The Negotiation

Far beyond Equestria’s usual reaches, and out of reach from the nation’s most remote train-stations, it was unlikely that any ponies who reached the borders of the Changeling Kingdom would’ve been able to return unscathed. While the rule of Queen Chrysalis may have been swept aside to make away for the Kingdom’s new ruler, it was obvious from the environment that Equestria’s outreach towards the reformed Changelings might take some more time. Out in the distance among the barren hillscapes and treacherous-looking canyons, the former Hive of Queen Chrysalis stood out like a menacing reminder of its cruel past. The “castle” itself looked like a crudely-sculpted imitation of a building, which happened to be made of a material more reminiscent to an abandoned wasps’ nest. Even though the skies above were relatively clear and pristine, it seemed that the vegetation hadn’t quite reached the region around the Hive due to how long it remained outside its magic-inhibiting state.

In fact, the line bordering Equestria and the Changeling Kingdom was still evident from the thick line of grass that stopped right at the murky sands lining the Changeling grounds. Spike, whose bare feet remained within the Equestrian side of the line for a brief moment, had to take a breath in preparation before he stepped over it. Fortunately, King Thorax was standing at wait at the Changeling Kingdom’s side, mostly to ensure Spike wouldn’t be ambushed as soon as he entered. When the little drake finally entered the foreign nation on his own, with nothing but a heavy backpack to hold all of his supplies, Thorax kept a warm and welcoming smile as he greeted him.

“Hey there, Spike!” chirped Thorax with an exceptionally pleased tone, almost as if he was slightly surprised that Spike came out all this way without any trouble. But alas, the newly-appointed King wasn’t one to keep his friend waiting; as soon as Spike came up to him with a smile of his own, the two shared a long and hefty hug to make up for lost time. Thorax then motioned towards his back so the little dragon could hop on. “Ummm… Honestly, it might be best if we flew back to the Hive,” he added in a friendly tone, even though it was clear Thorax seemed worried due to his skewed expression. “Ever since my brother returned from duty, he and his ground-troops have been a bit… overzealous with catching anyone they considered to be ‘intruders’...”

Spike recalled the letter that Thorax had sent him a few days prior, and nodded with pursed lips as he accepted his friend’s request. “Ummm… Sure, thanks,” he replied before hopping on top of Thorax’s back, thankful that he had enough experience from Twilight to know how to properly hold on to a winged creature. When Thorax shot up into the air to fly back towards the Hive, Spike tried to look around to get an aerial view of the newly-freed nation. Unfortunately, the sight looked just as dismal from the skies as it did at ground-level. After a brief grimace to himself, Spike tried to turn his attention back to Thorax while catching up. “So! Uhhh… Did you happen to get that care package from Shining Armor and Cadance yet?”

“Actually, I did!” said Thorax with a thankful nod of his head. “I gotta say, those Crystal-Berry seeds were an excellent gift from them! All we have to do is move our gardening setups out of the subterranean caverns, and we’ll be sure to revitalize our lands with some pristine crops before farming season!~”

“That’s great to hear!” Spike was happy for Thorax, but he tried not to wince as he glanced back down at the barren grounds below. From what he could see, the drake was unable to fathom how any of that space could be used for farming. However, Spike couldn’t show any apprehensions to Thorax’s ideas when he knew he had tons of huge plans in the works. As soon as Chrysalis was defeated, Thorax spent countless nights working on the best solutions to fix his nation alongside Spike and Twilight. So because of that, the dragon kept himself hopeful as he decided to say, “Just so you know, I think Shining was planning to just gift you a bottle of wine. But I… kinda convinced him to send something more appropriate for your plans.”

“Wait, really?” Thorax asked while flying, and turned his head back to smile gratefully at Spike. “That’s really thoughtful of you!~” After leaning his head back to give the drake a small nuzzle (as well as cause Spike to giggle with a blush at that gesture), the King turned his sights back to the Hive ahead of them. As they drew in closer, Thorax couldn’t help letting out a brief huff before asking with a smirk, “So, ummm… when you say you convinced Shining Armor to send those seeds… was that the same method of ‘convincing’ you used to get me to befriend you?~”

Spike sighed and rolled his eyes, trying his hardest not to smirk at the Changeling’s knowing statement. Even though he was happy that Thorax wasn’t too frazzled with his work to make a quip like that, Spike wasn’t completely amused by that implication. “Seriously, dude?” asked the dragon as he crossed his pudgy arms while seated on top of Thorax’s back. “You are aware that Shining is basically my brother, right?”

Thorax didn’t seem to deterred by that point, and caught Spike by surprise when he looked back at him to ask, “So?~ You’re telling me you’d do those things with me, but you haven’t even thought about doing them with someone like Shining?”

Spike kept his mouth tightly shut as he looked away from Thorax’s piqued stare momentarily. Even though he knew that the Changeling had a fair point, it wasn’t long before the drake sighed and gave a firmer response. “Well… Okay yeah, Shining definitely is hot by all definitions. I won’t argue with that. But at the same time, I’d rather not think about sucking off a guy who changed my diapers when I was still a hatchling.”

Of all the answers Spike could’ve given to counteract Thorax’s questions, that was definitely one of the most effective. The Changeling instantly cringed before looking away from Spike, and nodding his head in understanding. “Uhhh… Okay, yeah,” he admitted with an uneasy shrug of his head. “Point taken, Spike. I… I’ll be sure to avoid changing into his form in the future.”

“Okay, thanks,” Spike said with a more thankful smile and a nod of his own. He then decided to add with a familiarly sly-looking perk of his brows, “I mean… if we’re able to have some fun after all this, I’d like to see what other forms you can take~”

Even though Thorax gave a knowing chuckle while glancing back at him, he also made sure to say after a quick breath, “Well, let’s not get too antsy now. We still have a lot of work I need your help with.”

Given the reason for Thorax’s letters to him in the first place, Spike didn’t need any further prompting to turn serious in an instant. Despite how much he enjoyed his… companionship with the Changeling after they first met in the Frozen North, Spike knew better than to get too friendly when Thorax was literally overseeing an entire nation on his own. The drake may have not had the same political expertise as Twilight Sparkle, but he wasn’t one to decline such a tall order to assist someone he considered to be a good friend.

After the two landed at the head doors of the Hive, Thorax helped Spike off of his back before he said, “Now just so you know, the Changelings are aware of who you are, and errrr… how you may be known in some Equestrian circles.”

Spike grew a rather cheeky grin upon hearing that detail, but any reply he could’ve made would’ve been interrupted as Thorax added sternly, “BUT! Considering how tricky it was to get Twilight to agree to let you come down here alone, I really can’t have you doing anything to distract us from my plans. So until everything gets strengthened out, you have to keep your focus on the matters at hoof -- and that means no sex until I say otherwise.”

“What!?” Spike griped like a kid who was just told he couldn’t have ice cream after dinner. Even though he knew better than to question Thorax’s rulings as King, he still huffed with an obvious scowl up at him. “Oh, come on!” he said while crossing his arms tightly across his chest. “I can’t even help you out a little?~”

That attempt of coercion may have been fairly weak by Spike’s standards, but it seemed to be enough to make Thorax pause briefly. But despite how tempting that offer may have been (especially after experiencing Spike’s talents multiple times before he became King), the Changeling’s blush quickly went away after a quick shake of his head. “Nnnnghh~ N-NO, Spike! I’m already in enough hot water as it is because of these conflicts! The last thing I need is to be distracted by my friend going off to… t-to prostitute himself!”

Spike grew a deeply offended look as he gawked at Thorax in shock. Before the Changeling could wince and try to apologize, Spike put his claws at the sides of his hips and said, “Dude! I am NOT a prostitute! Prostitutes take payment for their work! I DON’T, which makes me a Slut! There’s a big difference there, Thorax!”

“Yes, I know, I know!” Thorax groaned as he waved his hoof apologetically in Spike’s direction, but kept his sights pointed away from the dragon’s pissed expression. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that, okay? But that doesn’t change the fact that I need you to put your negotiation skills to use right now! Not your… other skills.”

Despite feeling offended by Thorax’s accidental mis-labeling of his craft, Spike was able to sigh in acceptance of the Changeling’s secondary reply. While part of him wanted to argue about the semantics of his “skills,” the dragon decided to just leave it be so Thorax wouldn’t remain so tense. So instead, Spike just breathed out before he said, “Well… alright, I can do that. But if we’re being honest here, I don’t think I can get all the Changelings on better terms through a song again.”

“Hey, it kept Shining Armor from having me killed,” replied Thorax as he shrugged confidently back at the dragon, “so I can’t say it’s that ineffective. Not to mention, it really showed how gutsy you can be to protect your friends.”

Even though he knew Thorax was trying to make him feel better, Spike couldn‘t help wincing a little as he and his friend entered the Hive. After Thorax opened the massive doors to step inside first, Spike’s recollection of what he had to do in the Crystal Empire prompted him to speak up while following the King. “Yeah… Honestly, I really wish I stood up for you sooner.”

“Hey, don’t be going on about that again,” remarked Thorax with a playful scoff, before he turned to look back at him with a sincere smile. “I already forgave you after the first time you apologized. Besides, it’s not like I don’t understand feeling intimidated by an older brother. That’s the whole reason I needed your help for this, after all...”

With that, Thorax sighed himself before looking back ahead of them, and treading deep into the cavernous entrance. Even though there were several ornate lanterns that were hung along the stalagmites above them, Spike had to squint his eyes as he saw just how heavy the darkness around them was. Fortunately, Thorax stayed underneath the lights so Spike could follow him, but looked away from the drake so his uneasy expression could be hidden from sight.

Ughhh… darnit, Pharynx, Thorax thought to himself as he tried to conceal his pained grimace. All I wanted was for you to respect me, for just once…

As the two descended deeper within the twisting labyrinth of grey-rocked tunnels, Spike couldn’t help scurrying in closer beside Thorax for a sense of comfort. Even with the multiple light sources guiding the way, it was difficult for the dragon to find much solace with a place he was kidnapped to just a couple months prior. And as if the darkness wasn’t enough to leave Spike on edge, the ever-present sounds of scurrying hooves and chitters from the countless shadows around them made his teeth chatter worriedly.

But before Thorax could take notice of Spike’s skittish state, both of them were taken by surprise as an orange Changeling rushed out from the darkness ahead of them. “King Thorax! King Thorax!” she shouted in a nasally tone, which caused Spike to yelp and hide behind the bright-green King just in case. Thorax didn’t seem to mind though, and did his best to stand confidently before one of his subjects. Meanwhile, the Changeling just pointed back to the darkness ahead of them and said, “It’s your brother, Thorax! H-He found out the news about the Armoury, and now he has all his soldiers holding it hostage!”

“Gahh!” Thorax smacked his forehead with a hoof as he winced bitterly. “Oh, for crying out loud! The Armoury was supposed to be emptied out days ago! C’mon, Spike!”

Thorax took hold of his friend as the two followed the frantic Changeling. Spike may have not been the best at running due to his short legs, but he was able to keep up with the Changeling King surprisingly well as they traversed deeper within the cavernous tunnels. By the time the three came out of a deceptively small opening, they ended up in a much larger and well-illuminated cave that was nestled deep within the Hive.

Thorax sighed and face-hoofed when he caught sight of the spectacle before them, as there was already a large crowd of Changelings that was keeping him or Spike from seeing the perpetrators. However, the two could hear some angered voices booming from the other side, right at the entrance of a smaller cavern Spike could only guess was the Changelings’ Armoury.

“I SAID STAY BACK!!” roared an unreformed Changeling, who was poised at the front of a makeshift brigade composed of half a dozen similarly citinesque troops. Even though there were considerably many more reformed Changelings surrounding the group, most of them stayed back a respectable distance while their unchanged brethren stood in attack-ready pounces. While a couple of the soldiers hissed vehemently towards the worried crowd, their main fighter held a spear firmly in his hollowed hooves. Some oddly red-tinted scales raised up from the top of the Changeling’s head like he was a lizard flagging itself as a threat, and his purple wings buzzed violently while he stood at the ready. “This cavern is meant to be the Changeling Kingdom’s last line of defense! And if ANYONE dares to steal from it, I’ll have your HEADS ON A PIKE!!”

The Changeling’s threatening tone and volume was more than enough to make several of the reformed citizens reel back in fear. Fortunately, Thorax didn’t seem too intimidated as he made his way through the crowd with Spike in tow. The unreformed Changelings could hear a lot of hushed murmurs before seeing the crowd pull apart, and allowing their King to pass through. As soon as the head Changeling saw him, he sneered nastily and bared his gritted fangs. Spike tried to keep himself behind Thorax in case anything turned physical, but he still tried to peer from behind the King to see who they were up against.

“They’re not ‘stealing’ any of the Armoury’s inventory, General Pharynx,” stated Thorax with a firm and unrelenting tone of voice. His eyes narrowed on Pharynx as he gave him a flat and unamused stare. “I was wanting to move the plants out of our hydroponic setups, and have them transplanted outdoors so we could get some actual vegetation around this castle. And because of that, I figured our weapons cache would be more secure down in space that used to be our botany caverns.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Pharynx looked downright enraged by that answer, as did his fellow troops who hissed at Thorax like a pack of feral cats. The General threw down his spear before marching right up to the King’s face, and got in close as he shouted, “That Armoury was specifically placed here as a means for all Changelings to be armed as quickly as possible! How do you expect to protect the Changelings who live on higher floors, when all of their weapons are down below-ground?!”

“That’s what the Guard Drones are for!” yelled Thorax back at him while he tried to stand his ground. Unfortunately, it was hard for the King to maintain his composure when Pharynx’s snarling face was making him reel his head back a couple of inches. Nevertheless, Thorax’s angered expression wasn’t too different from his brother’s as he leaned back in, and added blatantly, “Besides, it shouldn’t matter anymore! I know you were unbelievably loyal to Chrysalis, but you need to get it through your head that We. Are. Not. Like. That. Any. MORE!!”

With the way Thorax was glaring at the General with an intensity unseen by any of his subordinates, Spike tried not to smile too giddily in pride. While he knew that Princess Ember taught him a thing or two about showing confidence, actually seeing it in action was beyond gratifying. Even Pharynx froze for a second or two while his brother was staring down at him, and his muzzle tried not to twitch from how far he was taken aback. During that brief bout of silence, Thorax had just enough time to take a calming breath before he added, “Not to mention, we need to start setting a better example for our alliance with Equestria. We’re already at a bit of an uphill struggle as it is, and we don’t need any ponies who come by to assume we’re all a bunch of spear-wielding, trigger-hoofed predators! All that we’re doing is moving our military aspects to other sectors, and placing more emphasis on our other strengths.”

Thorac may have been his superior, but Pharynx still openly scoffed with a disrespectful roll of his eyes. “Oh, that’ll be just great, won’t it?!” he replied with a nastily sarcastic tone, before he glared up at his brother and said venomously, “And when the Storm King’s forces come by to claim us AND Equestria in one fell swoop, we can be sure to thank you for the lack of preparation and foresight!”

Spike had no idea who the ‘Storm King’ was, but the mention of that figure seemed to be enough to make Thorax grimace with a hoof over his face. “Urrrrghhh!! How many times do I have to tell you?!” he shouted angrily back at Pharynx, while his patience grew thinner by the second. “The Storm King is NOT interested in Changeling magic! You’re getting all paranoid about a threat that isn’t even related to our race!”

“But it WILL be!” snarled Pharynx as he prodded Thorax’s chest with a hoof, and leaned in close to his face with a narrowed glare. “Which is whyyyyyy... WE NEED TO KEEP THE WEAPONS HERE!!”

“DON’T YOU DARE YELL IN MY FACE LIKE THAT!!!” roared Thorax with an enraged intensity Spike had never seen before. The drake jolted back from his friend as the argument grew more heated, and the amount of shits either Changeling had to give each other were running on empty. Thorax pressed his forehead up against Pharynx’s as he shouted vehemently, “I’m the KING of this Hive, remember?! It’s my DUTY to give the Changeling Kingdom a better reputation, and your stubbornness is HOT helping!”

“Well, excuse ME for wanting to keep the Changelings SAFE!!!”

“We’re already safe, Pharynx!! All that we were doing is MOVING the weapons!!”

“Those are MY platoon’s equipment, AND YOU HAVE NO SAY IN WHERE THEY GO!!”

“DID YOU NOT JUST HEAR ME SAY I WAS YOUR KING?!?”

“THE MUD UNDER MY HOOVES WOULD MAKE A BETTER KI--”

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT!!!” Since everyone else was either cowering in fear or standing in shock while the two brothers fought, it seemed that Spike was the only one willing to intervene. Even though he was rightfully worried about getting personally involved, the dragon rushed up to get between Pharynx and Thorax before anything else could be said. His fed-up glare looked up towards both Changelings while his claws were held out to pry them apart, and his stern tone of voice remained unfaltered. “For crying out loud, LOOK AT THE TWO OF YOU!! You’re both supposed to be adults, remember!? Adults with the highest possible rankings in this Hive?!? If you guys have issues you need to settle, then the LEAST you can do is settle it somewhere private, instead of bickering at one-another out in the open like a couple of children!!!”

Spike ended up needing to stop his rant so he could breathe, which left the entire cavern deathly silent the instant he finished his heated words. While the little dragon remained in place with his claws still out, Thorax and Pharynx stared down at him wide-eyed and frozen in place. The crowd of Changelings around the three didn’t try to get involved, but it wasn’t long before Spike could hear some hushed murmurs and chittering around them. He could hear a few of the Changelings on both sides whispering his name to one-another, but he wasn’t able to catch the context to any of them. The drake didn’t try to change his peeved expression, but he still gave the briefest apologetic glance up towards Thorax with a light shrug. Fortunately for Spike, Thorax saw that look well enough to give a thankful nod back at him.

After the moment passed, Spike sighed before putting his claws back down, and looking back towards Pharynx. “Okay… For the sake of being civil, would you guys please try to talk with each other without screaming? Or at least try to move this discussion away from your subjects?”

Pharynx still had a deeply pissed-looking scowl, but he was able to close his eyes and breathe out slowly in an attempt to settle himself down. Thorax did the same, and mouthed a quick “Thanks” down to Spike. While the dragon smiled back at him with a nod, Pharynx looked between Spike and Thorax with narrowed eyes. His fanged muzzle skewed a little as he stared down at the purple dragon, and he tilted his head before he asked, “So… did Thorax bring you here because of this?”

Spike merely huffed before he looked back at Pharynx and nodded. “Of course!” he stated with a shrug of his shoulders. While his sights were focused on the unreformed Changeling before him, Spike didn’t seem to realize that Pharynx’s soldiers were also staring at him with equal looks of curiosity. Instead, the drake pulled Thorax in close to his side, and shot a friendlier-looking smile up at the General. “I mean, given how well I helped this guy out, it seems only fair I get to help you guys too, right?”

Pharynx’s eyes shot wide-open, as did all of the other unreformed Changelings behind him. A few of the Changelings on Thorax’s end whispered more prominently to one-another, many of which with confused-sounding tones in their voices. By the time Pharynx stared back at his brother with his brows raised, Thorax began to look suspicious. However, the King kept himself from asking anything before Pharynx spoke up first. “Wait, you… So, you… you brought Spike out here for us?”

Pharynx’s face lit up the tiniest bit after that inflected question, and he looked his at his brother with an expression like he was wanting to smile. Thorax was looking more confused than anything else, but he was able to nod his head back at him and reply with a shrug, “W-Well, I… I figured he could act as a moderator between us, so… yeah, I did. And I didn’t even have to cash any favors to make him agree.”

Spike nodded in agreement when Pharynx made one last glance down at him. The General then looked back towards his troops, who were all staring at him with oddly intrigued looks on their faces. Pharynx then turned back to his brother as he grew a faint, but hopeful looking smile as he leaned in to clarify, “And… Spike is here for all of us? Not just you and me?~”

Now it was Thorax’s turn to grow wide-eyed, as he immediately realized what his brother was assuming the drake was here for. Spike looked a little surprised as well, and his sights turned towards the unreformed Changelings who were eying him rather blatantly. His brows raised when he saw a couple of the chitinesque beings grin knowingly towards him, and one of them even winking his bug-like eyes. Spike looked back up to see Pharynx’s equally piqued grin towards Thorax, clearly waiting for confirmation from his brother.

“Whoooooaaaaa…” The King quickly put his hooves up to wave in dismissal, and tried to dispute his brother’s assumption before his of crowd subjects got any bad ideas. “Waaaaiiiiiiit a minute, Pharynx! I didn’t bring Spike out for that, okay? I jus--”

Spike’s claw came up to press a digit against Thorax’s lips, and effectively silenced him as the drake eyed Pharynx with curiosity. “Now, now, now… Let’s see where this goes~”

Thorax instantly glared down at Spike while his muzzle was clenched shut. Unfortunately, the promiscuous dragon kept his focus on the brother as he cleared his throat to speak politely. “Ahem… Now, General… Are you saying that you’d be willing to negotiate if I was present?~”

Pharynx paused briefly enough to stare between Spike and Thorax, and looked away from both of them as he hummed to himself in thought. Thorax wanted to be upset at Spike for what he’s enabling, but he kept himself silent after seeing how well that question shut his brother up. Not to mention, it was hard to try and argue with results when Pharynx gave his response after a light exhale. “Hmmm… Do I have your word that we would… all receive the benefits if we go along with negotiations?~”

Pharynx motioned a hollow hoof out towards his unreformed brethren, who all perked up very quickly upon being mentioned by their superior. A couple of them waved at Spike with hopeful smiles, which caused the dragon to smirk and give a small wave back. Thorax groaned silently while rolling his eyes, clearly unhappy with how this conflict was being resolved. Luckily for the King, he didn’t try to stop the slutty drake from nodding his head confidently.

“Absolutely, General Pharynx~” he said with a wide and unfaltering smile. He then pulled Thorax in closer beside him as he added, “I mean… we all have to work together for the sake of the Changeling Kingdom’s future, right? And if you guys are willing to work together in the same room, then… who knows what might happen?~”

Spike perked his brows a couple times while grinning devilishly, which was more than enough to make Pharynx and his soldiers’ faces light up in approval. Thorax looked like he wanted to smack his friend over the head, but he kept his muzzle tightly shut for the sake of finding a non-violent resolution. But even with his composure in check, the King had to keep himself settled when his brother eyed him with an optimistic smirk. “So… is this really happening, bro?~”

Thorax wasn’t sure which part of that question was more insulting: that his brother was implying he brought Spike as a personal hooker for him and his friends, or that Pharynx actually addressed his literal King as ‘Bro.’ Of course, Thorax was also disappointed that Spike was pretty much egging Pharynx and his drones on. Nevertheless, considering how poorly things were going before the drake intervened, the reformed Changeling wasn’t one to try and screw up such a rare opportunity for peace. So because of that, Thorax reluctantly sighed before he grew a stern expression on his face, and pointed at his brother with authority.

“You know what? If you and your soldiers are willing to comply respectfully, then sure! I can make arrangements for us to meet up in the Throne Quarters.”

Pharynx looked like he wanted to celebrate preemptively, but a sudden intrusion of Thorax’s hoof pressed against his muzzle kept him from saying anything just yet. Instead, the General was taken by surprise as Thorax leaned in with an unrelenting stare, and added, “BUT! If you want this to happen, YOU have to start working with me. Which means, if you want you and your soldiers to have this meeting, then you have to make a compromise about the Armoury. I think that’s more than fair.”

Pharynx’s elated smile was quickly erased to make way for a deep and bitter-looking scowl. None of Pharynx’s soldiers seemed too happy with that measure either, even when Spike was leaning against the King and giving them a sly-looking wink. But alas, the General eventually breathed out to calm himself down once more. Even though his exhale came out as a strained growl, the unreformed Changeling relented while pointing a hoof down at Spike. “Only if I get first dibs.”

Despite his exasperated sigh, Thorax nodded his head alongside Spike. “Okay, fine,” he said while trying not to sound too defeated. Fortunately, Spike seemed downright chipper by their resolution as the King said to his brother, “Just move everything down to the Botany caverns, alright? You can even take inventory so you can know nothing was stolen. As soon as you guys finish, we can move this discussion away from our subjects.”

Luckily for the two Changelings and Spike, it seemed that the majority of the onlooking crowd was composed of adults. Because of that, the situation felt considerably less awkward as the brothers looked around with wary expressions, and tried not to notice any offended stares on them. Fortunately, due to the race’s overall past with controversial topics, most of the Changelings seemed rather indifferent to the arrangement that was made out in the open. In fact, many of them began to disperse from the area with looks of relief to return to their duties, since the two brothers weren’t fighting anymore.

Regardless of that fact, Pharynx still sighed with a meager nod back at Thorax. “... Alright, fine. I’ll… I’ll move the weapons down to a lower level,” he muttered with a strong tone of disdain in his voice. But before he could head off and order his troops to comply, he gave an especially intense stare down at Spike before prodding his hoof against the drake’s chest, and saying in a heavy growl, “You better be ready when I finish~”

Spike may have been in a very unfamiliar region and facing a former enemy, but his cocky smirk was unfazed as he said in response, “Heh~ I’ll be ready to make you finish.”

He then leaned in close to Pharynx’s face, and added with an antsy grin, “Repeatedly~”

Thorax wasn’t sure if Spike was trying to make his brother pissed or horny, but it could’ve been either one with how evilly wide Pharynx smiled back at him. “Hmph~ We’ll see about that.”

Pharynx then stood back up to give Thorax a respectful salute, and turned around to address his soldiers. “Alright, troops! We have limited daylight and a lot of work to do! Let’s get everything moved down to Botany ASAP! Do I make myself clear?!”

“SIR, YES SIR!” shouted all of the unreformed Changelings who were in proper stance before Pharynx faced them. After giving their General a strong salute, the Changelings scurried off into the Armoury to comply with King Thorax’s request.

Meanwhile, the King himself could only stand in slight befuddlement, unsure whether to feel upset or impressed with Spike’s ‘negotiation’ efforts. “... Uhhhhh… What just happened?” he asked rhetorically to himself.

“What happened,” answered Spike as he caught his friend’s attention, and leaned in close while peering up at him with a cheeky grin, “is that I gave you the perfect opportunity to make amends with Pharynx! Plus, you can actually make negotiations now!~”

Thorax knew his friend was right, but he was still bitter about the end-result as he groaned with a flat expression on his face. “Ughhh… Did it have to end up like that?”

“Welllllll… okay, maybe not,” Spike said with a hint of reluctance in his voice. However, he was able to quickly add while smiling sweetly up at the King, “however… you can’t say you didn’t want to have some fun with me while I’m here, right?~”

As soon as he glanced down and saw Spike’s deceptively cute smile, Thorax knew he couldn’t deny such a claim. Even if negotiations didn’t go through like he wanted, the Changeling was sure he would’ve rutted Spike more than a few times regardless of the outcome. So despite his hesitance, Thorax closed his eyes with a remorseful sigh before admitting feebly, “I… Ugh… Okay, yeah. I… I can’t say I wouldn’t have.”

“Great!~” Spike leaned up to give a friendly kiss to Thorax’s cheek, and then pulled back to ask, “So, ummm… since we have that settled, would you mind if I asked a quick question?”

“Uhhh… sure, what is it?” asked Thorax with a confused stare down at him. Meanwhile, Spike tried not to blush too bashfully while looking up at him with a curious grin.

“Wellllll… This might sound weird, but do you guys happen to have a clothing store around here? Or someone who knows how to make clothes?~”

Thorax’s eyes widened a little in realization, but he still felt the need to clarify what might be going through the slutty dragon’s head. “Ummm… Spike? Should I ask why you want to know that?”

Spike merely huffed with a widening grin, and replied with a quick pose, “What do you think, dude? If I’m gonna be the head of your negotiations with General Pharynx, then I need to look good~”