“Is this meeting really necessary, Thorax?” Pharynx groaned. “Surely interspecies relationships can’t be that big of a deal.”
Thorax sighed. “Unfortunately, it is. Equestria learned to accept unity among earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi over a millennia ago, but it took three hundred years until marriage between one type of pony and another was legal. And the non-pony kingdoms just made relations with each other. Who knows when Ember’s kingdom and mine will accept a possible alignment between them, let alone our relationship?”
Pharynx hummed in understanding. As a thought occurred to him, he spoke, “If this is about the changelings and the dragons, then why invite Princess Twilight to the meeting?”
“Because her kingdom has gone through this before, even if it was before her time.” Thorax glanced at the changeling general. “I couldn’t get Princesses Celestia, Luna, or Cadence to attend. They all had things to do. But, I’m glad that Twilight was able to come, since I know her better.”
“Um … King Thorax?” Both brothers turned to see the purple pony princess, but she wasn’t the one who spoke. The yellow pegasus beside her was the owner of the soft, gentle voice.
“Hi, Twilight, Fluttershy,” Thorax greeted with a friendly grin. He flew off his throne and over to the ponies. He landed and said, “Thank you so much for coming. This means a lot to me and Ember. We want nothing but peace and unity between our kingdoms.”
“And I hope I can help achieve that goal,” Twilight said with a smile. “Where is Ember anyway?”
“She should be here soon. It’s quite a journey from the Dragon Lands all the way here, as you should know,” Pharynx said.
Thorax rolled his eyes while still smiling, amused at his older brother. “Yes, thank you, Pharynx.” He turned to Fluttershy. “I didn’t expect anypony else to come, but it’s nice to see you again, Fluttershy.”
“She’s here because I felt it necessary to bring somepony for this type of thing. And, this is news to me, but apparently Fluttershy is a strong supporter of unity and strong relationships among sentient beings,” Twilight explained. Fluttershy nodded.
“A good friend of mine isn’t a pony, and he fell in love with one,” she said. “I don’t think it’s the appearance that matters, but the heart inside.”
“I’m sure her arguments will come through,” Twilight assured the changeling king.
“I sure hope so.” He turned to Pharynx. “Would you please ask the changelings to keep out of my section of the Hive? And bring Tarsi here, please.”
Pharynx nodded and left the throne room, and, right after he did so, four bright dragons landed in front of Thorax with a loud bang! Thorax grinned again.
Lord Ember, in all her bright blue majesty, stood before Thorax and the two ponies. Beside her were two dragon warriors, one on either side of her, and an older, stern-looking dragon.
“Hey, Thorax. Hey Starlight, Flutterfly,” she greeted.
“I’m actually Twilight.”
“It’s Fluttershy.”
Ember smiled sheepishly. “My bad.”
“Ember! I’m so glad you arrived safely—!” The gentle king started to walk toward his girlfriend, but the two dragon warriors stepped forward and hissed at Thorax, raising their claws and baring their teeth. Thorax stopped in surprise.
“Guys, chill out.” Ember rolled her eyes. “If there’s anyone you need to worry about, it’s definitely not Thorax.”
The warriors hesitated, but lowered their defensive stance and stepped back, nonetheless.
Thorax blinked, unsure as to how to greet Ember in a meeting like this. Ember simply just smiled at him. He smiled back, but still looked nervous. Ember cocked her head at his behavior.
“Alright, I’m back,” Pharynx announced. A yellow changeling was standing next to him. He noticed Ember and her fellow dragons. “I guess we should get started then?”
Thorax frowned. “Please follow me.” He led the group to a tunnel that led underground. In the tunnel, several doors led to different rooms, presumably living quarters for the changelings. After turning a corner several yards forward, Thorax finally led them to a door with a sign that said, ‘Royal Quarters’.
One dragon warrior turned to Ember and leaned forward to whisper, “This might be a trap.”
Ember glared at him. “That’s ridiculous. Thorax wouldn’t trap us. Stop assuming the worst.”
Pharynx glanced at his brother after hearing this. Thorax didn’t seem phased, but a sigh was heard leaving his mouth. Pharynx furrowed his brow.
Thorax opened the door, which led to a large room with a desk in the back, as well as sofas and coffee tables in front.
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Thorax invited. “I have a feeling we might be here a while.”
Ember sat on one sofa, and, while Thorax started to join her, the two dragon warriors sat protectively on either side of the Dragon Lord. Thorax smiled politely and sat next to Pharynx instead, who patted his back in sympathy.
“S—so, I’m glad you could all make it … um, I suppose we should start now.” Thorax cleared his throat.
Twilight took sympathy on Thorax and started to take over. “As we all know, Ember and Thorax are now in a close relationship. All they want is peace between their kingdoms. But, as leaders, they know that there are complications. So, to start, let’s hear your concerns.”
The yellow changeling cleared her throat and pulled a small list from underneath her blue elytra. “The Hive has a listed a few that they wanted me to bring up.”
“Okay, well, go ahead,” Thorax said.
“Well, firstly, they find dragons to … um—” She paused, looking nervously at Ember. “—to … to be too … tough and angry.” She swallowed.
“That’s ridiculous!” The older dragon exclaimed. “You changelings are too soft! I could squish you like a bug!”
“Coal!” Ember hissed.
“Say that to my face, you ugly, reptilian piece of—!”
“Pharynx!” Thorax looked apologetically at the older dragon. “I’m so sorry, but we changelings prefer not to be … erm, insulted?”
“No one does,” Ember said. She glared at ‘Coal’. “And I would appreciate it if you left a good impression for the dragons.”
Coal sighed and crossed his arms. “Yes, Lord Ember.”
Meanwhile, the yellow changeling was shivering, trying not to cry. Fluttershy patted her back.
“They won’t hurt you. Just continue your list, and we’ll talk about it like civilized creatures,” she insisted. The changeling nodded.
“Okay … let’s see.” She glanced at her list again.
“Hold on,” Twilight paused, trying to remember the small changeling’s name. Trying to jog her memory, she thought of who Thorax told Pharynx to get for the meeting. “... Tarsi?”
“Erm, yes?”
“I don’t think we’ve quite finished discussing your last point.”
“Oh, okay.” Tarsi bit her lip, nervously.
“Dragon Lord Ember, do you have anything to say about Tarsi’s point?”
“Well …” Ember rested her head on her claws. “The dragons are a tough group. It’s in our nature. We didn’t consider relationships really necessary until recently. And even then, some of them refuse to cooperate.” Ember tilted her head toward Coal. “So, she’s not wrong, but most of us are trying to get better.”
“And that’s something changelings and dragons have in common, too,” Thorax said. “We used to be love-consuming drones of an evil queen. We’ve all grown so much since we changed our ways.”
“Yeah, you grew to be ugly, rainbow bugs,” Coal murmured. Ember glared at him, while Pharynx growled. Tarsi covered her face with her hooves, trying to keep herself calm.
Thorax smiled sheepishly. “I think we should move on.”
Fluttershy tapped Tarsi’s shoulder. She jumped, but calmed down once Fluttershy nodded to the list.
“Uh, the changelings are also worried that dragons are too destructive and could destroy the home we’ve worked hard trying to rebuild.” Tarsi tried to talk confidently, but her voice still shook.
“I assure you, the dragons won’t do that as long as you show no threat to us,” Ember said.
Thorax frowned at Pharynx. He sighed. “And yeah, I won’t pick fights with any dragons.” He frowned back at his younger brother. “Happy?” he whispered. Thorax nodded.
“Good! We’ve settled another issue—!” Twilight started to say.
“That doesn’t mean one dragon wouldn’t want to pick a fight with a changeling,” Coal said.
“You do that, and I’ll have you permanently grounded in the Dragon Lands,” Ember threatened. Coal looked down and grumbled.
“Oh … ‘kay. Uh, next issue!” Twilight nodded to Tarsi.
“Um, the changeli—.”
Suddenly, they heard a crash above them.
“What was that?” Thorax asked Pharynx.
Pharynx snarled. “Probably those nasty diamond dogs again.”
“What?” Twilight winced. “You have diamond dogs here?”
“Sadly, yeah.” Pharynx groaned as he hopped off the sofa, getting ready to leave the room. “They’ve been bothering us lately.”
“I guess we have to cut this meeting short,” Thorax said, his voice shaking in worry for his kingdom. Pharynx nodded and raced out of the room.
On the ground level, the Hive was in chaos. Changelings were trying to defend themselves from the angry diamond dogs. The mothers raced to the nursery to protect their nymphs. Husbands were hurrying to defend their mates. The soldiers were busy trying to defeat a few particularly large dogs.
“When did they get here?” Pharynx asked a soldier once he joined the fight. “And why wasn’t I informed?” He transformed into a giant bug creature and started biting a large diamond dog’s shoulder and neck.
“Sorry, sir, but it all happened so fast,” the soldier explained. “It was all calm, and then they just … attacked!”
Pharynx stopped biting and ground his teeth as he realized that his opponent’s hide was too thick. “I feel like you’re exaggerating.”
“No, really!” The soldier insisted. Pharynx ignored him as he tried to think of a new strategy.
“Okay, whatever.” Pharynx transformed into a tiger with sharper teeth. He tried his attempt again.
His eyebrows raised in acknowledgement when he noticed his brother join the fight. Thorax’s face screamed ‘angry’ as he growled lowly and transformed into a bear, only to start wrestling a dog out of the Hive.
The rest of the group joined the fight, as well. Twilight zapped some dogs, Ember joined Pharynx in his attack strategy, and the dragon warriors helped attack the smaller diamond dogs. Fluttershy and Tarsi helped protect the younger changelings. Meanwhile, Coal only stood in his place, unwilling to help.
“Pathetic,” he grumbled. His gaze fell on the yellow and blue changeling who had joined the meeting earlier.
Tarsi did her best to defend the younglings. Warning them to stay back, she transformed into a timberwolf and clawed at a rottweiler-like diamond dog, who merely winced at her attack before tackling her to the ground. She screamed to the children, “Run! Run to the nursery! Stay there until the fight is ov–!” Her cry was cut short when the diamond dog threw her at a large stone, forcing her into unconsciousness. The younglings gasped in fear and started to run toward the nursery. Fluttershy noticed and did her best to distract the diamond dogs from attacking or following them.
Coal scoffed before growling at a diamond dog who attempted to jump at him. He didn’t notice the diamond dogs sneaking behind him until they threw a large sack over his head. He growled and clawed at the sack. His attack failed. After a moment or two, the sack was opened again, and a small changeling was thrown in. Coal squinted his reptilian eyes, trying to make out the colors of the changeling. Yellow and blue. Tarsi.
Coal growled. There was no way he would be stuck in such a situation with a changeling. He set to work clawing at the bag yet again with no luck. What kind of material was this?
Tarsi moaned uncomfortably as she fidgeted. At that moment, a terrible thought crossed Coal’s mind. She was such a small creature. Ending her then would have been quick and easy. It would have struck fear in the hearts of the changelings, renewing the dragons’ reputation of fearsome and merciless creatures.
Coal furrowed his brows. No. This was not the time. He did not want to be stuck with a dead body as long as he was stuck in that sack. He would have to wait for a better moment.
He could not wait another moment to be thrown out of that sack.
Unfortunately, all the others seemed to have met this cruel fate, as well. Thorax and Pharynx tried saving a few, only to be thrown back by the larger diamond dogs. Thorax to one direction, Pharynx to the other.
Thorax hissed as he was forced roughly to the ground, scraping his shoulder. Ember gasped in worry. She roared at the guilty diamond dog and attacked it, clawing and biting at its tough hide. The diamond dog cried out in pain. Other diamond dogs rushed to defend their comrade, and one golden dog pressed his sharp nails into Ember’s back. Her eyes widened. Those claws must’ve had some sort of potion on them. Her eyesight was failing her.
“W––what’s … happen … ing … ?” she muttered as she collapsed.
Thorax eyes widened as he witnessed this. He started to limp toward her. “Ember! Ember, can you hear me? Ember, wake up!”
Thorax growled as he watched the diamond dogs shove the blue dragon in another sack. “No!” He started a weak gallop toward the dogs and tried to transform into a bear again. The golden dog pushed his comrades out of the way, jumped over Thorax, and shoved him into the sack as well.
Thorax transformed back into his original form and winced as his shoulder met the rough material of the sack. Opening his eyes, he saw Ember in a clearly uncomfortable position. Awkwardly trying to move her while not rubbing his shoulder against the sack, he managed to place her in a more comfortable position with her resting against his chest. Holding her close to him, he kissed her forehead, hoping this would be over soon.
Her lungs were burning from racing everywhere. The younger changelings were safe. She was glad of that. Fluttershy looked across the battlefield. The only person she could recognize amidst the chaos was Pharynx.
He was busy with two large dogs. Despite the warrior being so knowledgeable in things of combat and battle, he was clearly struggling at the paws of the two much larger, much stronger opponents.
Fluttershy gulped. She didn’t see anyone around to help him. That left it to her. She inhaled slowly before galloping toward him. She lifted herself into the air and braced herself as she punched one of the dogs hard in the nose.
The dog whimpered in pain and turned to the pegasus. After blinking once or twice, he laughed at her shaking knees as she wobbled from the impact.
“Hey, Braxton, it’s another pony!” he called to one of his comrades. The golden diamond dog with the potion-covered claws ran to the large dog, holding another sack, and turned to see Fluttershy.
“Is this one really necessary? I already have the princess bagged. I don’t think anoth—“
“Bag her, Braxton. This is one of her closest allies.” He leaned toward the golden dog. “I suggest you stop asking questions and follow orders like the good pup you are.”
Braxton smiled sheepishly. “Y-yes, sir.”
He started to walk toward the dazed pegasus, but was knocked down by the changeling general.
“Be more aware of your surroundings, kid,” Pharynx said with a smirk.
Braxton looked up as Pharynx attacked his larger superior. He saw the other large dog passed out farther away. The golden dog cursed himself before getting up to grab Fluttershy again.
The pegasus blinked as her head stopped pounding so much and her vision became clearer. Gasping as she recognized a golden dog in front of her she tried to run away, but Braxton hurried and grabbed her.
“I suggest you try and stop struggling. You really don’t want me to use my claws,” Braxton said as he held the pegasus down.
“I don’t want to be taken!” Fluttershy squealed. “Please, there’s no reason for this!”
“I wouldn’t want to be taken either, but this is my job.” Braxton sighed with annoyance.
“This one put up a fight.” Braxton heard his superior saying behind him. Holding Fluttershy down, he turned his head to see the larger dog holding a beaten Pharynx, who was still conscious but too weak to try anything.
“Pharynx …” Fluttershy murmured in sympathy. It was hard seeing him so weak, especially after seeing him in action.
Braxton hummed and let the larger diamond dog throw the general in the sack. With Fluttershy too stunned to struggle too much, Braxton threw her in with ease, as well.
“Let’s head out. We have what we need.”
Braxton nodded and picked up the sack, holding it over his shoulder. “Yes, sir.”
Author's Note
This was really hard to write for some reason. I'm not too used to action scenes (if it isn't obvious enough), and I really wanted to get through the meeting scene because I hate serious scenes that deal with kingdoms, royalty, and politics. 
Though I had some fun writing Pharynx's insults and snarkiness.
