"Trains are so cool! Why don't we have trains, Papa Thorax!?"

Rooted to his seat, sweat billowed down Thorax's face and underbelly. He watched in acute horror as Apex scampered around the train car as an adorable tornado. Eyes like daggers assaulted him from every passenger in the car, and so the colorful changeling king's apologetic grin grew wider every second.

Thorax had begun to chase the little changeling, himself, but Tibia had assured him it was under control. However, the more Thorax watched Tibia fail in his mission absolutely, the more he was thoroughly convinced that Tibia was terrible with changeling nymphs.

"Apex you little dolt, you need to sit still!", Tibia seethed through barred fangs, pursuing the drone with a burning tenacity. But for as close as the guardling got, Apex's nimble disposition kept him just out of hoof's reach.

"Can't catch me, Tibia!", Apex exclaimed with utmost peppiness, unburdened by what others thought of his adventure around the train car.

The ongoing commotion drew the attention of not only current occupants, but also those of the neighboring cars. Ponies pressed their snouts against the door windows, seeking the source of the uproar. Upon spotting colorful bug ponies, some gawked in confusion while others gasped and quickly fled.

Between the commotion, the glares, and the sounds of ponies grumbling about bad manners and strange-colored critters on their train car, Thorax's eyes hugged a spot on the opposite wall with exhausted discontent.

"Twilight," he mumbled quietly.

"...yes, Thorax?", Twilight replied, fending off death glares with her biggest smile and wave to date.

"I think I'm gonna have to maintain my stance that this was a really bad idea."

Emphasizing Thorax's sentence was an old grandmare's saddlebag. It was sailing through the air - collateral damage of Apex's chase. Twilight's eyes trailed the bag's trajectory, and she caught it with a quick flash of magic.

"Oh come now Thorax, this is perfectly natural behavior," Twilight began, her voice and expression lacking all manner of composure. She levitated the saddlebag to the old mare, who promptly ripped it from the princess's aura and left the train car with a huff.

"He's just like a foal, except with even more spunk and energy..."

Twilight's voice trailed off, her attention seized. Apex had managed to find his way atop one of the many lamps lining the car's walls. The bug pony gazed into the heart of the lamp in utter fascination, unaware that Tibia silently stalked him from the ground, butt in the air and creeping forwards as a vigilant nymph predator.

"Twilight, I wouldn't have minded the idea of a train, if it were just you and I," Thorax explained, watching with caution as Apex began to poke his hoof into the lamp. "But this is overwhelming for changelings like Apex, who've never even left the hive before. I know flying would be dangerous with the freezing temperatures around the empire, and teleporting wouldn't be appropriate for an important meeting, but..."

"I know it may - well, probably would have been the more quiet, peaceful way there," Twilight admitted, tapping her front hooves together and salvaging an optimistic smile from the depths of her anxiety-ridden soul. "But this is much more scenic. Apex is having fun, and just look at the other changelings, they look really excited!"

Thorax followed Twilight's gaze. The small convoy of changelings sitting in the seats around them looked delighted. A few had pressed their faces against the windows, watching the scenery fly by them in awe. Others admired the cozy and colorful interior of the car, and a few others had begun to watch Tibia hunt Apex like a cat chases a mouse as a form of ongoing entertainment.

However, amused changelings weren't the only thing Thorax noticed. The more he scanned train car seats, the more he began to see that not every face was full of apprehension, fear or irritation. A single adult mare and her young filly sat at the far corner of the car, observing the group of changelings with appreciative amusement.

"Mommy, look the cute rainbow bugs!", the golden filly said, prodding a hoof against her mother's flank and pointing with the other. A few changelings perked their ears and turned their attention to the small pony, cocking their heads at the blunt summary of their appearance.

"Yes dear, there sure are a lot of them, huh?", the filly's mother replied, a yellow earth pony with a short, sandy brown mane. She made an apologetic smile to the group of changelings, gently tapping her daughter's head. "But you know it's not polite to stare, hun."

"Haha! Look the little rainbow bug mommy, he's runin' way!"

"He is. It looks like he's having a lot of fun playing."

"Yeah! I like to play too!"

"You sure do. You like to play with daddy, right?"

"Oh! Yeah! He's really good at hide and go seek! I wonder if little rainbow bug has a daddy to play with him?"

"I bet he does, sweetheart."

Transfixed by the simple conversation, Thorax felt his anxiety melt away in cascades. He observed the tiny filly press into her mom's side, sharing with her the sights of trees and farmland whizzing by.

With newfound willpower Thorax turned his attention back to the ongoing chase.

"Alright, Apex, that's enough. I need you to calm down now," Thorax declared with authority, staring down the little drone and awaiting his attention.

"No way! Papa Thorax, Tibia and I are having way too much fun!", Apex replied, dodging a tackle by leaping into the air and then bouncing off Tibia's snout. The green guardling hissed with irritation, putting a hoof to his nose as Apex continued to taunt him.

"Apex, I know you wanna have fun but there are other ponies here who are trying to relax," Thorax said. "I need you to listen to me, and calm down now."

Apex's carefree disposition deflated as Thorax's no-fun voice persisted. The tiny bug pony met the changeling's gaze from down the cabin, and upon finally locking eyes, Thorax softned his stern look.

"I want you to come sit with me for the rest of the ride, and take it easy," Thorax said, placing a hoof against his seat. "If you can do that for me, I promise we'll do something fun together before I have my meeting with Princess Cadance. Alright?"

All eyes turned to stare, and the car grew quiet.

"...will you even play bug pile with me?", Apex asked, probing the question cautiously. The other changelings gawked on with equal investment. Thorax had never played bug pile, let alone any form of roughhousing before or since he first left the hive.

Thorax gave a shrug in response that turned into a nod half-way through.

"Sure, if that's what you wanna do. I mean let's be honest, I'm already used to being suffocated by changelings through close proximity, these days," he answered with a chuckle. "But Apex, you need to relax if we're gonna do that, okay? I think Tibia needs a break, too. You've kinda worn him out from the looks of it."

"Tibia seconds that notion," Tibia muttered from the floor.

Apex beamed. The prospect of seeing the big changeling play his favorite game was too enticing. With a frantic dash he bounded across the train car's threshold one more time, using his front hooves to climb up Thorax's elongated seat. Once reaching the summit he looked around for a spot to claim as his own, only to find Thorax wherever he looked. In the time it had taken Apex to cross the car, Thorax had laid himself down along the entire seat.

Thorax gave the drone a rather unsubtle, hopeful smile. Apex frowned.

"Papa Thorax."

"Yes?"

"You're trying to be a cuddlebug, aren't you?"

Thorax relished the nymph's incredulous expression.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because now you're laying down and there's no room for me to sit."

Thorax reared his head upwards, looking down at his own haunches as if surprised to see himself stretching so far down the seat. "Oh wow, you're right," he said with a toothy smile. "I guess I'm still not used to being so much bigger than you guys. Guess you'll just have to make do, huh?"

Thorax maneuvered his front leg to make adequate room, but Apex raised a hoof uncomfortably. The nymph glanced around at a few older changelings, scanning their expressions for potential ridicule.

"Papa Thorax, you're not really gonna make me do this, are you?", Apex whined. "You know I don't like to do cuddlebug things in front of of everyling..."

"Do you want me to play bug pile with you or not?", Thorax asked simply, toothy grin still strong. "You wore out Tibia to the point of exhaustion and disturbed quite a few ponies, Apex. I could get a few changelings to send you back home. I don't think quietly spending time with me is too much to ask for, do you?"

Apex grumbled under his breath, lowering his head in defeat and flopping his body against the seat cushion. Thorax laid his head down as well, in such a way for his snout to just barely touch the nymph's. For a long moment, Thorax's magenta eyes swam around in Apex's mildly annoyed ruby ones.

"You're not gonna be a grump when we get to the empire, are you?", Thorax asked, so quietly Apex could barely hear him.

"Maybe," Apex replied.

"You know resting will build your energy back up for playing once we get there, right?", Thorax continued.

"I spose."

The changeling king's soft, observing eyes filled Apex's view, but still the young drone averted his gaze. Together the two listened to the monotonous droning of the train's wheels against the metallic tracks, and the soothing white noise of changelings and ponies chattering among themselves. Though Apex could already feel energy building throughout his body, a red tint held fast to his face.

Thorax's melancholy look spoke volumes, but he managed a smile all the same, and gently laid a hoof on the nymph's head to draw his attention.

"I know it's not your thing, Apex. But hey, thanks for giving it a chance - that's all I wanted," Thorax said encouragingly, breaking the calm moment at last. "It's true that some changelings find it a little silly, but I'll be the first to admit that I love the chance to be close with you all. To me, it makes us feel more like a family."

The big changeling arched his back, ready to sit up and return the drone his personal space. But as soon as he'd made a move, a tiny hoof grabbed his leg, and with it his attention.

"Well, maybe you don't have to stop that soon, Papa Thorax," Apex whispered, clearly trying to avoid any other changelings overhearing him. "If it makes you happy, I'll do it with you just this one time, you know, for your sake."

Thorax could spot the guilty pleasure hiding just under the little changeling's expression. It was as clear as a cloudless sky. Neither of them were any good at lying, and Thorax was thankful for it.

The entire train car had grown quiet. Relaxing against the seat once more, Thorax wrapped one hoof around Apex's tiny frame, gently pulling him closer. The nymph exhaled sharply in reply, surrendering his senses to the comforting idea of a quick nap, and the warm feeling of restorative love magic that came with it.

"Hey, Papa Thorax," Apex muttered, using the alpha changeling's neck as a pillow. Perfectly content, all Thorax could manage was a small grunt in reply. "If anyling asks, you were really sad and I took pity on you. I mean, everyling knows you're a big softie, but I got a reputation to uphold."

Thorax stifled a laugh, lest he'd jostle the little bug pony.

"Sure thing, Apex. If anyling asks, you can say Papa Thorax overwhelmed you with a really big pout."

Apex chortled quietly to himself at the thought.

"Psst, Thorax," came a sudden feminine voice from somewhere overhead. Thorax opened one eye and glanced out his peripheral to find a pink drone leaning over the back of the seat. "I'll let you know when we get there. I think Princess Twilight said two more hours. I'll check again. She went off to talk with some pony she knows from the other car - 'Minette' or something."

"Thank you, Xenica," Thorax mumbled in reply. "Do me a favor and keep everyling out of trouble until we get there, okay? Tibia and I are rather indisposed at the moment."

Xenica, a gleaming pink and green changeling, rolled her equally-vivid fuscia eyes.

"Now that you've subdued the tiny terror, it's smooth sailing from here, Your Highness."

"I can hear you, Xenny," came Apex's vexed voice from underneath Thorax's chin.

The sassy pink drone grimaced and quickly shrank back into her seat, and Thorax watched with silent joy, his youngest subject giggle with triumphant amusement.

Author's Notes:

Honestly this was just a short(er than normal) segway for fun. Tibia and Apex roleplay Tom and Jerry, Princess Twilight temporarily regresses a few seasons in her decision-making under the mounting responsibility of her political excursion, and general shenanigans and feels as we slowly move towards a brighter future with changelings in Equestria.

1: Major plot returns in the next chapter, so stand ready for even more cute and fun.
2: Prepare for more cute artwork on the horizon, it motivates me even more and is fun to commission!
3: I've decided to add and keep the 'Comedy' tag. A lot of this story is not just casual, but also works in humor, so figured it's worth it at this point.