooohhhhh!”
>He grins, showing off his disturbing lack of fangs, “You’ve been gone a REALLY long time, Forlorn Hope! This is just what we all look like now!”
>You blink.
“Wait, what?”
>Is this like the time Lost Faith lagged behind a hunting party, so you all pretended to be dragons that took over the cave when she got back?
>In retrospect that wasn’t too nice.
>She cried for a long time because she took the “we’re gonna eat you,” thing seriously.
>...And it’s not as funny when you’re on the other side...
>But you don’t even KNOW where Crushed Dreams is going with this one!
>He doesn’t help things, by just nodding.
>”You’ll see!”
>Turning around, he shouts out, using his magic to make his voice even louder, “Hey, everybug! Come quick! Forlorn Hope found Father!”
>”Oooh shit,” Father says, fear rising from him.
>Looking back, you see him brandishing his latest weapon.
>But why?
>One of your brothers pokes his head in from around a corner, “She wha-woah! She found Father!”
>He gallops out towards you.
“...Why is Mild Inconvenience blue and missing his horn?”
>”She what?!” Ennui, a lot brighter green than he should be and with weird blobs on his chest, walks in, “Hope found Father?!”
>Yep.
>They’re definitely trying to prank you.
>Frustration.
>Yours.
>This is just dumb!
>At least you were all TRYING to teach Lost Faith a lesson about being lazy when you were pranking her!
>What lesson is there supposed to be learned about everybug being all bright and weird looking?!
>More and more of your brothers and sisters, most of whom weren’t ACTUALLY part of Father’s clutch, make their way in, some buzzing in the air, some galloping,
>But every. Single. One of them is some really, really bright color, has sparkly wings and tails, and have big shells on their backs.
>...
>Admittedly, you would have really, really liked to have one of those shell things to protect your wings the first time you met Father.
>Your one wing twinges in pain as the memories of what he did surface.
>...That...that wasn’t nice...
>Everybug’s chattering amongst themselves, some hopping and trying to get a good look at Father, who is still holding his weapon like you all CAN’T just take it away with magic.
>There’s such a flurry of different emotions coming from the crowd, that it’s almost impossible to tell them apart, let alone what anybug is feeling.
>Except Crushed Dreams and his pride.
>But that’s because he’s standing RIGHT next to you.
>Giving up at crowd watching, you look at him.
“I’m confused.”
>He raises an eye-ridge at you.
>Embarrassment.
>Humiliation.
>Both yours.
>Of course he knows you’re confused!
>You only got into the habit of announcing what you’re feeling because Father’s emotion blind, and even then he was really, really bad at figuring it out compared to the ponies!
>Trepidation. Confusion. Both from Father. 
>”Hang on,” he says, trying to be overheard by the crowd, “I KNOW Nymph only laid twelve of you in me! Where the hell are the rest of you coming from?!”
>Ooh, you can answer this one! 
“Most of them are from other clutches, Father! They're just really excited to finally meet you!”
>Father's confusion vanishes.
>”Well, I guess that makes sense,” he mumbles. “Come on, Cadance, let the others in.”
>Pulling on the leash, he guides the white and blue ponies into the chamber.
>Once satisfaction radiates from Father, he holds a hand up to his mouth and shouts to the crowd, “Alright, all of you! Listen up!”
>The crowd does not listen up.
>Father’s gonna get maaad if they don’t get quiiieeeeet…
>Crushed Dreams fires off a mauve flare, like you always have to do when Mother wants to say something.
>The crowd quickly goes silent, the only sound being the buzzing of wings.
>...You’d have done it, but you still don’t know what “jedi shit” is and you don’t wanna be embarrassed in front of everybug!
>Eagerness and curiosity surround you as the crowd waits to see what Father has in store.
>He looks at Crushed dreams and mumbles, “Uh...thanks,” before pointing back at the trio of ponies behind him.
>”These three are MINE! You do not TOUCH them, you do not feed off them! If I find out even one of you has drained an OUNCE of love from any of them, I will personally rip the wings off every single one of you! Understand?!”
>Befuddlement ripples through the crowd.
>Followed by a tidal wave of hilarity.
>The swarm of your brothers and sisters collapse in a fit of laughter.
>Your own fear barely makes a dent in it.
>They think he’s joking!
>He really will do it, you know he will!
>Glancing back at him, Father gives you a look.
>You can’t tell his emotions behind the sea of hilarity, but you think he’s wondering what’s going on.
>Desperately, you gesture that you’re just as confused as he is.
>...He...you think he understood?
>He looks away, at least.
>Ok, good.
>As your relief is being drowned out, you poke Crushed Dreams.
“What’s so funny?”
>He cracks an eye open, before wrapping his forelegs around you in a hug.
>”Oooh, Forlorn, you HAVE been gone a really long time!”
>Love.
>Familial but-
>He’s feeding you love!
“Nnn!”
>You push at his chest with your hooves, trying to break his grip.
“Stop iiit, I’m not a gruuub!”
>”Forlorn Hope, Father, we haven’t fed off love in thousands of sleeps! We haven’t needed to, we found a better way!”
>...Ok, now you KNOW they’re pranking you.
>There’s no such thing as a “better way.”
>As the crowd’s laughter dies down, their bemusement fading, you can start to feel Father’s concern.
>”How? What did you do so you don’t need to eat love anymore?”
>Apparently he’s taking this seriously.
>...He’s gonna be maaaad when he figures out it’s a prank.
>Hang on, someone else’s curiosity is floating around….who’s…?
>Crushed Dreams looks at him, his pride getting mixed in with the love he’s force feeding you.
>”We learned to SHARE the love, not take it for ourselves! When we figured it out, the hunger went away and it made us all sparkly and rainbow colo-”
“Ok, this isn’t funny anymore!”
>Using your magic to assist you, you shove Crushed Dreams away, breaking free of his grip.
>Your frustration abounds as you glare at the crowd of your brothers and sisters.
“This is just dumb! Everybug knows you can’t just MAKE your own food! Stop making fun of me, I really did-”
>”Hope!”
>Fear.
>Yours.
>Trepidation abounds as you slowly inch your head to the side to look back at Father.
>You don’t feel any anger, but his glare tells you everything.
>You messed up.
>You messed up bad.
>”Seen and not heard.”
>Humiliation.
>Squeezing your jaw shut, you answer by obeying.
>Satisfaction. Father’s.
>He points at Crushed Dreams.
>”You. Uuh...orange bug. If you don’t need to feed anymore, then where’s everyone from New, New, New...something...Gryphonstone? I haven’t seen that flock around anywhere.”
>”My name’s Crushed Dreams, Father!” Your brother happily chirps up.
>”We let them go! But they almost all decided they liked it here better, so we agreed to let them stay if they’d help us out with stuff that takes flying. They’re really happy with it, and we are too!”
>The scary white pony bursts into an inferno of vindication.
>Grinning ear to ear, her smugness making it hard to breathe, she speaks, “Changeling, do you mean to tell me that you-”
>Fury-father’s.
>He whirls around and jabs a finger at the white pony, “Celestia. Shut up!”
>White pony’s vindication, her smugness only grows.
>You can hear the shifting of hooves as your siblings try to move back from the beacon white-pony’s becoming, as she continues to speak.
>”-and the gryphons made life better in Tartarus-”
>Father takes a step towards her, snarling “You shut up right now!”
>She doesn’t shut up.
>”-by working together in harmony?”
>”That’s it!” Father screams out, lunging towards the white pony with his club held high.
>You've never seen THIS much blind rage from Father before! 
>Shock, horror ripple through the hive.
>Cadance-pony leaps in front of him, wrapping her forehooves around him despite the terror surrounding her, “Master! Please, no!”
>Panic.
>Terror.
>Confusion.
>...Arousal?!
>All erupt as the room descends into chaos, everybug, everypony, everyFather screaming.
>”Father, what are you-”
>”-was right this whole time, hum-”
>”-aster, stop, please!”
>”-off her fucking blindfold, I want Luna to-”
>’”-op him Forlorn Ho-”
>”Master?”
>Mother’s soft voice cuts through the chaos like a knife.
>Reverence.
>Everyone freezes-Even Father.
>He lets go of the white pony’s horn, and the crowd of your family begins to part.
>”Nymph? Is that you?”
>Fear...with an undercurrent of anticipation.
>From Father.
>...Maybe a little bit from you, too.
>You’ve been waiting SO long to finally bring back Mother’s soulmate….and he’s nothing like what you expected…
>He might not be anything like she remembers, either.
>The crowd parts, allowing Mother to-
>That is NOT Mother!
>She can’t shapeshift, somebug else must be pretending to be a big yellow and orange version of Mother, with giant THINGS on her head!
>Disappointment. Sadness. Self-loathing.
>All Father’s.
>”Oh no. What did you do...Nymph!” He snaps his fingers and points at his feet, “Over here.”
 >Wait what?
>Confusion. Yours.
>He RECOGNIZES her?!
>...Oh no.
>They might not have been pranking you.
>Did they…
>Without you constantly trying to fix Mother, did they all just move on…?
>Mother bows her head almost to the ground and obeys, clip clopping over.
>Nobug else dares move, just waiting and watching the scene unfold.
>As she gets closer, you finally get to see what Mother looks like now.
>Her wings are a bright purple, her fur fades from yellow to orange, her hair is all bouncy, she has these weird heart shaped growths on her chest...and there’s two giant curved THINGS on her head.
>Worse!
>She doesn’t have a single hole on her legs!
>Mother’s tail is wagging with every step she takes.
>Joy.
>Pure joy emanates from her..
>Your pride mixes with it.
>...Going through Father’s insanity was worth this!
>Walking past you, she stops at Father’s feet, her sparkling tail wagging so hard you’re almost afraid it’ll come off.
>Without a word, she noses at his ankles.
>Why isn’t she saying any...thing…
>Oh.
>’Good changelings are seen and not heard.’
>Dread.
>Yours.
>Father snaps his fingers again and points down, “Sit, Nymph.”
>Mother obeys, her rump plopping against the ground, making her almost eye level with him.
>He cups her muzzle in his hand, turning her head this way and that as he looks over her.
>Disgust.
>Disappointment.
>”Oooh Nymph, sweetie...what did you do…?”
>Mother closes her eyes as an inkling of fear poisons her joy, still refusing to speak.
>”What did you do that made you think you could ignore the rules?”
>Fear-from mother!
>And misery.
>A tear leaks out from behind her eyelid, a sob grows and dies in her throat, but she stays silent.
>”What did I tell you about going all sparkly on me?! Speak up Nymph!”
>Having been given permission to talk, she finally does, her voice wavering, threatening to break.
>”I-I, I’m sorry, Master! I did-I didn’t wanna, but they were so, hungry! And-I thought-”
>Anger flashes as Father squeezes Mother’s jaw.
>He jerks her head to make her stop speaking.
>”I didn’t ask WHAT you were thinking! Every time you think, something terrible happens. I want you to answer me. What did I tell you about getting all sparkly?!”
>Anguish. Sorrow.
>Everybug is frozen, shock rising from the crowd as mother’s tears begin cascading down her cheeks.
>”Y-you saaiiid never...never do it agaaaaiiin!” She wails out, collapsing, her head pressing against Father’s chest.
>”I’m sooorry! I’m sorry I’m so sorry Mast-eeerr!” Mother sobs out against him, wailing her apology over and over again.
>Father’s impending rage vanishes, leaving only disgust and self-loathing.
>”Sssshh, shh, shh. It’s ok lovebug, I’m here now. I’m going to make this alright.”
>He wraps his arms around her, petting down her mane.
>Hope.
>Mother cracks an eye open, looking up at Father through her tears.
>”Y-you wi-illl?”
>He nods. “Mm-hmm. You know it’s going to hurt, but I’ll get you back to normal.”
>White-pony seems to have a better idea of what’s going to happen than any of you.
>She cries out, “Human, don’t you dare! This hive is the seed of change Tartarus! It will make it better-for all of you!”
>Rage.
>Father lets go of Mother to jab a finger at Crushed Dreams.
>”You! Dream bug. I want each of my ponies in a separate room. Take as many changelings as you need, but make it happen. Go!”
>Crushed Dreams looks at you, his confusion almost able to power through the emotional whirlwind from Mother and Father.
>Making eye contact with him, you give him a nonverbal sign to do it.
>”Okay Father,” He says, his horn lighting up and grabbing ahold of the rope tying the ponies together.
>They start to protest, calling for Father to stop, but...you, and you suspect the majority of your family are too focused on Father and Mother, right now.
>He jabs a finger at one of your sisters, yelling to be heard over the din of the ponies beind dragged and levitated away, “You! Green hornless bug! I'm going to need two gryphons. Go!”
>The words have barely left his mouth when she buzzes off, hopefully doing what he said.
>Fear and uncertainty rips through the crowd. 
>He points at another one of your brothers, “You! Blue wingless one! I’m going to need rope, and something egg shaped, about twice the size of your hoof.”
>Your brother blinks in confusion, but mumbles an “Alright…” before clippity clopping off to find it.
>A font of terror erupts around Mother, evidently knowing exactly what Father has in store.
>Her terror is addictive, soon the whole crowd is coated with it. 
>Satisfied, Father goes back to hugging your mother close to him, his hand stroking down her neck.
>”You know that once we’re done fixing you, I’m going to have to do the same thing to the rest of your hive, right?”
>Dread. Panic. 
>For a second, there's a flicker of defiance, before it quickly goes out. 
>”M-m-m-master…? Y-you don’t-”
>His hand stops on her neck, “Every single one of them is going to have to go through the same treatment you will. And it’s all because of the mistakes you have made. All their pain will be because of you.”
>Mother’s terror shatters into despair as she begins to cry again.
>”And…”
>Father’s hand clamps down around Mother’s neck, squeezing it, choking her.
>Misery.
>”You are NOT off the hook for locking me in the cage. You are going to be punished for every minute I was in there. And every time you disobeyed me, eggs or not!”
>Mother just squeezes her eyes shut and nods.
>She can’t breathe, and she doesn’t care...
>Horror.
>Despair.
>Maliciousness.
>...You never should have come back.