With a snap of his claw, the draconequus Discord vanished in a flash of light, taking the group of Equestrians with him.
The reborn changelings were alone now, left with nothing but their startling transformation and the uncertain future that laid before them. A throng of compound eyes turned towards the center of the hive’s decimated throne room, fixating on the catalyst for this great change: Thorax.
Standing tall in the evening sun, Thorax stared out at the distant horizon. The chilled air swept over his carapace, focusing his thoughts. Firstly, he took note that he was now twice his former size, with massive antlers sprouting from his head. But almost immediately after came a wave of unbridled excitement and anticipation for the future. Chrysalis’s merciless grip of control had finally been released. A day Thorax had only ever dreamed of had finally become a reality.
Of course, not even he could have dreamed up this outcome.
“So...do we call you ’King Thorax’ now, or what?” spoke a male voice from the back of the room. With that, the ice was broken, and other changelings soon began to speak up, as well.
“Did all of that really just happen?” a blue-shaded changeling asked aloud, raising a hoof and scanning her colorful body. “I mean, I’m on board for fast food, but...why do we have wings for tails? Wing tails? Tail wings? I don’t even know.”
“Forget the tails. Does anyling have any inkling as to what decided our colors? I’m starting to ask myself questions I never thought I would,” a male drone with a bright fuchsia color scheme asked the room, drawing numerous stares.
Shaken from his trance, Thorax turned to face the masses. The changelings were now chattering amongst themselves. Some of them sported broad smiles, while others harbored hardened frowns. Thorax watched their interactions closely as he formulated what he wanted to say. After a moment, he took a deep breath and stepped forward, butterflies racing inside his stomach.
“Um, hey, everyling. I know I haven’t seen you all in...well, quite some time.” Thorax paused for a moment to relish the fact his voice hadn’t changed, too. “All the same, I wanted to say thank you. When I first left the hive, I wanted to discover friendship; not just to experience it, but to learn about it. I had hoped to return someday and share that knowledge with all of you. I believed we could find a way to share love between one another so that we wouldn’t need to take it from others.”
Thorax paused again, observing the various faces staring back at him—blank expressions, raised eyebrows, small smiles, uninterested looks, and even a few amused ones. He smiled to himself as his stomach butterflies became a warmth spreading throughout his chest. Unique personalities were gazing back at him, not uniform drones.
“Well, things didn’t turn out quite as I imagined they would, but the most important thing I hoped for has come to pass. We got here thanks to all of you giving shared love a chance. I gotta be honest, I look around at all of you right now, and I’m just so happy. This is all I ever wanted for us all along. So again, thank you.”
Thorax gave the crowd a big smile to cap off his speech, but for a long moment, all he got for his efforts was an occasional blink or tilted head.
“Rest assured, Saccharine Thorax is back, everyling,” an orange drone announced from the crowd. Light snickering ensued, and a tinted blush touched Thorax’s cheeks.
“I mean, I guess you’re welcome, ‘Your Highness,’ but frankly, who’s going to say no to ‘no more starving’?” another drone added. Several nods followed. “I dunno if Chrysalis knew about this or not, but either way, it’s looking like she willingly kept things in a status quo. You’re a soft-shell, Thorax, but I’m at a point where I’d rather eat happily for once with a newbie king than continue starving for an experienced queen.”
There was an even larger consensus of nodding, along with murmurs of agreement.
“To that end though ‘King Thorax’,” an oceanic blue drone said abruptly, trotting out to the front of the group with a sass-ridden smile. “You’ve successfully usurped Chrysalis, made friends with Equestria, updated our food system, and cuteified everyling in the process. It took you a whole, what, half an hour? Dare I ask what’s next?”
Ignoring the drone’s mocking tone, Thorax turned to face the dilapidated state of the hive. The dark throne’s destruction had eradicated not only the throne room, but the entire observation deck above it and several tunnels leading up to it. Thorax furrowed his brows as he weighed his options.
“Well, we should probably start by rebuilding our home,” he said simply, raising his voice enough for everyling to hear him. “I don’t know about all of you, but I think I’d rather put in some effort to start from scratch and create a new hive. If we don't try to put our mark on it, this will always feel like Chrysalis’s hive, even if she’s no longer here.”
Thorax didn’t turn around, but he didn’t have to—the long silence that followed was enough to make him sweat.
“You don’t sound very confident, Thorax.”
“Yeah, if you’re going to lead us, you need to be sure of yourself,” said another. “We know you’re not the ‘bark orders’ type, but you at least need to know what you want to do, and what you want us to do.”
Thorax fidgeted in place; he knew the criticism was on point. He turned around wearing an awkward smile.
“Sorry, you guys. It might take me a little while to get used to this. I am certain that I want to recreate our hive as our own. To reinvent our home, now that we’ve reinvented ourselves.”
The crowd adopted, for the most part, positive looks.
“Normally, I’d say hard work is bogus,” a sky blue drone near the front stated, looking around at some of the others. “But I’ve done absolutely nothing but patrol, patrol, and patrol some more for weeks. I’ll be happy to do something a little more constructive.”
“Does this mean we get to knock this thing down first?” a purple drone inquired excitedly, tapping a hoof on the ground a few times. “I’m always up for demolition.”
Thorax couldn’t keep himself from chuckling. An electric jolt raced through his body.
“Alright, everyling, I guess my first question is who here has been the hive’s lead guard changelings since I left? I’d like some help in organizing some teams together. If we really put our all into it, I bet we can get a new hive done in a matter of weeks.”
The eager king’s newfound determination fell on deaf ears. The group’s attention had shifted altogether to another part of the room, with everyling having turned their head. Utterly confused, Thorax followed the path of their stares, just as the sound of moving stones tinged his ear. There, among the larger piles of rubble, the bug monarch saw something that caused his upbeat thoughts to crash and burn.
Emerging through the rubble from the passageways below was a young changeling nymph, still coal-black with pointed fangs and hollowed-out legs. Thorax could see caked dust coating its body, even its tiny wings. Most striking, however, was the look of fear and confusion etched across its face and the fresh tears trailing from its eyes.
“...w-what’s going on?” the nymph asked, his voice plagued by shakes. “W-why is everyling so different? W-what happened to the hive?”
Looks of concern and surprise shot through the crowd like wildfire. Several drones made their way over to the vulnerable nymph to dust him off and help him to his hooves.
“Why is he alone? Did he just crawl up here through a collapsed tunnel by himself?” a yellow female hissed.
Another drone mumbled. “Every available drone in the hive was summoned to the throne room before the change happened. I think we’ve all been here since."
“Are you kidding me!? You’re telling me no one stayed behind in the nursery hive to watch the brood? No one!?”
“All of the intruders were captured or accounted for in the throne room, so the order for maximum security convergence on the throne room was given! Don’t look at me. It was Chrysalis’s order, not mine!”
Though he struggled the entire time, the nymph was finally brushed free of dirt; but it didn’t take long for him to kick his way out of his elders' grasp. Desperately wiping away his tears, he backed himself against a pile of rocks, legs shaking nearly as bad as his voice.
“L-leave me alone! I-I wanna know what happened to the hive! Someling, please tell me! Were we attacked?”
The crowd remained frozen and silent.
“Someling, please tell me!” The nymph stomped his tiny hoof against the floor. He hiccuped upon each new sentence and could not stop the tears pouring down his face. “I wanna know what happened!”
The dead silence continued. No one knew what to say or how to say it. There was no easy answer.
Before long, the young changeling sat back on his haunches, curling himself up and diverting his gaze to the ground. The air filled with the lonely sounds of withdrawn sniffing and the occasional hiccup.
But soon, there was another sound. Thorax's modest hoof falls slowly made their way across the room, passing by the numerous and still changelings. As he walked, the empathetic eyes of every drone followed him, watching and waiting with bated breath.
As Thorax drew nearer, the nymph looked up once more, tearful eyes going wide at the sight of the large antlered changeling. But just as Thorax’s intimidating shadow befell the little drone, he lowered himself to the ground so as to appear non-threatening. Once comfortably seated before the nymph, Thorax met those tearful eyes with a warm and caring smile.
“Hey, little guy,” Thorax said quietly, his voice just above a whisper and filled with a kind, paternal tone. “I understand that you’re scared, but you don’t have to worry. Everyling is just fine. My name is Thorax. I’ve been away from the hive for a while, so I don’t believe we’ve met before. What’s your name?”
The tiny drone wiped his face again in a frustrated manner, as if embarrassed by his display of tears. He continued to stare at the tall changeling with a mixture of fascination and uncertainty. He made no movements to back away or avoid his gaze.
“...I’m A-Apex."
Thorax’s warm smile begot a grin, putting his pearly teeth on display. "I really like that name. I’m glad to meet you, Apex. Are you the only nymph in the hive right now?”
“...no. The others are too young to talk yet. I was taking a nap in the nursery hive with them when there was a r-really loud noise.”
“Is that why you decided to come up here?” Thorax laid down on his side to gain a more comfortable position.
Apex remained quiet for a moment. He turned his water-logged eyes towards Thorax’s hooves, avoiding all eye contact with him or any other changeling in an effort to maintain his composure. All the same, tiny droplets of salted water continued to strike the ground in front of his hooves.
“I-I waited for someling to come and tell me what was happening, but no one came. So, I made sure the others were okay, and then I came to see what had happened but the tunnels were all collapsed. So I waited in the tunnels for somel-ling again, but there was still no one. I heard voices up this way, so I t-told m-myself I had to be brave and come look, so I did my best to dig through the tunnel.”
Changelings around the room looked on with pained faces of growing guilt and sympathy. Several drones began fiercely digging through the collapsed tunnels, reaching the nursery hive their only priority now. But despite the noisy distractions, Apex’s attention remained fixated on the regal changeling, who continued to watch him with such focus and care. No changeling had ever looked at him so genuinely. No changeling had ever taken the time to sit down with him, trying to comprehend his feelings.
“I’m sorry you were all left alone down there, Apex,” Thorax said, his voice calm and soothing still. “You know, I think you’re really brave for coming up here by yourself. Because you did, now we can check on the others and make sure they’re okay, too. So don’t worry, everything’s gonna be fine.”
Apex coughed through his clogged sinuses but nodded in acknowledgment. He dropped his eyes to the stone floor again, thoughts returning to the overwhelming changes all around him. The more he thought, the less he understood, and thus all the more he wished to inquire more.
“What happened to everyling, Thorax?”
Thorax’s eyes swam in the little nymph’s. For a moment, he refrained from answering, taking time to gather his thoughts.
“Apex, do you know what changelings feed off of?” Thorax asked at last, getting a scrutinous look in reply.
“Um, love. Everyling knows that.”
“Well, for a long time, changelings thought love was something that had to be taken.” Thorax broke his gaze to glance around the room. With the situation well in hoof, most of the remaining changelings had taken to lounging in the pleasant day’s breeze, the evening sun glistening off their shells.
“It turns out love has been inside us all along, inside of each other.” Thorax turned back to Apex. He could feel his heart swell at the sight of the tiny drone’s perplexed face. “That’s why everyling looks different. For the first time, they decided to share love, instead of taking it from others.”
“I don’t get it,” Apex said flatly. Thorax absently rubbed the back of his head and laughed.
“Yeah, that’s alright. It took me a while to understand how it worked, too.”
“So then, what about Queen Chrysalis?” Apex couldn't spot the queen’s jagged horn in the crowd, nor hear her loud, shrill voice. “Did she turn into a rainbow changeling, too?”
“Well, she didn’t believe sharing love was the answer,” Thorax explained with a grimace, treading carefully on the subject. “After everyling else changed form, she left the hive. I don’t know where she went, but I don’t think she’ll be coming back.”
Apex nodded, his attention shifting to the buzzing chatter of the other changelings. He was entranced by all the older changelings sitting around the room together, talking together, and laughing together.
“Everyling looks so happy, Thorax. I’ve never seen it before. The only time I ever saw anyling smile was when they were wrestling or teasing.”
Thorax nodded in reply, equally as enraptured.
“You wanna know something? For a long time, I never really fit in with anyling,” Thorax said, returning a warm smile to changelings whenever they met his gaze. “I ran away from the hive because I didn’t like those wrestling and teasing games, and I didn’t like to steal love from others. And, to tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to come back again.”
Apex’s attention was rallied again. He maneuvered himself at an angle, looking up at the tall bug pony with nurtured interest.
“But then, when I made my first friend, I discovered that I didn’t need to feed as long as I had him. And when I finally did return to the hive, even when I was against the odds, I had even more friends there to support me. And now...”
Thorax’s lip quivered. A world once so far away had sprouted before him, and at that moment, the full reality of what had been accomplished today weighed upon his being. The sights and sounds of genuine conversations and laughs filled his mind, an overpowering force that left him at the mercy of his sheer bliss.
“And now...everyling knows exactly how I feel. For the very first time, everyling has friends.”
Like a tipping trail of dominoes, the calm composure he had put forth fell apart. With sparkling teardrops falling from his eyes, Thorax covered his face with one leg, light sobs escaping him. His body gave a sudden jolt of surprise when a small hoof placed itself against his side. Thorax bridged the view of his foreleg to find Apex’s innocent face staring back at him, unperturbed by his moment of weakness.
“I think it’s really great that you care so much about us, Thorax,” Apex said. “To me, it makes you seem like a...like a papa changeling. I mean, we’ve never, ever had one before, but...I think this is what it’d be like to have one. And that makes me really happy too because I think it’d be nice to have a papa changeling.”
Apex wrapped his hooves around Thorax's front leg in an affectionate embrace. His face lit up with the same bright smile his fellow changelings shared. Feeling his chest ignite at the adorable gesture, Thorax held the nymph with his other leg. The two remained calm and still for a long while, allowing themselves to relax in the mutual display of love.
“Thorax, do you think if I called you ‘Papa Thorax,’ other changelings would start to as well?”
Thorax chuckled through the remainder of his tears, gently caressing the nymph’s back with his hoof.
“To be honest, I have no idea, but if you'd like to try it, you're more than welcome to.”
It was then that Thorax noticed a sudden light filling his view, first subtle but growing steadily more vibrant. He watched with rising surprise as a dazzling white light enveloped Apex’s body. From all around the throne room, other changelings were torn from their conversations by the stunning sight, until every single one of them was watching in excitement.
A brilliant white cocoon ruptured in another flash of light, revealing Apex for all the hive to see. The tiny changeling now sported a deep green exoskeleton, highlighted by deep ruby eyes, and a tail and carapace to match. Upon realizing what had happened, he began to spin around excitedly, comparing his own look to those around him. After a few moments, he extended his tiny red wings and frantically buzzed them, turning to Thorax with a toothy grin.
“Papa Thorax, I-I changed! I changed like everyling else!” he exclaimed, jumping up and down and eliciting laughs from all the surrounding drones. Thorax beamed in shared excitement, and pride.
“You look great, Apex!” he said sincerely, gently resting a hoof on the nymph's head. "What you did just now, with me? That was sharing love.”
Biting his lip, Apex orbited his head around Thorax’s hoof like a cat enjoying a scratch behind the ear.
“Wait up, ’Papa Thorax?’” a drone beside Thorax repeated shrewdly, relishing the slightly embarrassed look Thorax gave in reply. “Oh, Apex, you’re a genius. That fits Thorax perfectly.”
“Much more catchy than ’Saccharine Thorax’,” the teasing blue changeling from earlier added on. “And the other nymphs will be able to pronounce it, too. Couldn’t have come up with a better nickname for our new king, myself.”
“I know! He’s so friendly and kind. He’s just like everyling’s papa changeling!” Apex exclaimed, blissfully unaware of the other drones' sly smiles. “See, Papa Thorax? It’s already catching on! I knew everyling would like it!”
“You’re right. It sure looks like they do,” Thorax murmured with a meek smile, nonchalantly avoiding the rabid grins of his former peers. To change the subject before his face resembled a pomegranate, he turned to the tunnels leading to the rest of the hive, which had now been thoroughly dug out. A few changelings stood guard by them, patiently waiting for the rest to come inside.
“I think it’s time we headed back into the hive, guys,” Thorax announced, raising a hoof. “I want to check on the nursery hive personally, and meeting with the hive’s lead guardlings would be great as well. As for everyling else, I’d like you all to take the rest of the day to relax. It’s been a really eventful day, and I think we could all use a rest.”
A soft buzz of murmurs followed the order, and within moments, changelings began forming lines to head through the dug-out tunnels in a single-file fashion. But that orderly fashion was short-lived. Soon, shoving and discontented chirps erupted as lines merged into chaotic clumps of colorful bug ponies. The guard drones at the tunnels' head looked less than impressed by the sudden strife, and chose to intervene.
“One at a time—hey, one at a time! So help me, I will leave any of you sorry bugs behind if you’re dumb enough to get stuck going in alongside someling else,” a sassy bright green guard drone barked. After a few sheepish looks and awkward coughs, changelings began to dash through the narrow tunnels quickly and efficiently.
Following the vanishing crowd at the rear, Thorax took the opportunity to look around the remainder of the throne room to ensure nothing and noling was left behind. Satisfied, he turned again, only to be startled by a familiar face hovering in front of him.
“Someling sure looks excited,” Thorax commented.
“Yeah! I really like red!” Apex replied with glee, his wings picking up speed along with his boundless excitement. “Red is such an awesome color! It’s like, 'I mean business, but I’m also really cool'-whooaaa!”
Thorax jumped in surprise for what felt like the eighth time that day. Apex crashed into his head with a light bonk, gasping loudly and frantically wrapping his hooves around an antler for support. Thorax tilted his head as a counter-balanced scale.
“Um, are you okay?” he asked, conflicted between chuckling and feeling concerned.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine...”, Apex stammered, carefully dropping himself down to the ground and subtly darting his eyes. But Thorax was not blind to the little nymph’s telling body language. He smirked until Apex’s curious face looked up at him once more.
“Apex, are you still learning to fly?” The big changeling couldn't resist putting on a cute voice.
“No way! I’m a good flyer!” Apex retorted desperately, taking a jump into the air before fluttering his wings again. Moments after, however, his wings gave out yet again, and the drone planted himself on his face.
Thorax’s smirk evolved into something more skeptical. Apex puffed out his cheeks like an angry blowfish and wiped the dust from his shiny new carapace.
“Okay, so maybe sometimes I crash when my wings get tired,” the nymph grumbled under his breath. “It’s no big deal.”
Thorax beamed, relishing the image of Apex trotting along by his side, barely half the height of his leg. Even compared to full-grown changelings, he was rather tall now. It was certainly going to take him some time to get used to that; shape-shifting into larger things temporarily was one thing, but living as something so tall was going to be another.
But then again, it also gave him an idea.
“You know, Apex, if you’re tired, you don’t have to walk,” Thorax said simply, once again rousing the drone’s attention. “If you’d like a ride while you rest your wings, I don’t mind.”
“You mean like, ride on your back?” Apex asked quizzically.
“Well...actually, I was thinking you could ride on my head. You’d get a better view up there, plus I’d rather keep my back free in case I need to use my wings. Just promise me you'll be careful around my antlers, okay?"
Only his expression upon changing form could eclipse the grin now spreading across Apex’s face. Thorax bowed to the ground, and the little changeling climbed atop the alpha’s head, carefully positioning himself between Thorax’s robust antlers. The little drone felt a flutter in his chest as Thorax assumed his normal height, and for once, all the other drones fell beneath Apex’s hooves.
“Well, what do you think?” Thorax inquired, rolling his eyes upwards in a vain attempt to make out the nymph’s expression.
"This is so awesome! Papa Thorax, I didn’t realize just how tall you are! I can see so much more, and I don’t even have to fly!”
“Believe me, I’m going to have to get used to it, too.” Thorax eyed the three singular changelings left in the throne room. They had remained steadfast to their post by the tunnels, awaiting their new king. But the closer Thorax got to them, the more they avoided eye contact and shifted in place uncomfortably.
“Uh, Your Highness?” the bright green guard said suddenly, as if waiting for the right moment to interrupt. “No offense meant, but I don’t think you’ll be able to fit through the tunnels we dug—not anymore. I, uh, forgot to make them large enough to accommodate you. My mistake.”
“Psst. She’s saying you’re fat, Papa Thorax,” Apex hissed playfully into the big changeling’s ear. The guard drone’s eyes widened in shock, but Thorax simply laughed.
“Well, I certainly won’t be able to fit through certain doorways now, that’s for sure. It’s alright, though. I don’t need to use the tunnels. Apex and I will go find a more scenic route.”
“Yeah! Papa Thorax, I want you to fly all the way above the hive, and then, and then dive-bomb all the way down!”
Thorax started to laugh again, using one hoof to jostle Apex from his perch in an attempt to tickle him. The guard drones watched the two interact in awe, mouths slightly agape at the pure scene playing out in front of them.
“You know, I don’t think dive-bombing with a nymph on my head would be a good first action as king,” Thorax stated, his modest grin turning devious while Apex fought against his hoof’s onslaught.
"It’d be the most memorable one, though!” Apex protested, squirming around to keep up his defense. “Besides, if you do, I’ll tell everyling, and then you’ll be instantly cool! You just have to promise to give me twice as many dive-bomb rides as you give all the other nymphs!"
Thorax rolled his eyes, turning his attention to the trio of drones still watching him.
“Can you three please go inside as well and round up the hive’s lead guard changelings? I want to talk with everyling about a few things. I’ll be in shortly. Before I find another entrance, I want to stretch my wings and see if I can’t calm a certain someling down.”
The drones nodded without a word. The newly-crowned monarch took to the sky, quickly vanishing around the side of the hive, and Apex’s fading protests echoed through the air.
“Calm me down!? I was taking a nap before everyling woke me up with their throne room explosions, Papa Thorax! It’s your fault that I’m totally wired!...”
The room soon became silent once more, and the trio of guards exchanged glances.
“...Well, that was way too adorable. I think I just gained ten pounds.”
“Can we just talk for a minute about how we went from a tyrannical, conquest-hungry monarch to an attentive dad-ling in the space of half an hour? How do you even do that?”
“If we start having hive-wide cuddle parties or something, I’m going to go live incognito with the dragons.”
Author's Note
For me, one of the greatest things about Thorax's new role is the idea that he can be more than Chrysalis ever was. More than just a leader or king, he can be a surrogate parent to the changelings. 
I mean honestly, what else would a cinnamon roll too precious for this world do upon becoming king? 
Consider this my take on what immediately followed the final scene with the changelings in the S6 finale. I also wanted to give some backstory into the unique relationship Thorax and my changeling OC, Apex have together later on in The King of Love Bugs. 
