Thorax came through passageway and stepped onto the uppermost level of the changeling hive, blown wide open since Chrysalis’ defeat. Still serving as the hive’s throne room, it was now also a sizable social space, doubling as the hive’s banquet hall.

The hive leader was relieved that mating season had, so far, gone smoothly. In the first week, the egg chamber was almost full, and nearly the entire hive, himself included, were looking forward to how much love they could strengthen the nursery pools with, what with Sandbar here for the season, as well as how strong his eggs would be when it came time to lay them, but that was still several weeks away.

No sooner did he get relaxed in his wooden throne to relax in his afternoon court, did the top level aerial guards begin to chitter, their wings fluttering nervously; the first actions they took when an airborne threat was spotted, and immediately Thorax’s gaze went to the sky.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds to spot the flying chariot approaching the hive from the northeast, and a group of guards went airborne.

“No, no, stop!” Thorax called before they got out of earshot. “That’s an Equestrian Royal Carriage, I’m sure they’re here for a good reason.”

Indeed, the carriage wasn’t making a direct approach, but instead began to descend towards the far side of the clearing north of the hive. Instead of risking meeting their unexpected visitor late, Thorax took to the sky himself, and slowly descended down the east end of the hive, touching back down on the ground in front of the main entrance, and waited next to the pair of guards keeping watch.

A couple minutes later, he saw the unmistakable form of Princess Twilight Sparkle, escorted by a pair of pegasus guards. He began to deduce the possible reasons for her visit from the slightly concerned look on her face as she came to a stop a few meters from him.

“Princess Twilight, what an unexpected pleasure. What can I do for you?” Thorax greeted.

“Thorax, I’m terribly sorry for dropping by unannounced like this, but is Sandbar here by any chance?” The Princess of Friendship greeted and asked.

Thorax nodded, taking this unexpected visit very seriously.

“He is, with the knowledge and permission of his parents,” Thorax answered. “Have you spoken with them?”

“N… No, I haven’t. I came here in a bit of a hurry, because of my team of dreamwalkers. They were quite concerned with how often Sandbar was appearing in the dream realm. Can you please take me to him?” Twilight asked.

Thorax knew this situation was complicated, but felt it would likely be unwise to refuse the Princess of Friendship. This was his kingdom, but as delicate of a situation as it was in right now, the visiting colt was still her subject.

“Of course, Princess. I can’t promise he’ll be in a condition to speak candidly, but as I’m sure you are aware, it is currently mating season for us, so I would ask for absolutely no magic, and please keep an open mind. As I said, he is here with his parents’ knowledge and permission. Please follow me, and step lightly,” Thorax told her, turning and beckoning her into the depths of the Changeling Hive.

Twilight quickly turned to her escort.

“Please wait here, gentlecolts,” she instructed, before following the changeling leader into the hive.

The princess’ nostrils were overcome with a lemony scent in the air when she followed Thorax into the main structure. The main corridor split off into many smaller passages as it slowly spiraled up around the center, towards the top.

She had made a couple state visits to the Changeling Kingdom before, but never during the mating season, when all other allied kingdoms were advised to stay away for their safety, and she could immediately tell why when she was outside; Thorax’s two guards seemed a bit on edge, and the few Changelings they had passed on the walk through the corridor fluttered their wings anxiously as well.

A minute later, Thorax paused next to a passage to the right.

On the wall, a sign had been hung, with a hoof-written message:

Want to help our incubator make love?

Come on in!

Please change into our pre-Metamorphosis appearance!

“He’s in there?” Twilight asked after reading the sign.

“Again, with his parents’ knowledge and permission,” Thorax told the Equestrian head-of-state, for the third time. “I’ll be right out here to answer any questions you have.”

Taking a breath, Twilight stepped into the passage, which went a few meters, then took a ninety-degree turn to the left, and nothing would have prepared her for the sight that met her eyes.

Sandbar, laying on his side on a patch of moss and grass in the middle of the room, saw her first.

“Uh, hi there, Princess Twilight,” he greeted, his eyes going wide, and this brought the attention of the four other pre-metamorphosed changelings to her as she stepped into the room.

Knowing that a visitor of this stature overrode any of Sandbar’s role playing, the four changelings immediately transformed in a flash back to their slightly more friendly looking default forms. Twilight recognized three of them as Ocellus, her mother Spiracle, father Carapace, and a light green member of the hive that she was unfamiliar with.

It wasn’t Sandbar’s attire of a disposable diaper taped around his waist that surprised her the most, but his lightly glowing, slightly protruding abdomen.

“Sandbar, are you alright?” Twilight asked him, slowly and clearly.

The colt immediately nodded.

“Yes, Princess. Wait… Did my mom and dad not tell you I was here? What are you doing here, Your Highness?” Sandbar asked.

“I haven’t spoken with them… And now I’m realizing that is probably my fault for not checking first. I’m sorry. What… Whatever this is, I’ll leave you be, as long as you’re absolutely sure you’re okay,” Twilight told him.

Sandbar nodded again.

“Absolutely, Your Highness. I can only imagine how this must look if you don’t have all the information, but I am definitely in good hooves, I promise you,” he told her.

The Princess of Friendship certainly looked like she didn’t want to be in this room any longer than she absolutely had to, so she already turned halfway back towards the way she came.

“Alright… As… As long as you’re sure. I’m sure Thorax can tell me more. Sorry again for the intrusion.”

With that, Twilight completed her turn, and went back down the passage to where Thorax was waiting patiently.

She took a quiet breath as they began walking a short distance away from the burrow, out of earshot.

“I guess I came here assuming that he and Ocellus ran off to do something stupid and life-altering, as young couples frequently do,” Twilight admitted. “But… That? I don’t think I ever could have prepared myself for something like that…”

“Princess Twilight, when I undertook the monumental task of reforming Changeling society, I can assure you, never once did the possibility cross my mind that if my subjects became romantically involved with other species, that some of them might have a fetish for what was one of our most nefarious deeds before the Metamorphosis.”

“Alright, so how did that scene in there come to be, then?” Twilight asked as she pointed a hoof back towards the passage to the burrow that Sandbar and Ocellus’ brood currently occupied.

Thorax took a breath.

“I received a letter from Sandbar a few days before Ocellus returned from Ponyville for mating season,” he began, as he reached into his saddlebags to retrieve the folded piece of parchment and gave it to Twilight, who immediately unfolded it and began to peruse the contents. “Once Ocellus arrived home, we began discussing Sandbar’s curiosity, and I do mean discussing it extensively. Like you, I have also been very impressed with Ocellus’ trustworthiness and respectfulness while she’s been studying abroad, and I certainly didn’t want that behavior to change. So after discussing all the reasonable options, we collectively decided that the best way to sate the colt’s curiosity was, with the expressed permission of his parents, to give him exactly what he was asking for.”

Twilight lowered the letter from her eyes to gawk at Thorax, unsure if she was believing her ears.

“This is a reasonable option to you?” The alicorn asked, her tone quiet, but undoubtedly incredulous.

“Oviposition is a very intense experience, true enough, but with constant observation here in the hive, it’s also a relatively safe one. But, Princess, I will confess, there is also a secondary motivation that we have, and I will gladly share it,” Thorax told her.

“I’m all ears,” Twilight said as she refolded the letter and returned it to him.

“Obviously, changeling society has undergone a great many changes since the Metamorphosis. But one thing that sadly remains largely unchanged is the survival rate of our egg clutches. During Chrysalis’ reign, it was roughly 50 to 55 percent. In the two mating seasons since, that has risen to about 65 percent. But oviposition and incubation tell an entirely different story, Princess. The eggs that Sandbar will lay in a few weeks will have a survival rate above 95 percent, and will likely be the strongest and healthiest of their generation. One of my first acts as ruler of the hive was to absolutely forbid oviposition on unwilling participants, even when I knew that it would mean our infant mortality rate would remain high. I figured that would be the end of it, but again, I never imagined that we’d ever get a willing participant. And from what Ocellus has told me of kinks and fetishes, I figured if he were to bring those supplies with him and indulge in that while he’s here, that love might possibly further strengthen the nursery pools. So far, I believe I’m correct in that endeavor.”

Hearing these sincere words from Thorax softened Twilight’s expression considerably, and the alicorn took a deep breath.

“I… Can’t say I wouldn’t have rushed down here even if I had the foresight to talk to his parents first, but… I’m not afraid to admit that may have overreacted a bit,” Twilight confessed.

“Not at all, Princess. If I thought one of my subjects was in trouble in Equestria, I can assure you that I would have made a very similar entrance,” Thorax told her.

“I mean… I can’t honestly say that I’m comfortable with this… But Sandbar obviously is, it is with his parents’ blessing, and you, Ocellus and her family clearly know what you’re doing. So once again, I apologize for my intrusion, and I’ll be on my way,” Twilight told him.

Thorax nodded and lead her back towards the front entrance of the hive.

“I do hope he’ll consider a checkup at a doctor when he’s back home, just to be absolutely certain that there’s no lingering side effects,” Twilight said as they approached the front entrance.

“A very responsible idea, one that I’m sure his parents will agree with if you bring it up with them. Safe travels, Princess.”

With her escort in sight, Thorax turned to head back into the depths of the hive, while Twilight continued out to where the pair of Equestrian royal guards were waiting.

They must have seen the expression on her face.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” The captain asked.

Twilight’s slightly perplexed gaze met his concerned one.

“I’m fine, Captain… I suppose I’m just starting to wonder how sheltered my upbringing was… If the youth of the next generation gets curious about… Things like that,” Twilight said softly, glancing back into the Changeling Hive. “Alright, enough is enough. Let’s go, gentlecolts. It’s a long flight back to Canterlot.”

Day 8

Well, to say that today was awkward would likely be the understatement of this whole trip.

I got the most unexpected of visitors today, none other than Princess Twilight herself. According to Thorax, the increased amount of naps I’ve been taking here alerted her dreamwalkers, the unicorns that have taken over Princess Luna’s duties. She must not have talked to my parents before coming down here, because I think she was just a few seconds away from freaking out at what she saw, because she definitely saw the eggs. Thankfully, she didn’t freak, she was only in here for less than a minute, and Thorax was able to explain everything to her.

But I still have no idea if I’m ever going to be able to look her in the eyes again for a long while, though. Sheesh.

Author's Note