"Goodness gracious, just look at the time! We're going to be so incredibly late!"

Wearing the expression of somepony plummeting down a perilous waterfall, a caped stallion raced through street after street of shimmering crystal. Floating along his side, engulfed in a safe field of golden magic was a modest carrying basket. But precious cargo did this basket bare, more than gems or riches. Smiling from within the basket was a baby alicorn, excitedly watching the overhead clouds race by with a simple naivete as she let out coos and giggles.

"So late, going to be so very late!", the stallion urgently expressed to himself, as if his mounting anxiety wasn't bad enough already. Through the streets he galloped, dashing by onlooking crystal ponies and darting around corners, the magnificent crystal castle drawing closer with every step he took.

His breathing erratic and his hooves on metaphorical fire, the stallion at last reached the base of the towering fortress. His eyes gazed skyward, scanning the far-away peaks of pointed towers with anticipation. He'd called the empire home for years now, but the view of Princess Cadance's castle never ceased to amaze him.

"We're almost there, Flurry Heart. It won't be much longer, now," the goatee-wielding stallion assured, taking a moment to meet the eyes of the young pony in his care. The filly clapped her tiny hooves in response, and persuaded the stallion to smile.

"Let's just hope your parents won't be too livid with me."

As the cool northern breeze flowed through her mane, Cadance turned her eyes towards Thorax. The tall changeling was transfixed by the elevated view of the empire, his face filling with sentiment as he traced the network of rooftops and streets below.

Once again the empire's charm had captivated Thorax's attention in ways it did not for his flock of drones, who, once again, wandered about the room aimlessly. One drone had antagonized a few others into playing bug pile, while others stayed on the sidelines to watch. Another portion of changelings had become loafs in the windowsills, thrumming their wings in a display of contentment as they sunbathed.

"So, Thorax, tell me something."

Thorax jolted. With a few blinks he reeled in his far cast attention.

"Yes, princess?"

Cadance's look turned ever so slightly diabolical.

"While we wait, why don't you tell me all about 'Papa Thorax'?"

Thorax's mouth ran dry. He turned slowly to meet the princess's now outright villainous gaze.

"Um, not much to tell, really," Thorax stammered, rubbing the side of one leg, "you know, it's just something some of the changelings call me, now."

"Oh no you don't, you're not getting out of this one that easily," the love princess stated with a laugh, playfully prodding the alpha changeling's chest. "One doesn't get a cute nickname like that for no good reason, Thorax. And I know you know that you can't hide things from me of all ponies, right?"

Thorax continued to fidget. Memories of bumbling mistakes during his time in the empire began to fill his mind, particularly his failed attempts to hide said bumbling mistakes from the princess and her talented habit of pulling the truth out of him.

Thorax found that his nerves quickly betrayed him, as changelings began to take notice of the emotional distress thier king was giving off. Like cats picking up a scent, they turned, and a pallet of colorful eyes shot his way.

"Well, I'm a lot more affectionate towards the changelings than what they were used to, with Chrysalis," the alpha began weakly, noting a few approaching drones. "Some of the nymphs began calling me that, and it stuck. Now it's a nickname for me that even some of the adults use."

Cadance's expression blossomed. Her eyes lit like stars, and her toothy grin surpassed any Thorax had ever seen before. She turned to properly face him, sitting back on her haunches to give him her fully rapt attention.

"Affectionate?", she parroted with thirsty intrigue. "Oh, Thorax, that sounds lovely. What exactly does that entail, if I may ask?"

Thorax rubbed the back of his head again. A couple of drones, satiated with their exploration of the monarch's emotional flex, now turned to each other with jaded looks.

"He's gonna have us do a demonstration of the cuddlebug thing for yet another princess, isn't he."

"What is this, the third time? I think we should start charging admission."

"And so then she goes, 'let's just say I learned a friendship lesson while you were gone.' She's so modest. Freshly graduated, and she's already applying what she's learned to everyday life!''

Though he probably wouldn't remember the story's details come the next day, Shining Armor would certainly remember the bliss emanating from his sister's voice. The reserved stallion watched Twilight intently as she told her tale, and gave slight chuckles wherever appropriate. When at last her tale ended, Shining gently nudged his sister's side with one hoof, drawing her into an eye lock.

"Sounds like you've turned out to be quite the teacher, huh?", he inquired with a smile. "The student's progress isn't only reflective of them, but of the teacher's effectiveness, as well."

Twilight modestly flicked her hoof.

"Well, I try not to brag, but I do feel pretty proud," the purple alicorn admitted, twinkles in her eyes. "And I feel a lot better about my teaching too after having talked with Princess Celestia. We had a heart to heart that I haven't had with her in a really long time."

"Princess Celestia certainly is incredible, that's for sure," Shining agreed, turning his gaze back towards the corridor before them. "I've never met a pony as gentle and pure as she is - well, apart from my wife, that is."

As the pair made their way up the crystalline staircase, the resonating sound of opening doors echoed from below and reached the top of the towering ceiling. Twilight blinked and looked back, as did Shining, and the two were met by a most welcome sight now quickly ascending the steps after them.

"Sunburst! Ooooh, and there's my adorable niece!", Twilight exclaimed, her expression lighting up.

"O-oh, hello, Twilight," Sunburst stuttered, using a hoof to readjust his glasses. "I wasn't expecting to find you down here - oh, for that matter, you either, Prince Shining Armor. I would have thought you'd be with Princess Cadance by now."

Twilight side-eyed her brother, who merely chuckled.

"Twilight and I had to make an announcement for the crystal ponies first, you just barely missed it," the stallion explained. "But we're heading up to see Cadance and Thorax right now. Care to accompany us?"

The calm demeanor Sunburst had just finished rebuilding fell apart.

"K-King Thorax is already here!?", he rasped, his glasses once again falling down the bridge of his nose. "Oh goodness, I really am late, aren't I? I must apologize, Flurry Heart and I were so caught up building block structures to focus her levitation skills that we-"

"-it's alright, Sunburst," Shining Armor interrupted, raising a hoof to signal the stallion to ease. Whether with guards or citizens, the robust stallion had a habit of using his guard lingo rather loosely. "From the looks of it, you and Flurry Heart are doing just fine, and you both made it just in time. There's nothing to apologize for."

His expression softening to that of foal-like glee, Shining Armor lit his horn and took the basket from Sunburst's magic aura. Flurry Heart's eyes widened at the sight of her father, and Shining's pearly smile reflected back.

"How about we bring you to your mom, huh?", he said in a child-like voice. "I bet she already misses you, especially with all those boring old politics she has to deal with! Hah, yes she does!"

From just ahead of the high-pitched stallion, Twilight turned to Sunburst with an elated grin.

"The last time I heard him talk like that was to me, when I was a filly," she said nostalgically.

Sunburst readjusted his glasses once again, catching a glimmer of light on them.

"Well I assure you, he's like that all the time, these days," he whispered with a chuckle. "I think he actually dotes on her more than the princess does."

"Well of course, she's daddy's little girl," Twilight replied with a knowing nod.

The next few minutes passed by in relative silence, give or take a few coos from Flurry Heart. The trio of ponies and tiny filly continued their ascent to the castle's utmost floor. Only was it there, nearly upon their goal that Twilight had an epiphany, and began to look around for something. More aptly, some dragon.

Spike was missing. Twilight rolled her eyes. No doubt he had been mobbed by the crystal ponies again. She really had to tag him with a transportation spell for easy retrieval, one of these days.

At last the final landing was reached, and Shining took the lead. As pink magic turned the doorknob to their destination, Twilight cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

Spike would have to wait, for now. The wave of delicate, political discussion about to flow through that door demanded the alicorn's complete attention. With any luck, the changeling empire would remember this day as a momentous success, and the start of their political maturity in Equestria.

"T-Thorax, I wish to t-testify that this is c-cruel and u-unusual p-punishment!"

"I'm just demonstrating an alternate way of sharing love, Cornicle. It's purely for your benefit, I promise!"

Like a candle set before a flame, Twilight's composure melted in a moment, as the urge to giggle quickly rose to take its place.

Lounging on the far side of the room were Thorax and Cadance, loafed on either side of a cyan drone. Thorax had firmly pinned the bug pony to the floor with one hoof, and was now using it to ferociously rub the drone's exposed underbelly. The cyan changeling contorted between fits of tearful laughter and desperate attempts to hold his composure, whilst his hooves twitched and his wings buzzed spasmodically against the floor. All the while Thorax held a sly grin, all too clearly enjoying himself.

While Cadance watched the adorable event unfold, the other changelings watched Cornicle suffer his torturous fate with mixed response, ranging from bemusement to uncertain terror.

"I wasn't prepared to witness this, today," one drone muttered grimly.

"I think banishment was merciful by comparison," another whispered in reply. "Just look at his face...he's been met with a terrible fate, hasn't he?"

"Well, I see the discussions are going well," Shining Armor announced sarcastically, drawing attention from everyone in the room. He strolled across the threshold towards his wife, greeting her with a kiss upon securing her side.

"I was teasing Thorax about the time he asked me what tickling was, when he saw me tickling Flurry during his stay," Cadance explained, gently taking control of Flurry Heart's basket in her magic aura and bringing it to rest on the floor in front of her. "Some of the changelings seemed confused on what that was, too, so I may have convinced Thorax it'd be a good idea to show them, first hoof. Oh, this poor thing never saw it coming. He shouldn't have been sitting so close."

"You two are cruel when you're left together," Shining said teasingly, wiggling a playful hoof for Flurry to grasp.

"In my defense, he took the idea and ran with it," Cadance countered, wiping her hooves of the situation and returning a devilish smile. "I think we're coming up on a full minute, here, and he didn't learn that kind of evil from me, I assure you."

"T-Thorax! P-Please s-stop!", Cornicle chocked out, tears rolling down his chitinous face. He had come to terms with his fate, but sought salvation all the same. "P-Please s-show me mer-ercy, your hi-highness!"

Thorax cocked his head in mock thought, still grinning. The other changelings gazed on with bated breath, as if waiting for the final judgement on a proposed exile.

"Well, alright. I suppose that's enough demonstration," Thorax said at last, withdrawing his hoof and letting the bug pony breathe full, deep breaths at last. "Thanks for the assistance, Cornicle. I suppose you have a pretty good idea of what 'tickling' is now?"

Cornicle nodded his head in a short series of jitters, forcing an exaggerated grin in reply. The bug pony scampered across the tiled floor to retreat among his peers, who quickly encircled him in a curious buzz. The soft sounds of hushed chattering quickly filled the air, with the occasional head peering up over the crowd to glance at Thorax.

"You'd think they've never heard about something as simple as tickling, before," Twilight brought up with a giggle, having settled herself on the floor by Shining Armor.

"Well, that's because they haven't," Thorax replied flatly, instantly drawing looks. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they're all seriously discussing my sanity and how they may have underestimated my willingness to use torture tactics."

"Do they really not understand that you were just playing around?", Sunburst inquired, having been drawn into the conversation as well. Though too modest to sit down, a maternal glare from Cadance convinced him to.

"To be honest, things like affection and non-territorial playing are still new concepts for them," Thorax explained, watching a few hooves subtly point at him from amidst the chittering throng of drones. "It's taken over a month for most of them to fully warm up to the idea of sleeping in clusters, and that's something tangible they can actually feel the effects of. I think it'll be some time still before a lot of them fully understand and appreciate spontaneous stuff."

"Doesn't that mean you may have just freaked them all out and made them more cautious around you?"

Eyes glanced around the circle for the source of the voice, but Twilight immediately turned her attention towards the doorway to find it. A young dragon was leaning against the wall with his claws crossed, watching his tall bug pony friend with an almost crude endorsement.

"Oh, there you are, Spike," Twilight said aloud, as if mentally checking off a list item. "I was wondering where you disappeared to."

"The crystal ponies thought I might have some answers and insights on the changelings," Spike cleared up, casually walking over to the group of royal ponies plus Sunburst, and taking a seat by Thorax. "They wanted to know why they looked so different, stuff like that. They caught my attention right as I was gonna follow you guys inside from the balcony."

"You know, I had been wondering where my fill of dragon sarcasm had gone so suddenly," Twilight quipped with an extended tongue, getting one promptly in return.

"Well, to answer your question, Spike," Thorax picked up again, locking eyes with the flock of drones still watching him closely, "the changelings already know me pretty well, and for better or worse, they know me as a bit of a 'soft-shell'. So whenever I do something they find strange, they tend to write it off as 'Thorax being weird again'. But I'm sure eventually they'll find these kinds of things more commonplace, or at least that's my hope."

"So you play around and tease them whenever you get the opportunity so that they'll loosen up, and eventually learn how to better express and share love?", Spike put together, earning a very impressed nod from Twilight.

"Yeah, that's about the gist of it," Thorax said with a goofy smile. "Of course, I do it simply because it's fun and rewarding, too."

"That's pretty devious of you, ol' pal," Spike chuckled, nudging the alpha changeling's side. "I like it."

"Well you can thank Cadance and Shining Armor for giving me the idea in the first place," Thorax admitted, turning to the royal pair and sharing their warm expression. "I learned so much while I was in the empire. I was pretty much the poster changeling for sharing love, but even I had no idea just how many different ways there are for love to be shared and expressed. If I hadn't spent so much time here, I wouldn't have even known where to start in leading the changelings."

"It was a pleasure for us as well, Thorax," Cadance replied softly, levitating Flurry Heart from her basket and placing her between her front hooves. The baby alicorn now had a far better view of the many friendly faces all around her, and began to fixate on those she knew best. "Having you stay with us taught us so much about changelings and their culture, and perhaps more importantly, it gave us a perspective change. Honestly, it was an experience Shining Armor and I very much needed, after our...less than positive experience with changelings at our wedding."

Thorax smiled sheepishly through secondhand embarrassment.

"Thwaa?", came the sudden high-pitched voice of Flurry Heart, as she eyed Thorax with cautious fascination. In that moment the group of ponies smiled warmly at the baby alicorn, and a few changelings across the room shivered in content.

"Whoa, did you guys feel that?", one drone asked aloud, twitching his wings from under his carapace.

"Yeah, that was some burst of love," another replied with equal excitement.

"Do you recognize Thorax, Flurry?", Cadance asked rhetorically in her sweetest voice, looking to Thorax and his delighted smile. "He's a big changeling now, and definitely a lot more colorful, but he's the same old Thorax."

"Thwaaa...phhpthwaa!", Flurry gibbered again, beaming brightly the more she watched Thorax wave at her.

"Aha, hello, Flurry! I bet you couldn't see me very well in your basket before, huh?", Thorax said, lowering his head towards the ground to meet her eye level. Flurry reached out to boop the large bug pony's nose with her hoof, and Thorax stuck his tongue out in reply, much to her amusement.

"She's just as friendly and happy as always," he said with a light chuckle, letting the little alicorn gently grab onto his snout as she traced her gaze up his imposing antlers. "I'll be honest though, I'm surprised she recognized me so quickly."

"Well of course, she'll always recognize her favorite play mate," Shining replied simply, sharing a mutually content expression with his wife. "Changelings are the most effective hide and seek and 'peek-a-boo' players I've ever seen."

Thorax locked eyes with Shining Armor for a brief moment thereafter, a pure, undiluted joy filling his eyes.

"Thanks, Shining Armor. But really, it was my pleasure, I loved spending time with her! Not to mention, I wanted to do something to help repay you for your generosity of letting me stay in the castle. Helping you and Sunburst look after her was the least I could do."

Flurry began to try and pull herself up onto the large changeling's head, gripping the base of his antlers for support. But as valiant an effort as it was, she tumbled back down again, much to Thorax's immediate concern. When the baby alicorn giggled again, Thorax sighed in relief.

"Papa Thoraaaaax," came an abrupt and whiny voice, piercing the air like a knife. "When can we go back outside? I haven't gotten to talk to a single crystal pony yet."

Thorax's train of thought derailed entirely, his attention stolen by its most talented thief. As tiny hooves begin to climb his back, Thorax could only chuckle, and wonder what had taken the nymph so long to cause a disruption.

Apex's ruby eyes appeared between Thorax's antlers, peering at the many faces surrounding him. But it only took a moment for him to disregard the group entirely, instead leaning around Thorax's horn to promptly demand his gaze.

"Hello, Apex. Can I help you?", Thorax asked cheekily, determined to put on a show for his gracious hosts as much as anything else.

"Didn't you hear me?", Apex asked in disbelief, staring into Thorax's eyes with his upside-down ones. "Come on Papa Thorax, your ears are as big as my head! What good are they if you can't hear stuff with them?"

Thorax started to laugh, and so did the observing group of ponies. Apex blinked and pulled his head up in surprise.

"W-What? What did I say?"

"Apex, you do know we were in the middle of a conversation, right?", Thorax asked, regaining his composure quickly. As soon as he spoke, Apex's head entered his view once again.

"Yeah, but you're not even talking with the ponies about polo ticks like you said you would," the nymph said with exasperation, missing the snort or two that followed. "Why do we have to be up here? The princess pony showed us the room, so can we go, now?"

Eyes from around the room watched Apex with endearment, and Thorax called his drone's bluff with a smirk.

"Well, I need to stay up here for a little while longer, but if you'd like to go outside I don't see why not. As long as you stay with Tibia and the others, and as long as it's okay with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor..."

Thorax trailed off to give an acknowledging glance to the royal ponies. Shining Armor received a nod from Cadance, then turned back to Thorax with one of his own. He shot a welcoming glance to the group of drones sitting like cats on the room's open windowsills.

"That's fine by us. Please explore the empire as you see fit, everyone," Shining projected. "The crystal ponies have been made fully aware of the situation, and I have guards stationed at key locations in and out of the castle, in case you need help. All I ask is that you remain inside the empire's walls. The frozen wastes are dangerous, and we do not regularly patrol their depths. I wouldn't want anyone becoming lost and unaccounted for."

As if given the most exciting news of their lives, the convoy of changelings gave wide, open-mouthed smiles and departed from their perches. While some took to the sky and flew from the tall windows, others gracefully trotted out the door to tour the vast castle on their own terms. But despite the sudden leave of so many bug ponies, Thorax cocked an eyebrow to the one who hadn't moved an inch from his head.

"There you go, Apex," Thorax called up, "you're free to go outside, now. Just stick close to Tibia, alright?"

Thorax received no response, nor any leaning head in front of his face, this time. Only the still, dead weight of the nymph signaled his presence.

"Apex?"

"..."

"Apex."

"..."

"Apex, what's wrong? I thought you just said you wanted to-"

"-I'm just gonna stay up here actually, Papa Thorax," Apex muttered, his snout hidden between his front hooves. Thorax exchanged glances with Twilight and Cadance, who smiled at him with discerning looks.

"Apex," Thorax said again, this time much quieter.

"What?"

"Why don't you want to go outside, now? You just said you wanted to."

"Well I don't want to if you're not gonna be out there, too."

Thorax smirked to himself. A final piece of a puzzle had fallen into place. He felt a seed of affection take root in his chest, a stoked fire spreading rapidly through his body. The tiny bug pony's actions and body language spoke volumes more than he intended, but Thorax was thankful for it.

"Apex, you're not jealous of Flurry Heart getting so much of my attention just now, are you?"

Apex shifted his position and turned his head, and Thorax could have sworn he heard him mumble something in reply.

"Apex, you know you don't have to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous of the baby pony!" Apex said defensively​. "That's you saying that, Papa Thorax, not me."

Twilight looked on with the kind of investment she'd give the climax of a dramatic soap opera. The remainder of the group remained silent, observing the precious moment waiting to bloom in front of them.

"It's true that Flurry Heart and I spent a lot of time together," Thorax admitted. "While I was in the empire I lived here in the castle, so playing and interacting with her became a daily routine. And I wouldn't take back any of it, because Flurry helped me understand the forms of sharing love that have lead me to where I am, today. It was an amazing learning experience, and one I'll never forget for sentimental reasons, as well."

Apex said nothing, but Thorax felt a sharp exhale of breath race across his forehead.

"But you know, you're forgetting something very important, Apex," the big changeling continued softly, reaching up and gently rubbing his hoof along the nymph's tiny head. "Flurry Heart is Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor's child, not mine. That honor goes to you."

Apex had been stubbornly ignoring the generous head pats, but now his ruby eyes shot open, as did his body shiver.

"Really?", the little drone squeaked. Thorax chuckled in response, and with his twin antlers igniting in a blaze of teal magic, he levitated the small drone down between his hooves. Once there a hoof wrapped itself around Apex's underbelly, pulling him close. The nymph peered upwards, again meeting Thorax's gaze from an upside-down perspective.

"Of course, Apex, did you think you could get away with calling me 'Papa Thorax' for so long without it rubbing off on me?", Thorax asked rhetorically, perfectly content to hold the tiny drone forever. "Lately you and the other nymphs have made me feel more like a parent than a king. But, you know...I don't think they have to be so different."

Apex felt his head briskly rubbed again by Thorax's hoof, but this time he met it with an eccentric chirp.

From the opposite side of the circle, Twilight silently squealed. With exaggerated pupils she turned to her brother and sister-in-law.

"Aren't they simply adorable!?", the purple alicorn whispered gleefully, her face pressed between her hooves. "The intimacy of their patriarchal dynamic is just so precious! I've been with them two days now and I still can't get over it! And you should see how they sleep together in clusters - they restore each other through sharing love while they sleep, it's so fascinating!"

"Whoa now Twilight, calm down before you blow a fuse," Spike chuckled, gently patting the alicorn on her flank.

"It's a beautiful thing, indeed," Cadance replied, a warm grace in her tone. The princess turned her lavender eyes back towards Thorax and his young drone, practically lost in a playful world of their own. She appeared lost as well, entranced in a seven mile stare that went far past the events inside the room.

"I understand what Princess Celestia meant in her letter to the empire, now," Shining Armor said quietly, holding his wife in a close embrace as Cadance swept Flurry into one of her own. Even Sunburst seemed smitten, taking a chance to gently ruffle the young filly's hair.

"What do you mean?", Twilight inquired, Spike's adamant flank pats at last knocking her to her senses.

"As I mentioned during my speech to the crystal ponies, Princess Celestia sent a message to the empire after her initial visit with the changelings, which differed from the message she sent across the rest of Equestria," the stallion explained, watching with great enjoyment, Cadance gingerly kiss their child.

"My aunt doesn't become overwhelmed by emotion very often, but through her writing I could certainly tell she had, this time," Cadance added, her voice unusually reserved, as if holding back emotion. She watched Apex leap behind Thorax's back in an attempt to hide, whilst Thorax ungracefully twisted around and fell over in an attempt to grab him. Both changelings were at the mercy of their unbridled laughter all the while.

"She wouldn't stop going on and on about how the empire would be the perfect place for the changelings to make their start," the princess continued. "She was so insistent on that point in fact, that it actually surprised me. But now I understand. Being in-tune with love magic, I felt something just now, something that puts everything she was talking about into perspective. Shining Armor felt it, too, because our magic is synced."

Cadance turned to meet Twilight's agape look, her eyes on the verge of tears.

"Even if you can't recognize it, I'm sure your mood has been impacted by it, Twilight. What I just felt was broadcasted love magic. The changelings don't just share love between each other, now, it looks like they can also spread love to other living things."

The air sat with the background noise of changeling merriment. Twilight's eyes darted among random sections of crystaline floor, before a gasp filled her lungs.

"...you mean like you, like the crystal heart...", she muttered to herself, a massive epiphany overtaking her mind. The hive's flourishing plant life, the changelings' polarized demeanors - as connections fired off, Twilight developed a mad grin.

"Oh my gosh, that makes so much sense! Why didn't I think of that? Spike, quick, help me take notes! This is going to make Equestrian history! No species but the crystal ponies has ever been capable of magically spreading love!"

As Twilight scurried to pull her notes and journals from her saddle bags, Thorax shared a long glance with Cadance. Two monarchs of love, their cherished children peacefully resting against their hooves.

Author's Notes:

'Escape' by Enrique Igleasias on repeat while writing much of this chapter. So inspirational.

So I sure hope you came with extra lives, because I outdid myself with the cute this time around. After all, unrelenting amounts of warm and fuzzy is what happens when two monarchs based on the concept of love get together in one room. I was originally going to include some politics this chapter, but decided to save it for the next. The pure feels of this chapter had to be the one and only focus, for me.
--
Yarr, there be spoilers and things ahead, rraY.
So, I adored the first three eps thus far! Twilight's changeling fantasy was adorable, and the episode with Flurry Heart was a 100% fluff episode, kinda like this chapter was! I included a few themes/characters from the past few episodes in this chapter, out of sheer hype.