Young Love (Bugs)

Zenex busily scribbled in his journal, glancing up and looking at his surroundings every few seconds. He looked down to his journal, examining his rather detailed sketch of the changeling hive’s interior. He smiled at how well it came out, before finally closing the journal.

The young nymph looked up, noticing a few changelings trotting back and forth through the hallways, some of them chatting with each other. He blinked, watching the changelings happily talk with each other. Some of them appeared to be close to his age.

He carefully slid off the rock he was sitting on, starting to slowly trot away from it. He sighed, looking around at the other nymphs. Some of them looked back at him, causing him to put his journal in front of his face in a desperate attempt to block their curious gazes.

Zenex was never really that social with any other nymphs. Well actually, he was never really social with anyone at all. The reason being was that he was extremely self conscious about his separately colored eyes; one being green, the other being blue.

When he was forced to talk to someone, he would always close his green eye, due to always being worried that someone was gonna pick on him for his eyes, which happened too many times to count. He continued walking, finally reaching his room. He peered in. “Hive? You there?” he asked, searching for a certain red-eyed changeling with a chipped horn.

He trotted into the empty room. “Hive..?”

“BOO!”

Zenex screamed, jumping up and shapeshifting into a turtle and hiding in the shell. He heard the deep laugh of the changeling he had been looking for.

Still disguised as a turtle, he peeked his head out of the shell, glowering at the other changeling. He sighed heavily. “Did you have to do that?”

The other changeling sat down, bending down to his height. “Sorry Z, I just had to get you. Besides, the turtle thing never gets old,” he said, chuckling.

Zenex rolled his eyes. “Come on, Hive. Can’t you do a prank that won’t give me a heart attack?”

Hivehunter smirked. “Aww, now where’s the fun in that, Zenny Boy?” he asked, the same smirk still plastered on his face, much to the nymph’s chagrin.

Zenex sighed, before reverting back to his original form. “Yeah. It’ll be real fun when I’m recovering in the dang infirmary,” he said as he kicked a nearby pebble with his foreleg. “And please… don’t call me ‘Zenny Boy’,” he said, cringing. “It’s pretty embarrassing.”

“Okay, okay, have it your way.” Hive sat down on the bed. “What were you up to, anyway?”

“I dunno. Nothing big, that’s for sure.”

Hive stared. “Come on, Z! You gotta live a little! Interact with someone who’s not me,” Hive said, smiling and playfully rubbing the nymph’s head.

“Why though?” Zen asked, shaking Hive’s hoof off. “It’ll just be the same process of intricacy it always is.”

Hive looked at him. “Come on Z, you know I don’t know my big boy words,” he said, sarcastically.

Zenex squinted in frustration. Hive merely laughed at the nymph’s expression, thus annoying Zen even further. “Hive, this is serious!”

“I know! I know! I just can’t take you seriously with that expression!” Hive laid on his carapace, still laughing.

Zen crawled closer to Hive. He sighed a bit as he laid down next to him. The older changeling noticed his solemn expression and sat up. “Sorry, Zen. What did you want to say?”

Zen looked over. “It’s just that… well, what if whoever I try to make friends with will just end up throwing me off a cliff. Figuratively.”

Hive raised a brow. “What makes you even think that?”

“Think about it. Who wants to be friends with the ‘doll-eyed nymph’?” Zenex grabbed a pillow and put it in his face before letting out a loud, muffled, sigh.

“...Zenex? Zen? Z?”

The nymph didn’t reply.

Hive sighed and reached a hoof out, trying to reassuringly stroke the nymph’s carapace, but inadvertently ended up stroking his side.

“Gah! H-Hive?!” Zen shot up out of reflex.

Hive stared at his friend, then smiled. “Uh… dude? What in Chrysalis’s mane was that?” he asked smirking.

The nymph blushed furiously. “You know how ticklish I am!”

Hive chuckled. “Sorry, Zen. I didn’t mean to touch your side.”

Zen sat up, sighing and rolling his eyes. “Sure.”

Hive stood up. “So, are you still coming?”

“Coming where?” Zenex asked.

Hive stared. “Oh, I didn’t tell you?”

Zenex shook his head. “About what?” he asked, tilting his head. “What’s going on?”

“There’s a sorta get together going on today,” Hive said. “A bunch of changelings will be there.”

“...Do I have to go?” Zenex laid back on the bed.

“Come on Zen, you gotta get outta this room sometime.” He waved his hoof. “Besides, maybe you’ll find a friend, or even a girlfriend,” Hive said, teasingly.

“Hiiiive…” the nymph whined.

Hive chuckled before giving Zenex’s belly a gentle poke, making him squeak and flinch.

Hive chuckled. “Like the turtle thing, that never gets old.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll go.” Zenex sat up. “But I swear to Chrysalis if anyone—”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll keep you from being picked on. Just stay by me, and you’ll be fine.”

Zenex thought for a moment, then he began to smile. “Okay. Thanks, Hive.”

Hive rubbed his head. “No problem, now C’mon Z. Let’s go get ready.”

“Okay.” Zenex got up and followed Hive.

Zenex trotted closely behind Hive, still tightly holding his journal in hoof. Hive looked at him. “C’mon Zen. Put that old journal down and get ready to have some form of fun around here.”

“It’s not that old.”

“Course it is! Blue Fang gave you that thing, and that was years ago,” Hivehunter said.

“How many years ago?”

“How old are you?”

“...”

“I’m kidding, okay?”

Zenex sighed. “Of course you are…” He looked at him. “So are we even there yet?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“Almost, kid.”

They continued trotting through the hive’s hallways. Zenex sighed, looking forward.

They finally arrived a few moments later. Hive smiled. “You ready, Zen?”

The nymph swallowed and stuttered out, “I-I guess.”

“Come on, Zenny Boy. Let’s go!” Hive walked in, dragging Zenex along with him.

“Okay, okay I’m coming!” Zenex said. When they reached the interior, Zenex noticed the many changelings in the room. He hid behind Hive. “That’s a lot of changelings, Hive…”

“Of course it is, buddy!”

“You know how I am around crowds…” Zenex clung onto Hive’s hind leg.

“No worries! I’ll show you around!” Hive said, shaking Zen off of his leg.

“Okay… I’ll follow you…” Zenex trailed behind Hive.

“That’s the spirit, Zenny Boy!” Hive grinned.

“Stop calling me that… it’s embarrassing!” Zenex whined. “Especially in front of all these other ‘lings!”

“Oh really?” Hive gave a teasing grin, before taking in a breath. “ZEN—”

Zenex put a hoof over Hive’s mouth. “Are you trying to embarass me?!”

“C’mon Zen, it’s all fun and games! Come on, let’s play a game or something,” Hive suggested.

“Pfft. What game?”

“I dunno. Let’s see.” They walked around for a while. Hive noticed one. “How about… sandbag toss?” Hive asked, picking up a small sandbag with a hole-infested hoof. “You can play it with the other nymphs.” He tossed the sandbag over to Zenex.

He caught the sandbag. “Uh… are you sure?” he asked. “Would they even let me?”

“Go on. You’re out here to make friends. Not avoid them.” He bent down. “If you need me, I’ll be over there with the Queen and the other Elites.”

Zenex thought for a moment, then nodded hesitantly.

Hivehunter smiled. “Okay. Have fun!” And with that, he trotted off leaving Zenex to his own devices.

“Okay… bye.” Zenex looked at the other nymphs, watching their activities closely.

Most of them were either playing sandbag toss or they were just chatting calmly. Zenex looked at the sandbag in his hoof and sighed, before walking to the nymphs that were currently playing the game. He stood a bit off to the side, but not too far, and watched as they played. “Hmm…” After a while, he stepped up to one of the boards and threw a sandbag at it. He watched as it successfully landed in one of the holes.

He smiled a bit, then he turned to the other nymphs. They stared at him for a while.

Zenex opened his mouth to say something, then thought for a bit. Er… maybe not…

He sighed before tearing his eyes off of the nymphs and squeezing his eyes shut. He walked away, hanging his head low.

After a while of walking, however…

BOOM!

Zenex jumped at the sound of what sounded like wood crumbling. He turned around to see one of the boards of the sandbag game smashed into pieces. “What the…” he slowly walked over, his eyes widening in disbelief. He picked up a chunk of the board, then he looked at each of the nymphs… specifically at the one looking very sheepish.

The nymph actually seemed to stand out from the others, with her bright purple eyes, purple wings, deep purple carapace, and a purple… mane?

Her mane seemed to be in pigtails as well. Rather cute ones, at that.

He walked over. “Er… what in Chrysalis’s mane happened?”

The nymph opened her mouth to say something, but another angry nymph cut in. “Hey! We needed that board! Look what you did!” he said to her with a glare.

“Wha- I—” the nymph sputtered for a few moments, before finding her words. “I’m sorry, okay?! I wasn’t trying to break it.”

The angered nymph continued going off. “Bullcrap! You broke on purpose!”

“I did not!” she said back, getting as angry as he was.

Zenex stared, then he tried to organize the situation. “Hey, calm down,” he said, calmly to the angry nymph. “She said she didn’t mean to.”

“What do you know?! You weren’t even here, doll-eyes!”

Zenex swallowed heavily, now gritting his teeth. Come on Zen! He’s not gonna embarrass you in front of all of these changelings! “I—”

“Shut up! Mind your—” the nymph was grabbed from behind. Zenex smirked, expecting to see Hivehunter standing with the bully in his grasp. However…

The nymph was held in a purple aura, and he was met with a serious glare from the purple-maned nymph.

Zenex stared at him, then at the purple-maned nymph. “Woah…”

“So, this is how you wanna play, huh? Spittin’ insults like you own the entire hive, huh?!” the purple nymph looked like she was about to punch the bully that was in her grasp.

The purple nymph turned around. “Hey! Venom!” she called out.

A few older changelings trotted over. “Flutterwings?”

Now, the female nymph smirked. “This guy here was verbally attacking the nymph with the pretty eyes.”

Zenex’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Pretty eyes? He must’ve heard that wrong. Right? No nymph has ever called his eyes that before. He watched as the older changelings stared at him, then at the bully. “Alright, what’s your excuse, chump?” the one with the blue mane asked him.

The “tough” nymph shut up faster than a venus flytrap. “Uhh… I…”

“I’ll tell ya. He called this guy ‘doll-eyes’!” the female nymph spoke up, again.

The blue-maned changeling looked at Zenex, then back at the bully. “Hmm…” he growled.

Zenex stared a bit. “Are you gonna… hurt him?” he asked, concerned a bit.

“Yes,” he responded with a sneer. “Badly.”

The nymph gasped a bit. “Y’know, you don’t have to hurt him.”

The blue-maned changeling’s sneer turned into a smirk, and he burst out laughing. “I’m kidding, kid!” he said.

Zenex sighed with relief. “Thank Chrysalis.”

“We’re not letting him off the hook, though.”

Zenex looked around, then noticed the sandbags. “Say, y’know how to tie rope?”

“Er… why do you ask?”

“I have an idea.” Zenex smirked, and looked at one of the boards.

Zenex finished his sketch. He smiled. “Perfect. Just like the real thing.” He held back a snicker.

The ‘real thing’ was the bully tied up to one of the boards. Zenex picked up a sandbag and tossed it. “Aww. I missed,” he said, disappointed.

“So what gave you this idea?” the older changeling asked.

Zenex looked over to Hive, who winked. “Oh, I have my ways,” he said, watching the other nymphs toss sandbags are the bully.

He then looked at the purple-maned nymph. He trotted over. “Uh… hello, miss.”

“Hi,” she responded.

He smiled shyly. “Uh… thanks for sticking up for me like that.”

She smiled back. “Anytime.”

He soon found himself looking at her mane. “I… I think your mane looks pretty.”

“Oh? Really?” she blushed. “None of the other nymphs ever think so,” she said with a sad sigh.

He looked at her. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

He smiled a bit. “I can say the same about my curse.”

“What curse?”

“These bucking eyes.” He sighed, sitting down a bit.

“...I think they’re a blessing.”

He looked up and blushed. “R-Really?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

He smiled. “Well… thanks. I uhh… don’t know what to say…”

“What’s your name anyway?”

He blushed again. “Z-Zenex…” he said, quietly.

“...Flutterwings.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, getting a bit louder.

Flutterwings moved a bit closer to him.

He looked over to her. “What are you..?”

“Oh! I uh…” she blushed a bit.

He smiled a bit, slowly dragging a forehoof across the ground.

Flutterwings merely wrapped her forelegs around him in an embrace, nuzzling his neck.

He blushed, before giggling a bit. “Hehehe… hey, that tickles.”

She looked at him. Then, a playful grin soon spread across her face. She nuzzled him again, this time, going for his belly. “You like that?”

“Hehehe!” he giggled, before nodding shyly. “Y-Yeah… that’s not weird, is it?”

Flutterwings merely shook her head. “Of course not.” She continued to nuzzle him.

“Gehehehe!” he giggled more.

“How’s it feel? Tell me!” she said energetically, now using her forehooves to rub his belly.

“Eee! Hehehehe!” He started squirming around.

Soon, they were both on the stone ground. Zenex looked at Flutterwings, who was now on top of him, gently nuzzling his belly again.

“Eehehehe! Hehehehe!” He giggled and squirmed uncontrollably.

He wasn’t sure why he liked being tickled so much. Maybe it just relaxed his nerves? Or did it just give him some sense of joy? Whatever it was, he enjoyed it. Like, a lot.

Zenex continued laughing and squealing.

“How’s it feel? Does it feel good? Does it?”

“Eeehahahaha!”

“Is that a yes?” she asked, now tickling his hind hooves.

“Eee! Hahahaha!” He tried not to kick her. “F-Flutters!”

She smiled at him. “Tickle tickle tickle!” she teased as she traced her fore-hooves against the soles of his back hooves.

“Hahaha!”

“Want me to stop now?”

“I neheheed to breheheheathe! Hahahahaha!”

“Oh! O-Okay!” She stopped.

He took his time to breathe. “Th-Thanks.”

She frowned a bit. “I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to…”

He grabbed her forehoof gently. “It’s okay, Flutterwings.” He smiled.

She blushed heavily as his hoof wrapped around hers. “Uh... Z-Zenex…”

“Yeah?”

She looked at him and smiled, still blushing.

He smiled back, before curling up next to her, yawning.

Flutterwings moved close to Zen, draping a hoof around him. He smiled, snuggling up to her and stroking her carapace, causing her to start blushing again. He rested his head in her lap, while she rested her head against his. He yawned, before shutting his eyes.

They were both about to fall asleep when suddenly…

“Zenex?”

“Flutterwings?”

Their eyes snapped open. The two nymphs looked up to see a red-schemed changeling, and a blue-maned changeling standing over them with small grins on their faces. The two nymphs blushed like mad.

“H-Hivehunter!” Zenex said.

“Venom Stinger!” Flutterwings followed up as she got up quickly.

Venom and Hive chuckled at the sight. “Sooo, Zenex,” Hive trotted closer.

Zenex’s ears folded back. “Y-Yeah?” He grinned sheepishly.

Hive sat next to him and rubbed Zen’s head. He smiled at the nymph and said, “I see you’ve finally found a friend.”

“Heheh… I guess I did…” he scratched the back of his head, silently gazing at Flutterwings.

Flutterwings looked up at Venom curiously. “Uh… hey, Venom…” she greeted. “I guess you saw all of that, huh?”

He nodded, a bit of a grin plastered on his face. “Yep.”

“One thing I have to ask,” Zen cut back in, “is how you’re able to break a board with a sandbag like that.”

Flutterwings chuckled. “Heheh… I was practicing my aim and… sorta overdid it… by that I mean, really overdid it.”

“Heh.” Zenex chuckled. “You’re pretty strong, though.”

She blushed heavily. “R-Really? You think so?”

He nodded. “Y-Yeah. You are.” Now, he blushed.

“Thank you, Zenex.”

“No… thank you, Flutterwings.”

“Aww!” Hive said aloud. Venom rolled his eyes, but snickered a bit.

Zenex embraced Flutterwings in a hug. “Guess I’ll be going then…”

She sighed. “Aww, leaving so soon?”

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again,” he reassured her.

Flutterwings smiled. “Okay. Bye, Zenex.” She leaned in to nuzzle him one last time.

He giggled one more time. “Hehehe! Thanks Flutters.”

“Right back at ya, Zenny.”

With that, Flutterwings and Venom both walked off from the other pair. Zenex watched until they disappeared, smiling all the while. Heck, he hadn’t smiled this hard in his life.