Side Story Tie-in: Changelings are Like Plushies, They're Made for Hugs!

"During a liaison visit between his hive and the Crystal Empire, a young changeling drops by a local plushie shop to pick up a special order. He never expected the plush maker to be a changeling, too."

"The Friendly Foreign Emissary Squad has returned from their latest trip to the Crystal Empire, Thorax. Aphidel reports that all is well in the north, and that the crystal ponies are starting to show some interest in visiting the hive in the near future."

"Really? That's wonderful! Princess Cadance mentioned she would talk to her subjects about the idea of visiting us in return, but I only brought it up in a letter a few days ago. Gosh, I'll have to schedule a tour for when they drop by, won't I? Oh, that reminds me of something; Tarsus, I want to create a dedicated tour guide committee for the hive."

Keeping in step just behind his king's gossamer tail, Tarsus scribbled furiously on a notepad crafted of rock and finely trimmed leaves. "A tour committee guide, Thorax?", he repeated. "But you love giving personal tours, do you not?"

"Well of course I do," Thorax replied, sighing pleasantly as he bathed in a passing ray of sunlight. "But I'm not always going to be available to give tours the more common they become. With any luck, Tarsus, we'll be getting visits from a variety of friendly nations more often. Just the other day I conversed with Queen Novo about a possible underwater banquet with the hippogriffs - we'd have to transform into hippogriffs, of course. She also mentioned how she's never seen a changeling hive before, and would very much like to."

"'Hive. Tour. Guide. Committee'," Tarsus muttered aloud as he scribbled. "And do you have any changelings in mind for such a position, Thorax?"

Thorax tilted his head to the inquiry. "Well, no, I don't have a list yet, but I know who can help me fill it. Have you seen Calor since the squad returned? Is he in another hive activity?"

"You're of course referring to a changeling known throughout the hive as 'the hyperberry bug'," Tarsus drolled. "I have not seen him, no, but do his whereabouts really need confirmation?"

"Just some rhetoric on my part," Thorax replied with a weak smile. "I wish he'd take it easy a little more often, his only two modes seem to be stop and go. When he's not cluster napping, he's running himself ragged."

"Adequately describes the nymph population in its entirety, don't you think?"

"Painfully so, actually. But Tarsus, are you calling Calor a nymph?"

For a moment they stopped, and Thorax's smile waited to blossom to a laugh upon prompt. A master of deadpan as ever, Tarsus delivered a dead stare.

"I merely offer evidence, Thorax. The only difference he shares from most knee-high changelings is height."

A short trip through the hive's winding tunnels eventually yielded a doorway, which retracted for Thorax, and opened to a scene of apparent excitement. Shouts of equal parts concern and shock rang in the large changeling's ears, and before he knew it, something very fast collided with his nose in a most unpleasant boop. A tightly packed ball of foliage, tied together with leaf stems fell to the floor and signaled gasps from every corner.

"Oh, no!", shouted one adult, taking a nervous step forward. "The ball hit Thorax! Quick, what are the rules for if the ball hits a hive leader!?"

"I'm searching!", another adult squeaked from the corner, frantically flipping through an encyclopedic book that read 'An Essential Guide to Buckball'. "There's nothing here! Oh, curses, why would ponies never account for a figure of authority being hit by a stray ball!?"

"Uh, guys?", Thorax offered to the room, gently lifting the ball with one hoof. "I think your ball went out of bounds. I was standing in the doorway, so-"

"Does that mean the other team gets a point?", a concerned orange drone put out. His wings closed beneath his shell as he came to a quick landing. "Or does Thorax decide who gets a point? Thorax, you should know that they were cheating earlier!"

An accusing hoof was cast, and gasps once again filled the room.

"We were not!"

"Um, you did, actually. You guys changed forms to have our team's jersey amidst that fumble earlier!", encyclopedia changeling pointed out, holding out the book as if the tiny text was actually eligible to anyling else. "It says right here in first chapter, 'once teams are chosen, teams remain the same the entire match'. You can't change just because you're losing, Mandible."

Silence triggered a throng of eyes to latch onto a particular red drone, failing to hide behind a rock formation.

"Guys, please, let's just say that it went out of bounds. Now, no more cheating, and no more pointing hooves, okay? There's no reason to ruin everyling's fun."

The frantic episode was abruptly arrested, and so changelings quietly turned to Thorax. He took a few steps forward before lightly tossing the homemade ball to a nearby drone. He then beamed around the room, stopping only upon a familiar shade of cerulean catching his eye.

"Calor," Thorax lead, smirking outright upon the drone's full attention. "You were so adamant about helping me coordinate hive social activities, what happened? Don't tell me you've lost control of these guys already."

The attention holding him captive shifted to the drone in question, and so Mandible fled to the obscurity of his huddled team. Calor, meanwhile, fidgeted under the spotlight thrust upon him by Thorax's gaze.

"W-we were doing really well up until a few minutes ago, honest," the blue drone explained, passing through his teammates with a few trots. "Everyling was having fun, and we were all laughing, and-"

Still beaming, Thorax beckoned the bug pony with a wave of his hoof. To the signal, Calor's bumbling stopped, and he made his way across the rest of the room. With every step he sunk further against the floor, whispering and chittering rousing from the crowd.

"Uh oh, someone's in trouble with Papa Thorax."

"Thanks for introducing us to the game, Calor. If you survive, come back and play, alright?"

Thorax guided in the blue drone to his side with a foreleg. "He's not in trouble, guys. As the hive's new co-cordinator for activities, I need his help with something."

The monarch peered down and salvaged a smile.

"Tarsus, I hate to inconvenience you but, would you mind just keeping an eye on everyling here for a few minutes?", Thorax asked, turning to his faithful tailgater. "We'll be right back, and then you can deliver your reports to Pharynx. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

At the mention of his co-superior's name, Tarsus's attention sharpened. Without hesitation he laid his notes on an eye-level boulder nearby, trotted into the room and donned a jersey with a flash of flames.

"Of course, Thorax. I'll cover for him until you return."

"So what did you need my help with, Thorax?"

Thorax watched his company bounce upon each hoof step, exhibiting enough kinetic energy to reach the moon. Together they emerged from the hive's shade and refuge, joining the lavish flowers working to kiss the sun.

"I wanted to talk with you about a couple of things," Thorax began, glancing over his surroundings before falling to his flank. "They're opportunities I wanted to see if you'd be interested in. One is a little side project, the other is a bit bigger. You're always so eager to help out, so I knew I had to come to you, first."

Calor perched himself atop a flattened stone, granting Thorax his full attention. A cool northern breeze fell over the meadow as a breath, swaying hundreds of flowers in a unified dance, but the meadow harbored a different beauty for the blue changeling, today. Natures' splendors were merely a frame for an even greater perfection.

"Firstly, how would you feel about helping me find volunteers for a hive tour committee?"

Calor blinked his oceanic eyes, returning to the material plane.

"Tours?" he squeaked. "Wait, but you love to give tours. A-and you're really good at giving them, too!"

Thorax chuckled. Calor tilted his distressed head.

"I've been trying harder to reach out to the other races, lately," the alpha explained, leaning back to feel the fluid wind on his face. "If things go well, tours are likely to become more common. Between all my responsibilities in and out of the hive, I'll need some changelings I can rely on to give tours in my place, when I'm not available. You know practically everyling in the hive, so you'd probably track down volunteers a lot quicker than I could."

"Oh," Calor replied lamely. "Well, in that case, sure! I can definitely find some changelings who would like to help. Do, did you want me to volunteer, too?"

"Well, I won't stop you from volunteering if that's what you want, but you've already got your hoof in a lot of things, Calor," said Thorax, laying himself down in a bed of warm grass. He stretched out comfortably, closing his eyes briefly in the process and missing the reactive flutter of his company's carapace. "You organize and help run so many activities, as is, I don't want you to overwhelm yourself."

"I wouldn't get overwhelmed," Calor proclaimed, sitting up from his spot. He placed a hoof just below his foremost chest jewel. "If it helps out the hive, and it helps you, I'm always happy to do what I can, plus it sounds like a lot of fun! Maybe I won't lead the committee, seeing as I already lead the theatre troupe, the swing dancing meet, the Shadow Puppet Lodge, the Nymph Hide and Seek Society, sorta co-lead the new Buckball League..."

The young adult trailed off upon noticing Thorax's growing smirk. A red tint hugged his cheeks once again.

"O-okay, or maybe I could just find some changelings for now, and volunteer once in a while."

"That sounds like a wiser choice," Thorax replied, putting on a more somber smile. "Please, please remember to take time for yourself, too. Sometimes I see how much you run around all day and it worries me. I love that you want to help the hive, but let others help sometimes, too, you know? I'd hate to see you burn out."

Calor's ears wilted, their strength channeling to his quivering lip. "Aww, that's so sweet of you. But, Thorax, you don't have to worry about me, honest. I might do a lot, but I know how to relax and regain energy, too. Or have you forgotten who top cuddlebug is among all the adults?"

"Oh, how could I ever forget who top cuddlebug is?" Thorax chortled. "You think I haven't noticed who's always first in line for communal rests in the nesting chamber? Who takes shifts in the nursery hive to play and rest with nymphs, like me? I think you could out-cuddlebug even me on your best days."

The blue changeling revealed a playful tongue. Crouching low to his stone perch, he assumed a pouncing position, gossamer tail wagging behind his flank. A coaxed laugh from his prey was his signal, and so he leapt, colliding with the sizable bug pony's chest. A flurry of petals and loosened grass enshrouded them as they rolled three times over in the meadow's embrace, and together they landed in a heap, plagued with mutual fits of giggling.

"Now I've got you!", exclaimed Calor, standing over the fallen alpha with a crafty smirk. "Sorry Thorax, but now that you know my cuddlebug secrets, I can't let you return to the hive."

Staring up in rapt amusement, Thorax scoffed audibly. "'Secrets?' What secrets? The whole hive knows you give out hugs to anyling who strays within hoof's reach, you goofball. Though I can't say I'm not guilty of that too, from time to time."

A fly caught before a venus flytrap, Calor was assailed by two forelegs locking around his barrel and pulling him earthward. His cheek pressed against smooth chitin, and his giggling knew no end. His attempts to wriggle free were met by a tighter squeeze, and so he succumbed to his fate with a defeated flop.

"Okay then, I concede," said Calor, curling his hooves beneath the grass and around Thorax's form. He dragged out a sigh and closed his eyes, growing still. "Good idea, Thorax, that buckball game was tiring. It's definitely nap time."

"Hey, don't turn this into your victory!", Thorax laughed. "And don't get too comfortable yet, either. Tarsus is subjecting himself to your new game while waiting for us to get back."

"It's a fun game, he'll be fine," muttered the voice against Thorax's carapace. "Besides, you still haven't told me about that other thing you wanted to talk to me about."

Thorax cocked a brow. "Well I was getting to that, before someling jumped on me."

Laying his head back against the soft grass blades, Thorax felt his mind grow hazy, opening to the suggestion of sleep. The familiar creeping warmth began to fill within as well as without, and he felt his breaths slow. The cerulean drone had a potent brand of love magic, one unlike anything he'd ever felt. It was the touch of a warm waterfall, the aura of a fireplace in the dead of winter; all things that could elicit a shiver of content.

"The changelings were invited to Canterlot later this week," the alpha said at last. Having lidded his eyes from the sun overhead, Thorax sank deeper into the first stage of sleep. "It's for some sort of grand opening, but I think the princesses will want an audience with us as well."

"Ooh, did you accept?"

"Well I haven't replied yet, but-"

"Are you nervous?"

Thorax paused. "I was, still kinda am. I'm nervous of the rightful bias the ponies of that city have towards us. I've turned down past invitations to similar events because of it."

"What changed your mind?"

The meadow sighed with him, and Thorax drank in the cool breeze.

"Remembering that we changed," he murmured. "A friend reminded me of that, the other day. I've spent so much energy worrying about how our past defined us, I forgot the best way to move past it is to show everycreature something new."

Uprooting himself from his comforts, Calor arched his back, seeking to remove his tethers. When Thorax let him go, the two turned over and stood, brushing themselves of the foliage clung to their shells.

"It should go without saying that I'd love to go," Calor lead, doing a series of rather impressive stretches in place. "I can help you when you're nervous, and I've never been to Canterlot - I was always a homebody patrol drone in the old days. Do you want any help finding changeling volunteers for this, too?"

"Oh no," Thorax said at once, beginning to move back in the direction of the hive. With a nod of his head he signaled the spritely changeling to follow. "You're already doing me a favor by coming, I can't ask you for anything else. Take my advice and rest up this week before we go, alright? We'll probably be gone most of the day. I'm not exactly sure how long pony building openings last."

"Aye aye, Papa Thorax. I'll still ask some of my friends I'd they'd like to go," Calor broached, bouncing along the trail around and in front of Thorax. "I assume you'd prefer cuddlebugs to huffbugs, right? In case the ponies are curious about shared love magic?"

"I'd like to avoid a bias if I can help it, but shared love magic will probably continue to be a hot topic until we're a little more commonplace. For just this trip we should prioritize cuddlebugs," Thorax replied, blinking in a fury before shifting his focus. "And, hold on, you're friends with basically the entire hive, Calor. What do you mean, 'your friends'?"

Gazing past his shoulder, Calor tilted his head and donned a wicked grin.

"Oh, shucks, you're right. If the entire hive and all its variety is made up of my friends, I guess I might as well track down and set up a full team for you, after all. Woe is me!"

Thorax opened his mouth to object, but a trail of dust was his only audience. A shrinking spot of blue now beelined for the hive's front entrance. Thorax furrowed his brow.

"Oh, you sneaky junebug," he hissed aloud. "Calor, what about relieving Tarsus, or taking things easy, for that matter? Stop trying to help and go take a nap or something, please!"

With a flare of his wings, Thorax took to the sky and darted along the hive's path. The meadow's flowers bent in the wake of his flight, threatening to snap off their stems entirely, before lazily resuming their gentle sway in the afternoon wind.

A sharp knock interrupted an otherwise peaceful lounge experience.

"Come in," Celestia sang.

"Unless you're a guard or a noble with a question, in which case, go away," Luna monotoned.

The parting doors gave Celestia just enough time to dart a glare before resuming her flawless smile. It, too was short-lived, however. As Equestria's fourth princess stepped into the room, it filled with welcomed shock and awe.

"Hello, Princess Celestia! Hello, Princess Luna!"

"Oh, Twilight, what a wonderful surprise this is," Celestia cooed, rising from her seat at once and opening a wing for the young alicorn to fold under. "What in Equestria do we owe for this pleasure?"

"Indeed, usually it takes an escalated threat to the country for us to have face time," Luna quipped, having risen from her seat as well. Despite her fluent sarcasm, she, too was smiling. "To clarify, there isn't an escalated threat to the country we are not aware of, is there?"

"Not this time," Twilight giggled, ending her embrace with her former mentor and summoning a scroll into existence. "Celestia and I were corresponding over letter last night, and I decided to pay a visit to continue discussions - um, of course, unless I'm interrupting something. I haven't gotten to see either of you in quite some time, plus this is an exciting time for Equestria. The changelings are on the cusp of obtaining social peace with the rest of the country."

Luna snorted. "Surely you jest, there is little to interrupt before the moon bathes in the cosmos, for me. You are of course welcome, Twilight Sparkle."

"And my afternoon has been lovely, for once," said Celestia, casting an eye out the heightened window. "The new museum has taken on much of the city's attention, granting me a rare, but much welcomed 'low tide', if you will."

"You two have been conversing regarding King Thorax and the changelings?", Luna pressed on, raising an inquisitive eyebrow to the pair of alicorns in sequence. "Anything of note or interest? Surely we have enough notes on the matter for several...thousand lifetimes."

Luna side-eyed the lounge bookcase. The largest tome available, centered on the top shelf read, 'Changelings and Changed Forms - Volumes I-IX', by Twilight Sparkle.

"I was merely regaling Twilight of the letter I sent Thorax," Celestia explained, returning to her cushion and encouraging her company to sit as well. "In turn, she enlightened me to a conversation they had regarding his worries regarding visiting Canterlot."

"I see," said Luna, slumping to her deep blue pillow bed and adopting a comfortable position. "Is he afraid that he and his changelings may be attacked? He should know no such thing would happen under our watch. He would of course have escorts to help guide them, and keep an eye on them whilst in the city."

"His concerns seemed to be based on perception or bias, rather than physical danger," Twilight replied. "Thorax is very aware of the negative views many Canterlot ponies may have towards changelings, given the two invasions."

Luna curled her mouth. "Can't say it's flawed logic. Violence can be suppressed, thoughts and feelings, less so."

"According to Twilight," Celestia put in, nodding to her former pupil, "at least some of his worries were appeased after their heart to heart."

Twilight blushed. "Well, I like to think I helped put him at ease, anyway. Thorax still struggles with low self-esteem, and I think he projects that, perhaps unintentionally onto the changelings as a whole, sometimes. The fact that Canterlot has a valid reason to hate him and his kind discourages him from interacting at all. In hindsight, introducing changelings to the Crystal Empire was a simple obstacle. Most of the empire had been pro-changeling already, given the events with Thorax and Spike, and Thorax's stay with them for several months thereafter. The empire has also never been sieged by changeling armies."

"Canterlot is a different beast," Luna summarized.

"That said, I have a feeling that Thorax will accept this latest invitation, where others have failed," said Celestia.

"And you're so certain of this?" Luna probed.

"Call it an educated guess," Celestia replied with a wink. "If Twilight's words have helped Thorax rationalize even half of his troubled thoughts, I believe he will be joining us in Canterlot very soon. The Crystal Empire is not the only success Thorax has to build esteem from, after all. Isn't that right, Twilight?"

The sun monarch glanced a mystifying look, and to it Twilight hung her mouth. She decided against the first thought to graze her mind. Questioning how Celestia knew things was like asking Pinkie Pie how she did anything.

"That's true, actually," Twilight said at last. "I haven't had occasion to mention it, but not long ago Discord dropped by Ponyville unexpectedly, a bunch of adult changelings in hoof. Long story short, the changelings I thought he had randomly selected were actually changeling parents, two of whom were Ocellus's parents. After seeing their interaction, the other parents showed a lot of interest in enrolling their own nymphs at the school."

"I suppose every once in a while he's more useful out and about than he was as a lawn ornament," Luna deadpanned. Twilight giggled. Celestia cackled. "How did that turn out for your school then, Twilight?"

"Wonderfully, actually," Twilight said with pep. "We have four more changelings coming into our new school year, and there will undoubtedly be more the year after that. I'm very excited. Ocellus is very excited."

"To Discord's credit, it is rather ingenious," Celestia commented. "Twilight's school is a powerful social hub, one unlike anything Equestria has ever seen or had. The children of ponies and other creatures from cities and settlements all over the continent now gather there. Those children will, under Twilight and her friend's marvelous teachings, learn of friendship among all creatures, including changelings."

"Those children will then return home to their families and friends, and tell them of the friendships they've made with changeling nymphs," Luna added.

"A seed of friendship for future generations," Celestia finished with a contented sigh. "Thorax and his subjects need not visit every corner of Equestria in order to show the world that the changelings have changed for the better."

"Which leaves Canterlot," Luna breathed, standing from her spot and walking to the window. There she overlooked the stone roofs and spires of the city below, now bathed in the retreating sun's orange light. "I see the purpose behind the action, now. If Thorax is to obtain true social peace across Equestria, he must heal the greatest wound left by his predecessor."

A lump sat in each throat as the carnage of the former changeling queen revisited them.

"Twilight, let's assume for a moment that Thorax does accept my invitation for this week's end," Celestia began, turning to directly face the young alicorn. "Would you be available to make an appearance? I do not need you to be his escort for the entire visit, but your presence, as well as your newly-acquired knowledge of changelings may prove helpful."

"Oh, of course!" Twilight raised a hoof. "I'd already planned on joining Thorax should he decide to visit. Having been born here, I think I could give a pretty good tour. Outside the museum, I thought a look around Canterlot would be a great way to help alleviate his anxiety."

"A good idea, Twilight," said Luna, turning from the window. "I concur with my sister, your presence may be helpful for Thorax, given your friendship. If nothing else, being a guide for the city, and being in attendance during our meeting with him would be invaluable."

"Of course, I'm only too happy to help him however I can."

"Wonderful, I will send you a letter as soon as I hear from Thorax, Twilight," Celestia concluded, casting a golden aura to retrieve a leatherback journal. Her attention guided a quill along a few lines of notes, before coming to rest again in an inkwell. "If you could arrive in advance of his visit by a few hour margin, I believe that would be best."

"Later today I'll assess my school schedule for this weekend," Twilight thought aloud. "There's a number of files to address, and a faculty event to attend, but I'm sure it's nothing Starlight couldn't handle in my stead, given the importance of the situation."

"Sister, what sort of decor should we specify for the changeling's potential visit?" asked Luna, turning to the white alicorn with a perplexed brow. "They are so very many colors, now, taking a complimentary approach would render the castle hideous."

"Hmm, I believe you are the expert authority on appropriate decor, are you not?" Celestia replied, not once raising her eyes from her notes, but smiling something magical all the same. "If we cannot match color aesthetic, then perhaps something to suppress the anxiety of grandiose political meetings would suffice."

Two pairs of eyes turned to the moon princess when she gave an amused hum.

"Best go for lavender flowers with a calming blue tapestry, then," Luna purred, summoning a woven basket nearly the size of her. From the popped lid emerged large and magnificent rolls of smooth fabric, enough to render Rarity comatose where she stood. They streamed through the air, suspended in the princess's deep blue aura like a localized auroaborealis.

"Cerulean is the warmest shade of blue, wouldn't you agree, Twilight?"

Author's Notes:

Inserted artwork thanks to a good friend, Micha, found on Amino.

Long time readers of this story know that plot has largely remained a side point, a modest vehicle with which to get to the meat of this story - character interaction, humor and shameless levels of fluff. Here, we reach a sort of penultimate chapter. A lot of themes from throughout the story have come to a point, and the final, large arc of the story has been introduced.

I am excited to finish this story. I am excited to have it edited and printed as a physical book. This, my largest story ever written, is a tribute to a fandom that has truly changed my life.

Thanks so much for reading thus far. Buckle up, we're not done yet.