It’s too bad we can’t start a REAL fire in the hive, for fearing of setting alight these cobwebs and smelly methane leaks from the latrines…
 
Well, might as well start singing before the holiday comes to an end!

@Karackas  
Using humans and griffons as examples when we’re talking about changelings doesn’t really pull much weight either, you know. As the entire episode talked about, everyone has entirely different cultures. Just because our features aren’t reflected from my parents, or the griffons have examples of platonic names doesn’t really prove anything when talking about changelings, as you’ve said.
 
I’m just excited to see possible evidence to steer away from this ‘oh well there has to be a new queen’ mindset so much of the fandom has had since the S6 finale. Like, no, Thorax and Pharynx are leading the hive as siblings, there doesn’t need to be a new queen in order for the species to survive, necessarily.

@NavelColt  
Suit yourself. I mean, Gallus said that Grampa Gruff wasn’t really related to anyone, but he spent the holiday with Gilda and Gabby.
 
It’s both easy and hard to make assumptions in this show. Sometimes it’s better to just enjoy the ride.

@Karackas  
Color, the fact she’s spending time with all these specific changelings for the holidays, etc. It was never just about color, color is just further indication that it may be what the writers were going for. You’re welcome to your theory, it just seems contrary to what we’ve been show so far for me.

@NavelColt  
I don’t necessarily agree with the color assessment. After all, does your skin tone match your parent’s eyes?
 
All the changelings are pretty garishly colored, and I think the colors are just dissimilar enough to make my hypothesis possible. I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest to learn they are related, but that doesn’t mean they’re related in the way we think.
 
Besides, color isn’t always an indication of relation. Look at Pinkie Pie.

@Karackas  
Seems less likely to me, given the intentional similarities in color. Not only does Ocellus’s color scheme look like a combination of the two adults’, but the pink nymph’s color scheme matches the left changeling’s eyes and wings, and the green nymph’s color scheme matches the right changeling’s carapace. Even the nymph’s horns or lack thereof match the adult changeling they’re most like. If they weren’t directly related they wouldn’t have bothered to make them all match so well.
 
I think this is also the debut of several new shades of color on changeling designs in general, breaking away from a lot of the stock combinations they’ve been using. Which, again, just means they went out of thier way to make these buggos all flow with Ocellus’ unique colors.

@NavelColt  
I was thinking more that it was these five that aren’t related in the way we assume. Like, those aren’t Ocellus’ parents, they could be siblings from another generation that looks after the young ones.

@VacaQueCarcajea  
Totally

Oh those silly Changelings.

@Karackas  
Right, from here on out not every changeling would be directly related to every other changeling, because they’re not all birthed from one queen anymore (again, still speculation for now but I think this episode gives huge support to the theory). Males and females mate through love and have their own babies, and the hive is more diverse because of it. From there, I like to think that Thorax and Pharynx (in addition to acting as leaders), act like father figures/guardians towards all of the hive, adults and nymphs, alike, which creates a sort of pack animal hierarchy. I think it’s the perfect depiction for a species that now thrives off of sharing love.

@NavelColt  
You mean like they aren’t necessarily related, they just break off into groups with others they like?
 
I had that idea, too. At first it was just to get around the individual “parents” concept, but I’m actually starting to like it.

@Dogman15  
I go by the same name on FIMfiction, let me know if you do. :)

@NavelColt  
I might just read something you’ve written.

@Dogman15  
Thanks! I’ve been writing ongoing fan fiction about the changelings, and how much like close knit packs they are now, so I’m really excited to see the show going in that apparent direction.

@NavelColt  
As I said on the other image, this is a good headcanon.

@Dogman15  
It could be that there simply isn’t a singular female laying all the eggs anymore, and now there are females throughout the hive having thier own babies.
 
The changelings have never been just insects, they’re insect ponies, meaning adopting pack animal behaviors over insect ones kinda fits the whole ‘evolving and moving past the days of Chrysalis’ thing. Because really, in the context of the show’s lore, Chrysalis’ absolute rule and control of the entire changeling population as the solo queen was painted in an evil light, so it’d make sense for them to treat a pack animal approach as the new, ‘good’ alternative for the modern hive.
 
Further support of this could be the fact that everyone, Thorax included referred to the hive as a ‘pack’ in the episode where Thorax met Ember.

@VacaQueCarcajea
 
That and Yak Song for best holiday numbers XD

@Dogman15  
Well, now that they no longer have a Queen but a King now, they are free to have all the sex they want.

@Hyliandragons
 
@Dogman15  
For all we know these are lings she gathered to try and emulate a “normal” family for Hearth’s Warming Celebrations.

@Dogman15  
Hm?

@Hyliandragons  
This flies in the face of what we previously knew about changelings and their biology. Time to rethink things.

After seeing those changelings more than once, I would assume they are either ocellus’ closer relatives or parents.

Are we to interpret that this is Ocellus’s direct family? If things can even work like that?

Silly bugs.