Uphill to the Vertex, From Here

by -Chaotic Discord-

Rating: everyone
Tags: Thorax, Drama, Changelings, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 7143

He had resigned himself to stand before his queen, to learn of his place in the hive's latest invasion, but instead witnesses the fall of the queen's empire. Misplaced and frustrated, Vertex must now turn to his newly-crowned king for answers.

Torn from his laid-back life as an intel operative, Vertex had resigned himself to stand before his queen, to learn of the hive's latest invasion, and the role he would play in it. Instead, he returns to witness the collapse of Chrysalis's empire, along with what it meant to be a changeling. Misplaced and frustrated, Vertex must turn to the hive's new leader for answers, but he may receive more than a mere recollection for his troubles.

A direct continuation off the events of the season 6 finale.

* Featured 4/9/19!
* A commission for Vertex, my very first one ever! :rainbowkiss:
* Cover art & story art by the amazing 28GoodDays!
* Vertex the Changeling is (C) to Vertex & Golden Beam is (C) to Hywther!

Published 2019-04-07 21:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-04-07 21:10:01 UTC

Blueberry Bug To-Be Comes Home to Surprise Pastels and a Newly-Crowned Bugmoose

Darting along the forest floor, his eyes adjusted to the steady filters of light shining through the canopies, while fleeting blades of grass brushed against his underbelly. Though the shade of passing trees and patches of brush cloaked him from potentially prying eyes for now, he knew it wouldn't be long before he was left vulnerable once more. What predators or enemies could be plotting his demise amidst the shadows, he did not know, but it was their capacity for holding him up that terrified him the most.

Something far more imposing than any wild beast waited for him, and with each moment lost he walked a fine line between its contentment and wrath.

Vertex, you are needed back at the hive. You are to end your reconnaissance of 'Las Pegasus' effective immediately and return, where you will be given a new mission in the Equestrian city of Canterlot. Treat this as an S-class assignment. Return within two days from now, or never return at all. I trust I make myself clear.

Dodging a boulder among the grass thickets, Vertex pressed his legs to his carapace, as much an efficiency for aerodynamic propulsion as a nervous tell of his mounting anxiety. Even for a changeling like him, so often away from the hive, there was no failing a direct order from the queen. His reconnaissance expertise meant nothing at the end of a day where she saw him as expendable.

Through his fatigue, the dirt coating his chitin and the light scrapes scattered about his carapace, he pressed on. His eyes set on the horizon, Vertex bit his lip in a display of stress - the looming spire of his hive was still not within sight, and he was running out of time. His aching wings, his heavy eyelids, the fact he'd trade anything for a transportation spell - none of it mattered. He could be rushing towards nothing but his own demise, and that futility made his heart race.

Vertex, you don't have to go. If you don't believe in staging invasions, in making ponies suffer, then don't follow her.

His lip quivered, and Vertex's already impeded vision blurred in a fog of tears.

It's not that simple, Chrysalis is ruthless. She'll send changelings to find me, she'll destroy me if I don't show up. All changelings have to obey her. We have no other choice.

Branches raked across his carapace and dried leaves rolled off his face, but he paid them no mind. Blazing a path through the tree-line, he arched his trajectory down a steepened cliff face and came to see a familiar expanse of dead vegetation and sharp crags in the valley below. Frantically wiping the veil of water from his eyes, the changeling felt his heart twitch in anticipation. Crowned upon the horizon of this barren waste was a spire of rock, piercing the sky with a commanding presence.

He had made it, but the thought brought him no calm. His fate laid within those walls, and he was resolved in his decision to face it.

I'm sorry, but I'm going. I tried to hide from this, I tried to start something new here, but...I'm scared. You'd think I'd be used to the idea of living in hiding, but the idea of doing so for my whole life is horrifying. I'm going, and, I hope you'll still be here if I get back. You're my best friend, you know.

Despite his efforts, waterworks got the better of his vision once again.

Don't be ridiculous. When you get back, I'll still be here. I don't know if I can get it to them in time, but I'll send the princesses a message about the changeling queen's plans. Just promise me you'll stay safe. You're my best friend, too.

Exposed for all to see, Vertex fell to a lower altitude, stirring up light clouds of dust around him. The closer he drew to the looming hive, the more he found his wings resisting his will, their hiss slowing to a dull buzz.

"Believe me, I wish things were different, Golden Beam," he uttered, scanning the spiraling fortress for signs of changelings. "I just wish living in peace didn't feel so impossible."

The howling wind hugging his carapace seemed to pause, and all at once the world grew still. As the changeling peered again at the towering formation of rock, a blinding light stunned his gaze, as did a shockwave of air slam into his body, blasting him back like a discarded leaf. Letting out a shrill gasp, Vertex braced himself for impact, quickly finding his body tumbling along the dust-ridden ground.

He squinted, but the blinding light had already vanished. In its stead was a sight that caused the drone's heart to plummet - chunks of rock as big as maulwurfs fell by the hive's wayside, hitting the ground with a thunderclap and erupting dust like crashing waves. Tracing shocked eyes up the hive's exterior, Vertex found the hive's crown destroyed, a carved plateau where a jagged spike once sat.

"W-wha-"

The breath left him before he could fully form the thought. Slumping back to his four hooves, the young changeling fought back against his onset shock, his eyes now scanning the still dunes of dead trees around him, and around the base of the hive. There were no signs of life to be found, let alone signs of some invading army or massive predator, as his mind had begun to vividly paint for him. And so the changeling was left to the silence once more, left to stand alone in his bafflement.

Vertex swallowed the lump in his throat. He was a drone of the hive, after all. He had dragged his trembling body all the way here, so there was no turning back, now - be it Chrysalis's wrath or a threat to the entire hive, it was his duty to face it.

His aching wings vibrating, the changeling pulled himself from his anxieties and advanced to the very base of the hive, swiftly shrouded by its cool shade. The more he looked for signs of changelings the more he was met by an eerie calm. There was not a single drone to be found, not by the lower entrances, nor flying around the upper levels, and Vertex knew what that meant. Every available changeling had swarmed to the hive's head, converged on the throne room.

"Are they...are they all protecting Chrysalis?" he whispered in a rising panic. His heart threatened to break from his carapace, and in a similar fashion he found his left hoof taking refuge by his mouth. If that was case, what in Equestria were they protecting her from? Was it an infiltration? It couldn't be the Equestrian princesses, not in just two days - even if it were, surely they'd be rendered powerless by the dark stone.

Pressing himself against the rocky hide of his birth home, Vertex peered again far above his head, second guessing himself. There was definitely something here, something powerful enough to pop the top clear off the hive, despite its defenses. Worst of all, he would be expected to do something about it - him, the intel operative who hadn't even been home for years.

"...maybe if I keel over I can pretend I was the first one who got attacked."

A sudden voice, distant but shrill raced up the changeling's chitin, and Vertex's lackadaisy look stiffened in an instant. Recognizing it all too clearly he shrank back into the hive's shroud on pure reflex.

"There is no revenge you could ever conceive of that will come close to what I will exact upon you one day, Starlight Glimmer!"

A tense silence followed, a moment that seemed to last forever as beads of sweat dripped down the young drone's forehead in elongated slides. His compound eyes surveyed the empty expanse before him, as did his ears twitch in their search for the elusive voice, but it was only after Vertex emerged from his cover that something finally appeared. A dark figure darted through his peripheral, and it took all of his conscious effort not to shout. It was the lithe, almost skeletal form of Chrysalis, unmistakable by the mangled mane cradling her jagged horn.

Vertex winced, half expecting her shadow to impose over him. He clenched his eyes, sure that her cold orbs would paralyze him. His anxieties, however, were unfounded. As Vertex slowly opened his eyes, hiding his fragile form behind a makeshift barricade of hooves, he found the queen vanishing across the wastes, as if fleeing from something unseen. She hadn't noticed him at all.

"...is it a ruse?", the drone muttered to himself in wonder, fluttering out to the heated sand and checking for pursuers. When none came, he grew further perplexed. That couldn't really have been the queen, herself, could it?

"Alright, forget this," Vertex sighed, buzzing his wings and stealing himself. Though the possibility of danger had reached new heights, so had his curiosity. There was only one way to quench his thirst, now, and that was to scale the hive.

And so he rose, brushing the hive's walls with his feeble tail. The desert air stung his nostrils as he ascended, and his compound eyes clenched against the dust stirred by the recently fallen chunks of rock. Those distant spires steadily grew closer, and as they did so too did Vertex's resolve grow - whatever conflict laid atop the hive was serious enough to force the queen from her throne, and he would face it. He had to.

But that determination, fueled by thoughts of conflict quickly evaporated. As the changeling reached the pinnacle of his hive, an unexpected sound tickled his ears and stopped him dead in his tracks. His instincts seizing his body, Vertex shrunk himself against the shattered crown's edge, cloaking himself from view and staying perfectly still. The sound of his own beating heart had grown louder, but so had the sounds now echoing through his ears.

They were the sounds of changeling voices, voices lacking any tension or alarm, and certainly lacking any semblance of remorse. In fact, the longer the drone listened, the more the voices seemed to reverberate with excitement, a genuine glee. That glee cascaded into a round of joyous laughter, an unmistakable rhythm that sent a tingle up Vertex's carapace.

"Am I dreaming?", he muttered aloud, all logic eluding him. Unable to comprehend the situation, Vertex twisted his shaking body around instead, slowly making his way towards a gap in the crown's jagged wall. Moving with the presence of a mouse he crept, only stopping on reflex upon loud outbursts from the crowd within.

"Wait, so why do you have antlers, Thorax? Are those supposed to be your crown, or something?"

"Yeah, and how come my color scheme perfectly matches yours, yet I don't get antlers? How is that fair?"

Vertex paused, a shuttering blink reflecting a sudden thought. 'Thorax'...where had he heard that name, before?

"Uh, honestly you guys, I'm just as confused as you are. I guess the antlers mean I'm supposed to help look after the hive, now, or, at least that's what Princess Celestia seemed to interpret."

At the mercy of his own racing thoughts, Vertex placed a nervous hoof to his mouth. What in Equestria was going on?

"Well I'd sure hope that's the case, we kinda need someling to look after the hive now, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah, Thorax, you and your friends did kinda just usurp the reigning queen going on a few hundred years. Don't get me wrong, it was epic, but it does beg the question of who's gonna lead the hive, now."

A stone dropped into the pit of Vertex's stomach, connections at last firing off in his mind. Cold sweat freely dripping off his chitin, the changeling maneuvered himself yet again, venturing even further to the crater's edge. It was there, peeking his inquiring eyes over the hive's blown open peak that Vertex let out a soft gasp.

The throne room was unrecognizable. Chrysalis's dark throne, her cluster of cocoon prisons hanging over it - everything had been reduced to rubble. The afternoon sun warmed the hive's floor for the first time in perhaps centuries, but it wasn't the illuminated stone that brought Vertex to the brink of crying out. The open room was filled with changelings, every available adult in the hive, from the looks. Each one reflected vibrant, patterned spectrums of the rainbow, and they stood together in a stunning display. Gone were the holes that adorned their bodies - now full and complete, many changelings sat on their haunches, excitedly rubbing up and down their carapace to experience this fact.

Each and every drone stood out in a varied color, entirely unique from each changeling next to them. Their webbed fins were gone too, replaced by brilliant white jewels christening nearly every changeling's neck. Most of all, the looks of apathy, despondence and anger had melted, formed again as contended smiles and beaming grins.

"I-I don't understand, I-"

A wave of thought overcame Vertex, an overpowering current manifesting as bodily shakes and a loss of breath. He gripped the warm stone beneath his hooves tightly and observed what remained of his hive, now something completely alien to him. What had he missed? What had happened to make them all this way, and why would all of them betray Chrysalis so suddenly? Had there been a rebellion, and if so, was Thorax the catalyst? How had they defeated her, in the first place? Surely not every changeling rebelled simultaneously...

"...um, who is that?"

"I don't recognize them, and they haven't changed, yet. Maybe they just got back?"

"Uh oh, I wonder where they were stationed. This might not end well."

Lost in his own head, Vertex failed to notice he had not re-concealed himself, this time. He failed to notice the curious sets of eyes now staring at him from across the room.

"I," Vertex began, pausing as his frantic eyes became trapped by those of the curious changelings. "I'm a, I mean, my name is Vertex. I was stationed in Las Pegasus two summers ago, as an intel operative. Chrysalis called me back to the hive for something important, but...I just saw her. She was fleeing from the hive."

Invested looks all around the opened cavern winced in an onset, entirely awkward pause. Numerous changelings looked away, while others began to rub at the dirt beneath their hooves, pretending to distract themselves. Though he scanned the room, he failed to capture any changeling's gaze, and so Vertex found his bafflement quickly simmering to ire.

"You know, I don't get it, what in the name of the Hive happened, here?", the changeling challenged, resolving himself to rise from his hiding place and stand upon the collapsed throne room wall. "Nobody in here even looks like a changeling, anymore. Are you, are you all transformed?"

Nothing but meek head shakes came in response, seeded among the observing crowd. Vertex scoffed.

"If you're not transformed then why does everyling look so, so ridiculous? Is this why Chrysalis fled? She didn't look all pastel-y. And that's another thing, can someone explain to me why the entire hive just ousted the queen? Did we wake up this morning and decide we were gonna throw out the book and try something new, or what?"

Leaping from his perch Vertex fell like a guided stone, landing in a vacant portion of the room with a muffled thud. Surprised drones backed away with nervously lifted hooves as the distraught changeling peered around with a newfound scowl, his exasperation having reached a boiling point. "Come on, go ahead, you guys, I'm all ears! Why does it look like the entire changeling empire just collapsed? How is it okay for me to have spent two days hauling my butt through dangerous lands and enemy territory, just to come home to this? How am I even supposed to be okay with whatever the buck is going on!?"

His voice traveled the remaining walls like thunder, shuttering ears left and right. Mixtures of concern and apprehension, even glimmers of fright filled their eyes, and so changelings continued to back away, isolating the rogue drone in the center of the room. The longer Vertex pressed his gaze upon his estranged hive-mates, the more he found his muscles relaxing, his erratic thoughts settling upon a sobering realization. It wasn't just appearance that had changed, there was a shift in the changelings' entire disposition.

"...not a single comeback," he muttered, so quietly that many changelings perked their ears again in an attempt to catch it. "Not one of you even scowled at me. I just...you know, I may have been away for a few years, but I know when things aren't right. No one is even acting like themselves, anymore."

An afternoon breeze rushed through the room and embraced each shelled body. When it reached Vertex, the changeling sank to his flank, the last of his will escaping with the wind. He had accomplished what he had sought to find, and now two days of exertion and mind-numbing stress had caught up with him. With little more than fleeting glances, he noted the fall of alarmed hooves around the room, and a large shape now emerging from the crowd. It advanced towards him steadily, and heads turned to watch it as it did.

"...it may not mean much, now, but I want you to know that I'm so sorry this is happening so suddenly, for you. It was Vertex, right?"

The coal-colored drone raised his head. Standing mere feet away was an abnormally tall changeling adorned with rigid antlers. Rose-tinted eyes beamed from a face etched with concern, and Vertex found himself entranced, unable to look away. Upon noticing his rapt attention, the large changeling adopted a meek smile and extended his hoof.

"My name is Thorax. I think we may have more in common than you might think."

Vertex studied the gesture with a scrutinizing glare. "Your name sounds familiar, but I can't place it."

Brushing off the rejection, Thorax rubbed the back of his head with his hoof instead, wearing a sheepish little smile. "Well, believe it or not I just returned to the hive today, myself. I've been away for quite some time...I didn't fit in with our kind, so I left the hive. I wanted to discover friendship elsewhere in Equestria, since I couldn't find it, here."

His eyes flickered, and cracks took root in the skeptical changeling's walls. "Hold on, 'Thorax'...yeah, I remember that name, now. Chrysalis contacted all the intel operatives away from the hive not too long ago. I thought she wanted updates on our progress, but it was just a PSA announcement about some 'traitorous changeling who fled the hive'. She said that if anyone were to find anything out about him we were free to abandon our mission and track down that changeling."

With each new sentence Thorax found himself wincing further, until he eventually sported an outright grimace.

"That must have been you, but," Vertex continued, giving the changeling a scrutinizing sweep, "why do you look like this, now? Why did you even come back in the first place?"

Thorax tilted his head in an effort to gather his thoughts, to explain the chain of events that had just transpired. Before he could roll it off his tongue, however, the crowd of drones did so, instead.

"Thorax is apparently our king, now," came the ever-so-slightly condescending tone of an aqua drone.

"It was amazing, he shared love with Chrysalis freely, and then transformed," a peppy changeling said from elsewhere in the crowd. "I didn't even know we could share love like that, I was always taught to cling to whatever love we could get."

"We all were," a third, solemn voice added. "And judging by how quick she was to flee, I'm guessing Chrysalis would have preferred it to stay that way."

"I'll be honest, Vertex, I wasn't planning on ever coming back, at first," Thorax admitted, catching the drone's wavering attention. "I returned to help my friends, and because I knew it was the right thing to do, even if I really didn't want to. We confronted Chrysalis, and miraculously I was able to show everyling what I learned while I was away from the hive. Changelings don't have to starve all the time - we have the choice to share love, rather than take it from other creatures. The best part is we can do this with each other, meaning we don't have to hunt and gather to survive, anymore."

Thorax's lofty gaze turned skyward, and the alpha changeling beamed at the blanketing blue expanse.

"Back when I first left the hive, I harbored an idea - a dream, really - to one day bring the idea of friendship to our hive. I wanted to one day show everyling that there were ways to live outside what Chrysalis told us. Truth be told, when I discovered friendship, I didn't really believe in myself to do that, and I started to build a life away from the hive. But thanks to my friends and all their efforts, I guess I was able to recognize that dream, after all. I'm sorry you missed everything that happened, Vertex, but I want you to know that you're more than welcome to stay with us, if you'd like."

All eyes turned to Vertex for response, but the rogue changeling lightly shook his head, pressing a hoof to his temple.

"I just...this is still unbelievable, you know. I mean, you're unbelievable," Vertex stuttered, gripping his bottom lip with his teeth and holding the taller changeling captive with eyes best left alone. "Are you really gonna stand there and tell me our entire way of life changed, that some deserter changeling came back and became king, and expect me to just accept that? Chrysalis told me not two days ago that an invasion was in the late planning stage, so how did we-how did you overthrow her in a-is this, is this even a coup? I don't even know what to call this!"

Alone in a voiceless room of peering eyes, Vertex slumped himself against a boulder, clenching his eyes to block the light contributing to his headache. Though the haze in his head prickled his words, a weight sat in his chest, something that caused him to again meet the eyes of the changeling watching him with such concern.

"...look, I'm sorry, I just...I need time to process this," Vertex muttered, gruffly sniffing his way through his words. "I'll say it again, I just spent two days flying through enemy territory, camping out in the wild and avoiding detection by all kinds of scary stuff...just to get all this dumped on me? No way, I need a nap and I need something to eat, not this."

Thorax's concerned air evaporated, replaced by the brightest grin he'd held all day. The alpha changeling darted a look to his surrounding drones, who mirrored his gaze, and he moved a few steps closer to the withdrawn drone.

"Vertex, do you mind if I show you something?"

Vertex turned his head and sighed. "You mean there's more? You did just hear me, right?"

"I know you're overwhelmed right now, but if you're willing to give it a chance, I think I can help you with that."

"How can you possibly help?"

Thorax's smile did not waiver. "You said you were tired and hungry, right? I can help with that, but I need you to trust me."

Vertex reaffixed his gaze, his mouth opening slightly just at the mention of food. "...how?"

"Will you let me show you?"

Again Vertex found himself lost in those magenta orbs. It was an aura entirely alien to him, and one nearly polar from Chrysalis - it was warm and calm, and Vertex found himself getting to his hooves in the face of it. Even at full stature he was barely the height of Thorax's neck, but he wasn't the least bit intimidated. He hadn't known the changeling more than a few minutes, but his tranquil demeanor needed no introduction.

"Do you remember a moment ago, how I said we don't need to hunt and gather, anymore?", Thorax asked.

"I...guess? I didn't really understand what you meant."

Thorax beamed. "What I meant was, sharing love is what helped us transform, so sharing love is how we'll sustain ourselves. I mean, we haven't really had time to practice or test anything yet, of course, but I know we can be self-sufficient now by sharing our love with one another, instead of looking for it elsewhere."

Vertex's snout twitched as his chin was held by a gentle hoof. Overcome by a childlike curiosity, he continued to watch the deer-esque changeling closely, hanging upon his every word.

"After I left the hive I found my way to the Crystal Empire, desperately looking to sustain myself. I wanted to make my first friend, and see if I could live comfortably off our friendship without having to feed on their emotions. Miraculously, I did make a friend, and he helped the rest of the empire accept me for who I wanted to be - a changeling who just wanted to co-exist."

His ears flicked, and Vertex focused his gaze.

"Not only did I lose the need to constantly feed, but while staying there I learned a lot about love magic, and its properties. The empire's ruler, Princess Cadance, is actually the Equestrian princess of love."

Thorax buzzed his prismatic wings, capturing the light and reflecting it upon the stone beneath their hooves. He did so with a goofy smile, one which Vertex nearly caught himself emulating.

"You keep talking about 'sharing love', but I already have friends too, you know," Vertex said, pulling his chin from the deer changeling's grasp. "Well, one friend, anyway. So why haven't I spontaneously transformed too then, if you're such an expert? I'm pretty close with him."

Though the coal drone bore into him with challenging eyes, depths of pride hid behind Thorax's reserved smile. "That's great, Vertex, really, it is. I wish I had more answers for you, but sadly I don't. During my time in the empire I learned that love magic is a mutual experience, something that, unlike regular magic, can only be created between two creatures who are receptive to that same emotion. I don't understand the specifics behind our transformation or how it works yet, but if I were to make a guess, maybe your magic just needs to be shown how to share love before it can do so, itself."

Giving a light scoff, Vertex kicked a pebble between the archway of Thorax's legs. Flopping upon his flank, he sighed and gave his newfound king a solemn look, before casting it abroad. "...if anyone here is worried about me rejecting this fairy-bug thing and freaking out, don't be. I'm really frazzled and all, but at the end of the day, I didn't even want to be here. I didn't want to come and face Chrysalis, I didn't want to be involved in some grand scale invasion of some city, and I really didn't want to try asking Chrysalis if I could remain in my hom-... 'post', indefinitely."

Fatigued and stretched thin across an array of thoughts he never asked for, Vertex bit his lip as a sting came to the corners of his bright blue eyes. As the coal drone gave a light sniff, cautious, curious looks around the room relaxed in an instant, and empathetic hooves placed themselves to their corresponding muzzles.

"Honestly, the idea of just living in peace is all I ever wanted, too," Vertex muttered. "I always minded my own business, and I don't like to fight, so I was placed in Las Pegasus on long-term recon. I think Chrysalis was just trying to get rid of me, you know, maybe get some information out of me if she was lucky. But I really came to enjoy it there. There's so much more to ponies - to Equestria - than any of us realize. I made my first friend, too, and he was kind enough to willingly let me feed off of his love. I got an apartment - which is like a really big sleeping burrow - with him, and I actually started to build a life, there. It was simple, but it was mine, and it was...nice."

Sunken in posture, Vertex failed to notice the tightening circle of changelings around him. Salted tears stained the stone, and fallen down the rabbit hole as he was, they would only fall faster and faster. Sniffs had evolved to short hiccups and the occasional brush of his snout, and his tail meekly wrapped about his hooves.

"I-I was scared that she might take me away from all of that," he admitted to the room. "I was scared she might do something worse. I felt like I-I had...escaped from a nightmare and found something of my own, something that defined me and brought me real happiness, only to be dragged back again. It wasn't fair, and it-"

A firm hoof found its way around his head, and Vertex froze, his anxieties arrested. In a moment Thorax had moved to the distraught drone, holding him with the sincerest look Vertex had ever seen, something paternal. Before he could utter a word, the coal changeling found himself lifted by a display of magic, placed properly upon his hooves once again.

"Come on, you said you wanted to rest, didn't you?" the alpha changeling said calmly. "If you're trying to relax, getting worked up is the last thing that'll help."

Vertex let out a short gasp, a layer of sweat responding to a surge of heat taking his body by surprise. A held hoof had become an embrace, and Vertex felt his voice catch in his throat. The encircling expressions of observing changelings warmed along with his body, and all at once, he could feel his strength returning to him. The weight upon his eyelids, the ache in his muscles and the cloud of fog filling his mind all seemed to slowly sink away like a circling drain.

"T-Thorax, what...what is this?"

Holding the estranged changeling tightly between his hooves, Thorax beamed brightly, content as could be. His voice as soft as silk, he laid his chin upon the drone's shoulder. "I want you to know that you don't need to worry about her anymore, Vertex. And I want you to know that you don't have to worry about leaving your friend or your home, either. In fact, I'm really proud of you for having the courage to find those things for yourself. I may have helped our hive find a better way, but it sounds like you found that better way even before I did."

Warmth continued to spring forth from Thorax's aura, an abundance of love magic the coal drone had never seen, before. To breathe in was to taste it, to close his eyes, feel it. Though more nourishment than he could possibly consume, Vertex lifted a timid hoof, and, lowering his guard at last, returned the alpha changeling's hug. Fully embraced by the king's love, two days of struggle and fatigue evaporated in an instant, leaving the drone with a content sigh, and full smile.

"I'm not just full, I feel like, like I just got a good night's sleep," Vertex muttered, parallel to the king's neck.

"Love has been inside us all along," Thorax replied simply, laying his chin upon the drone's head and resting a foreleg along his back. "Chrysalis didn't want us to see that, but I think it was meant to be. There's more to us than predatory instincts and hunger...the fact our bodies seem to rejuvenate from sharing love is proof of that."

Tears fell from his eyes, but this time they were a welcome sting. Fully relaxed in his king's embrace, Vertex pressed his snout into lime green chitin, clouding it with his breath and tracing his nearly closed eyes along the changeling's brilliant gossamer wings. "I've never wanted anything but to live in peace, but, I started to give up hope on that. Even when I saw all of you, saw Chrysalis fleeing the hive, I was too scared to hope for the best. But now, I...I'm just so happy. Don't get me wrong, this is all still strange to me, but if it means we can all just live our lives, just be ourselves, then I'm all for it! I don't think I'll ever stop saying it, Thorax...you're unbelievable."

A blinding light filled the room, a localized supernova that took every drone by surprise. A harmony of gasps accompanied Vertex's own as the changeling was lifted high into the air, out from Thorax's grasp and cradled in a magic of his body's own creation. Frantically squirming every which way on an invisible axis, the coal drone was concealed by constricting coils of light, soon engulfed in a vibrant cocoon. All eyes watched, mouths sat open in awe at the exciting spectacle, all but Thorax, who stood below the cocoon with a calm smile.

"I don't know, Vertex, I think you're pretty unbelievable, yourself."

Parting like curtains, the shell of light faded into thin air, revealing Las Pegasus's resident changeling for all to see. A stunning shade of blue painted the drone's body, darkened to a deep navy below his neck. A shimmering red carapace matched his eyes, which reflected a shock felt by the whole room, now filled with adoring gasps. Before he could even look himself over properly, Vertex was mobbed by his peers, a mobile wall of ecstatic changelings.

"Oh my gosh, your colors are so unique!"

"Yeah, you look really cool, no one else has those colors, yet!"

"How come none of us get to have cool blue colors, Thorax?"

Chuckling to himself lightly, Thorax modestly parted the crowd with his pace, meeting the newly-reborn changeling with a welcoming grin. "It looks like you figured out how to transform, Vertex. Maybe returning to the hive was all you needed, after all."

Vertex spun about, contorting his neck and body every which way, relishing in both the attention and the new paint job. He lifted his hoof, a now solid leg, and stretched out his wings with a grin, a red frame with gossamer interior. He turned to Thorax, but no words were needed. The glee coming off the changeling was a sweet scent, indeed.

"T-this is, this is just, I-", Vertex stuttered, gently rubbing a hoof along the crimson gemstones decorating his neck. "Thorax, I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, especially not to me," Thorax chuckled again, affectionately resting a hoof on the changeling's head. "I didn't do anything, Vertex, you did. You had the courage to come back here, to face your fears even though you didn't want to, and this time, it paid off for you. I hate to imagine what'd have happened if you hadn't come home."

Showing his pearly whites for the first time all day, Vertex rotated his head around the offered hoof. "Well, it's about mid-day, so this time I'd be awkwardly asking my roommate if I can feed off of him for dinner. Not a ritual I relish."

The room chuckled appropriately, and Thorax withdrew his leg, giving a few nods. When next he spoke, he had captured those crimson eyes. "I'm sure your friend will be happy to hear that you're a little more self-sufficient, now. And, I know your place isn't here, but promise me you won't be a stranger, okay? I never met another changeling who wanted something different when I was in the hive, I wish I'd known you a long time ago."

Thorax paused. His antlers pivoted with his attention, and the bugmoose turned back with a sheepish smile.

"Also, I kinda want to keep tabs on everyling now and again, you know? I wouldn't feel like a very good leader if I didn't check in once in a while to make sure you were doing okay."

"Aww, all hail Thorax, our newfound dadking!"

A white noise of chittering erupted, and Thorax hid his blushing cheeks from the crowd at his back. "Please just pop in once in a while, okay? Or, you could write letters, if that's easier. You know, if it's not too much of a bother."

All the while, Vertex found himself entranced, a lofty expression carrying on for over a minute. Never had he imagined the hive's ruler asking to take part in his life, to offer to check up on him. It was absurd, but it brought him a smile all the same.

"Of course I'll keep in touch," Vertex announced, loud enough for his peers to hear. "I could keep everyling up to date on my music, actually, if you guys would be interested! I play guitar, and, I'm still practicing but I'd love to start doing shows for ponies, so..."

He trailed off, scanning the room for signs of lost interest or side conversations, but only patient eyes gazed back, a crowd at full attention. The blueberry changeling's grin found newfound light, and he gave a little leap in excitement.

"So, maybe I could come back and do a show for everyling, sometime! That way I can see everyling again, and Thorax can feel like he's being a good dadking."

Thorax's eyes widened, and to his chittering crowd, Vertex stuck out a sly tongue.

"Besides, I wanna hear about how things are going here, too," the drone offered, pressing a hoof to his alpha's side, and fishing for a smile with his own. "I didn't know you before, Thorax, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, now. You know, if being friends with your subjects is the sort of thing you're going for, anyway."

To this, Thorax placed a hoof to his chest, pressing against the decorative crystals that gleamed, there. His content smile melted, replaced by a quivering lip and watering eyes. Before the taken aback drone could escape his reach, Thorax seized him again, effortlessly lifting the blue bug half a foot off the ground with his loving embrace.

"It absolutely is," the alpha changeling said softly. "All I ever wanted was to make friends, and for the first time I feel like I can make friends with everyling. We'd love to have you perform here, Vertex, and I'll be looking forward to you visiting."

Wiggling his lower hooves to no avail, Vertex sighed and rolled his eyes skyward, avoiding the snickering he knew ran rampant below. Accepting that he was little more than a plush toy, now, the blue drone coughed vehemently, attempting, but failing to grab Thorax's attention.

"Uh, Thorax? Other changelings are starting to stare. Can you just, maybe put me down? Hug me in a way that doesn't make me look so goofy and nymph-like? Or...okay, or you can just keep...hugging me. Okay, yeah no, sure, this is fine."

"Hurry that blueberry behind, there's groceries to be bought and I have hermiting to do! You know, not spending the whole day around other ponies at the market?"

Rolling his eyes to himself, Vertex ascended his apartment steps with a noticeable haste. Pressing his hoof against his bedroom door, he trotted inside, making for an unassuming desk by his bednest, and an unfinished letter that laid upon it.

Pressed for time, Vertex quickly scanned over his work, his horn igniting to raise a quill at the ready. Neither the pegasi carriers, nor his roommate would put up with delay for very long.

Dear King Thorax,

I'm only being formal because this is a letter I'm having the Las Pegasus pegasi carriers deliver...was half tempted to write 'Yo, Dadking, what up?'

Things are going really well over here in Las Pegasus! My roommate helped me find some new venues to play at, so I'm going to go on tour in a few weeks! Also, because I know you'll ask, that means I've been invited to a few different towns in order to play my music for ponies. I'm trying to go to other kingdoms too but it's taking a bit more effort to get their interest. Think I'll stick with central Equestria for now.

What's going on with the hive? How's your brother doing? I know you mentioned he's been acting kinda petulant and moody lately, but that just describes Pharynx in general, so I dunno what to tell you. Here's an idea, though, tell him you'll start yelling really loud and not stop until everyone starts staring at you guys, that's how I get my roommate to listen to me.

Oh, also, let me know what time of the month would be good for me to come by the hive for a show! You didn't respond about it in my last letter, dadking, geez. How am I supposed to visit the hive, rock a show and tolerate you crushing my carapace with hugs if you won't respond?

Anyway, that's all for now, Golden Beam is getting testy about going to get groceries for the week, together. Between you and me I think his anti-social behavior rivals your brothers'.

"You know, this 'New Roommate Wanted' poster I just wrote up is looking really great, actually. Big bold letters at the top, 'doesn't take three Luna Cycles to come downstairs'. Think that's too off-putting for potential candidates?"

Vertex let out a bemused scoff, darting an eye towards the open doorway, before taking his quill to paper.

Joking aside, I'm really glad to be pen pals with you, Thorax, and not just because I get to brag about how the hive's leader personally keeps in touch with me. Okay, maybe not joking aside. Point is, I'm happy with the way things are, now - the way everything is, now. It might sound weird to say, but I think you can relate more than anyling else when I say this.

I've never been happier to be a changeling.

Author's Note

A commission for my buggo friend, Vertex. :twilightsmile: He wanted a story of his OC, Vertex, going through his metamorphosis. I said absolutely, on the condition that there's cute moments with Thorax. :pinkiehappy:

Thanks so much to 28GoodDays for the story artworks (also commissioned by Vertex)! First time writing a story with built-in pictures since a high school assignment, gotta say it's very fun. :twistnerd: