//------------------------------//
// The Summit of Love 
// Story: The King of Love Bugs 
// by NavelColt 
//------------------------------//

"Goodness gracious, just look at the time! We're going to be so late!"

A caped stallion raced through street after street of shimmering crystal. Floating along his side, engulfed in a field of golden magic was a modest carrying basket. Within the basket lay a baby alicorn, smiling and giggling as she excitedly watched the overhead clouds race by.

"So late! So, so late!" His mounting anxiety urged him to keep up his troubled mantra, even as the crystal castle drew closer with every step he took.

Eventually, he reached the castle’s base, and his eyes gazed at its tall towers with anticipation. Though he'd called the empire home for years now, the sight of the crystalline palace never ceased to amaze him.

"We're almost there, Flurry Heart. It won't be much longer now." He took a moment to meet the little filly’s eyes. She clapped her tiny hooves, and the stallion smiled.

"Let's just hope your parents won't be too livid with me."



As the cool northern breeze flowed through her mane, Cadance watched Thorax closely. The tall changeling was transfixed by the view from so high up. His face was filled with sentiment as he traced the network of rooftops and streets below.

Once again, the empire's charm had captivated Thorax's attention in ways his flock of drones didn’t share. They simply wandered about the room, passing the time aimlessly. One drone had antagonized a few others into playing bug pile with him. Another few had become loaves in the windowsills, thrumming their wings in contentment as they sunbathed.

"So, Thorax, tell me something."

Thorax jolted. 

"Yes, princess?"

"While we wait, why don't you tell me all about 'Papa Thorax'?"

Thorax's mouth ran dry. He turned to meet an outright villainous gaze.

"Um, not much to tell, really," he stammered, rubbing the side of one leg. "It's just something some of the changelings call me now."

"Oh no, you don't. You're not getting out of this one that easily." Cadance let out a laugh as she prodded the alpha changeling's chest. "One doesn't get a cute nickname like that for no good reason, Thorax. And I know you know that you can't hide things from me of all ponies, right?"

Thorax continued to fidget. Memories of bumbling mistakes during his time in the empire began to fill his mind, particularly his failed attempts to hide said bumbling mistakes from the princess. She had a talent for pulling the truth out of him.

The changelings began to take notice of their king’s emotional distress. Like cats picking up a scent, they turned, and a pallet of colorful eyes shot his way.

"Well, I'm a lot more affectionate towards the changelings than what they were used to, with Chrysalis," Thorax said weakly. "Some of the nymphs began calling me that, and it stuck. Now it's a nickname for me that even some of the adults use."

Cadance's face blossomed. Her eyes lit like stars, and her toothy grin surpassed any Thorax had ever seen before. 

"Affectionate?" she parroted with thirsty intrigue. "Oh, Thorax, that sounds lovely. What exactly does that entail?"

Thorax rubbed the back of his head. A couple of drones turned to each other with jaded looks.

"He's gonna have us do a demonstration of the cuddlebug thing for yet another princess, isn't he?"

"What is this, the third time? I think we should start charging admission."



"And then she goes, 'Let's just say I learned a friendship lesson while you were gone.' She's so modest. Freshly graduated, and she's already applying what she's learned to everyday life!''

Though he probably wouldn't remember the story's details come the next day, Shining Armor would certainly remember the bliss emanating from his sister's voice. The reserved stallion watched Twilight intently as she told her tale, giving slight chuckles whenever appropriate. When her tale finally ended, he gently nudged his sister's side with a hoof.

"Sounds like you've turned out to be quite the teacher, huh?" he inquired with a smile. "The student's progress isn't only reflective of them, but the teacher's effectiveness, as well."

"Well, I try not to brag, but I do feel pretty proud," Twilight admitted, twinkles in her eyes. "And I feel a lot better about my teaching after having talked with Princess Celestia. We had a heart-to-heart that I haven't had with her in a really long time."

"Princess Celestia is incredible, that's for sure. I've never met a pony as gentle and pure as she is—well, apart from my wife, that is."

As the pair made their way up the staircase, the echo of opening doors from far below caught their attention. One of these echoes persisted, fast approaching them as galloping hooves. Twilight blinked and looked back, as did Shining, and the two were met by a most welcome sight.

"Sunburst! Ooooh, and there's my adorable niece!" Twilight exclaimed.

"O-oh, hello, Twilight," Sunburst stuttered, using a hoof to readjust his glasses. "I wasn't expecting to find you down here—oh, nor you, for that matter, Prince Shining Armor. I would have thought you'd be with Princess Cadance by now."

Twilight side-eyed her brother, who merely chuckled.

"Twilight and I had to make an announcement for the crystal ponies first. You just barely missed it. But we're heading up to see Cadance and Thorax right now. Care to accompany us?"

The confidence Sunburst had just finished rebuilding fell apart again.

"K-King Thorax is already here!?" he rasped, his glasses once again falling down the bridge of his nose. "Oh goodness, I really am late, aren't I? I must apologize! Flurry Heart and I were so caught up building block structures to focus her levitation skills that we-"

"-it's alright, Sunburst," Shining Armor interrupted, raising a hoof. "From the looks of it, you and Flurry Heart are doing fine, and you both made it just in time. There's nothing to apologize for."

Shining’s expression then softened to that of foal-like glee, as he lit his horn and took the basket from Sunburst. Flurry Heart's eyes widened at the sight of her father, and Shining's pearly smile reflected back.

"How about we bring you to your mom, huh?" he said in a foal-like voice. "I bet she already misses you, especially with all those boring old politics she has to deal with! Yes, she does!"

Twilight turned to Sunburst with a grin.

"The last time I heard him talk like that was to me when I was a filly," she said nostalgically.

Sunburst readjusted his glasses once again.

"Well, I assure you, he's like that all the time, these days," he said with a chuckle. "I think he actually dotes on her more than the princess does."

"Well, of course. She's daddy's little girl."

The next few minutes passed by in relative silence, give or take a few coos from Flurry Heart. The group continued their ascent to the castle's utmost floor. Once there, Twilight realized something: somepony was missing. Or rather, somedragon.

Twilight rolled her eyes. No doubt Spike had been mobbed by the crystal ponies again. She really had to tag him with a transportation spell for easy retrieval, one of these days.

At last, the final door was reached, and Shining took the lead. Pink magic turned the doorknob, and Twilight cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

Spike would have to wait, for now. The wave of delicate, political discussion about to flow through that door demanded the alicorn's complete attention. With any luck, the Changeling Empire would remember this day as a momentous success, and the start of their political maturity in Equestria.

"T-Thorax, I wish to t-testify that this is c-cruel and u-unusual p-punishment!"

"I'm just demonstrating an alternate way of sharing love, Cornicle. It's purely for your benefit, I promise!"

Like a candle set before a flame, Twilight's composure melted, and the urge to giggle quickly rose to take its place.

Lounging on the far side of the room were Thorax and Cadance, loafed on either side of a cyan drone. Thorax had firmly pinned the changeling to the floor with one hoof and was now using it to rub the drone's exposed underbelly furiously. The drone contorted between fits of tearful laughter and desperate attempts to hold his composure, whilst his hooves twitched and his wings buzzed spasmodically against the floor. All the while, Thorax wore a sly grin, all too clearly enjoying himself.

The other changelings watched Cornicle suffer his torturous fate with a mixed response, from bemusement to uncertain terror.

"I wasn't prepared to witness this today," one drone muttered grimly.

"I think banishment is merciful by comparison," another whispered. "Just look at his face...he's been met with a terrible fate, hasn't he?"

"I see the discussions are going well," Shining Armor announced sarcastically, drawing attention from everyone in the room. He strolled across the threshold towards his wife, greeting her with a kiss upon securing her side.

"I was teasing Thorax about the time he asked me what tickling was, when he saw me tickling Flurry during his stay," Cadance explained, gently taking control of Flurry Heart's basket with her magic and bringing it to rest on the floor in front of her. "Some of the changelings seemed confused about what that was, too, so I may have convinced Thorax it'd be a good idea to show them. Oh, this poor thing never saw it coming. He shouldn't have been sitting so close."

"You two are cruel when you're left together."

"In my defense, he took the idea and ran with it. I think we're coming up on a full minute here, and he didn't learn that kind of evil from me, I assure you."

"T-Thorax! P-Please s-stop!", Cornicle choked out, tears rolling down his face. "P-Please s-show me mer-ercy, Your Hi-highness!"

Thorax cocked his head in mock thought, still grinning. The other changelings gazed on with bated breath, as if waiting for the final judgment on a proposed exile.

"Well, alright. I suppose that's enough demonstration," Thorax said at last, withdrawing his hoof and letting the changeling breathe full breaths at last. "Thanks for the assistance, Cornicle. If any of the others still have questions, can you field them for me?"

Cornicle nodded his head in a short series of jitters, forcing an exaggerated grin. He scampered across the tiled floor to retreat among his peers, who quickly encircled him in a curious buzz. The soft sounds of hushed chattering quickly filled the air, with the occasional head peering up over the crowd to glance at Thorax.

"You'd think they've never heard about something as simple as tickling before," Twilight said with a giggle, having settled herself on the floor by Shining Armor.

"Well, that's because they haven't," Thorax replied flatly. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they're all seriously discussing my sanity and how they may have underestimated my willingness to use torture tactics."

"Do they really not understand that you were just playing around?" Sunburst inquired. A maternal glare from Cadance convinced him to sit beside them at last.

"To be honest, things like affection and non-territorial playing are still new concepts for them. It's taken over a month for most of them to warm up to the idea of sleeping in clusters, and that's something tangible they can actually feel the effects of. I think it'll be some time still before a lot of them fully understand and appreciate spontaneous stuff."

"Doesn't that mean you may have just freaked them all out and made them more cautious around you?"

Eyes glanced around for the voice's source, except for Twilight, who immediately turned towards the doorway to find it. A young dragon leaned against the wall with his claws crossed, watching his tall friend with an almost crude endorsement.

"Oh, there you are, Spike," Twilight said aloud, mentally checking off a list item. "I was wondering where you disappeared to."

"The crystal ponies thought I might have some insights on the changelings." Spike casually walked over to the group of royal ponies and took a seat by Thorax. "They wanted to know why they looked so different and stuff. They caught up to me right as I was gonna follow you guys inside from the balcony."

"You know, I had been wondering where my fill of dragon sarcasm had gone so suddenly." The quip was followed by stuck-out tongues exchanged between them.

"Well, to answer your question, Spike," said Thorax, locking eyes with the flock of drones still watching him closely. "The changelings already know me pretty well, and for better or worse, they know me as a bit of a 'soft-shell'. So whenever I do something they find strange, they tend to write it off as 'Thorax being weird again.’ But I'm sure eventually they'll find these kinds of things more commonplace, or at least that's my hope."

"So you play around and tease them whenever you get the opportunity so that they'll loosen up and eventually learn how to better express and share love?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, that's about the gist of it. Of course, I do it simply because it's fun and rewarding, too."

"That's pretty devious of you, ol' pal…I like it."

"Well, you can thank Cadance and Shining Armor for giving me the idea in the first place." Thorax looked at the royal pair. "I learned so much while I was in the empire. I was made to be the poster changeling for sharing love, but even I had no idea just how many different ways there are for love to be shared. If I hadn't spent so much time here, I wouldn't have even known where to start in leading the changelings."

"It was a pleasure for us as well, Thorax," Cadance replied softly, levitating Flurry Heart from her basket and placing her between her front hooves. The baby alicorn now had a far better view of the many friendly faces all around her, and she fixated on those she knew best. "Having you stay with us taught us so much about changelings and their culture, and perhaps more importantly, it gave us a new perspective. Frankly, it was an experience Shining Armor and I very much needed, after our...less than positive experience with changelings at our wedding."

"Thwaa?" Flurry Heart eyed Thorax with cautious fascination. At that moment, the group of ponies smiled warmly at the baby alicorn, and a few changelings across the room shivered in content.

"Whoa, did you guys feel that?" one drone asked aloud, twitching his wings from under his carapace.

"Yeah, that was some burst of love."

"Do you recognize Thorax, Flurry?" Cadance asked in her sweetest voice. "He's a big changeling now, and definitely a lot more colorful, but he's the same old Thorax."

"Thwaaa...phhpthwaa!" Flurry gibbered again, beaming brightly the more she watched Thorax wave at her.

"Aha, hello, Flurry! I bet you couldn't see me very well in your basket before, huh?" Thorax lowered his head to meet her eye level. Flurry reached out to boop his snout with her hoof, and Thorax stuck his tongue out reactively, much to her amusement.

"She's just as friendly and happy as always," he said with a chuckle, letting the little alicorn gently grab onto his nose as she traced her gaze up to his imposing antlers. "I'm surprised she recognized me so quickly, though."

"Well, of course. She'll always recognize her favorite playmate," said Shining, sharing a mutually content look with his wife. "Changelings are the most effective hide-and-seek and 'peek-a-boo' players I've ever seen."

Thorax locked eyes with Shining Armor for a brief moment thereafter. A pure, undiluted joy filled his eyes.

"Thanks, Shining Armor. But really, it was my pleasure. I loved spending time with her! Not to mention, I wanted to do something to help repay you for your generosity of letting me stay in the castle. Helping you and Sunburst look after her was the least I could do."

Flurry began to try and pull herself up onto the large changeling's head, gripping the base of his antlers for support. But as valiant an effort as it was, she tumbled back down again, much to Thorax's immediate concern. When she giggled again, Thorax sighed in relief.

"Papa Thoraaaaax!" An abrupt and whiny voice pierced the air like a knife. "When can we go back outside? I haven't gotten to talk to a single crystal pony yet."

Thorax's train of thought derailed entirely, his attention stolen by its most talented thief. Tiny hooves climbed his back, and Thorax could only chuckle and wonder what had taken the nymph so long to cause a disruption.

Apex's ruby eyes appeared between Thorax's antlers, peering at the many faces surrounding him. But it only took a moment for him to disregard everyone else entirely and lean around Thorax's horn to demand his gaze promptly.

"Hello, Apex. Can I help you?" Thorax asked cheekily, determined to put on a show for his gracious hosts.

"Didn't you hear me? Come on, Papa Thorax, your ears are as big as my head! What good are they if you can't hear stuff with them?"

Thorax started to laugh, as did the observing ponies. Apex blinked and pulled his head up in surprise.

"W-What? What did I say?"

"Apex, you do know we were in the middle of a conversation, right?" As soon as Thorax spoke, Apex's head entered his view once again.

"Yeah, but you're not even talking with the ponies about polo ticks like you said you would. Why do we have to be up here? The princess pony showed us the room, so can we go, now?"

Eyes watched Apex with endearment, and Thorax called the nymph's bluff with a smirk.

"Well, I need to stay up here for a little while longer, but if you'd like to go outside, I don't see why not. As long as you stay with Tibia and the others, and if it's okay with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor..."

Thorax trailed off to give an acknowledging glance at the ponies in question. Shining Armor received a nod from Cadance, then turned back to Thorax with one of his own. He then turned to address the drones welcomingly.

"That's fine by us. Please explore the empire as you see fit, everyone," Shining stated. "The crystal ponies have been made fully aware of the situation, and I have guards stationed at key locations in and out of the castle, in case you need help. All I ask is that you remain inside the empire's walls. The frozen wastelands are dangerous, and we do not regularly patrol their depths. I wouldn't want anyone becoming lost and unaccounted for."

As if given the most exciting news of their lives, the convoy of changelings gave wide, open-mouthed smiles and departed from their perches. Some took to the sky and flew from the tall windows, while others trotted out the door to tour the vast castle on their own terms. Eventually, however, Thorax cocked an eyebrow at the one who hadn't moved an inch from his head.

"There you go, Apex, you're free to go outside, now. Just stick close to Tibia, alright?"

Thorax received no response this time. Only the still, dead weight of the nymph signaled his presence.

"Apex?"

"..."

"Apex?"

"..."

"Apex, what's wrong? I thought you just said you wanted to-"

"-I'm just gonna stay up here actually, Papa Thorax," Apex muttered, his snout hidden between his front hooves. Thorax exchanged glances with Twilight and Cadance, who smiled at him with discerning looks.

"Apex?"

"What?"

"Why don't you want to go outside now? You just said you wanted to."

"Well, I don't want to if you're not gonna be out there, too."

Thorax smirked to himself. A final piece of a puzzle had fallen into place. He felt a seed of affection take root in his chest, and a stoked fire spread rapidly through his body. 

"Apex, you're not jealous of Flurry Heart getting so much of my attention just now, are you?"

Apex shifted his position and turned his head. Thorax could have sworn he heard him mumble something in reply.

"Apex, you know you don't have to be jealous."

"I'm not jealous of the baby pony! That's you saying that, Papa Thorax, not me."

Twilight looked on as if the scene was the climax of a soap opera. The rest of the group was just as attentive.

"It's true that Flurry Heart and I spent a lot of time together," Thorax admitted. "While I was in the empire, I lived here in the castle, so playing and interacting with her became a daily routine. And I wouldn't take back any of it—Flurry helped me understand the forms of sharing love that have led me to where I am today. It was an amazing learning experience, and one I'll never forget for sentimental reasons, as well."

Apex said nothing, but Thorax felt a sharp exhale of breath race across his forehead.

"But you know, you’re forgetting something very important, Apex." The big changeling reached up and gently rubbed his hoof along the nymph's tiny head. "Flurry Heart is Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor's child, not mine. That honor goes to you."

Apex’s ruby eyes shot open, and his body shivered.

"Really?" he squeaked. Thorax chuckled, and his twin antlers ignited in a blaze of teal magic. He levitated the small drone down between his hooves. Once there, a hoof wrapped itself around Apex's underbelly, pulling him close. The nymph peered upwards, again meeting Thorax's gaze from an upside-down perspective.

"Of course, Apex. Did you think you could get away with calling me 'Papa Thorax' for so long without it rubbing off on me?" Thorax asked rhetorically, perfectly content to hold the tiny drone forever. "Lately, you and the other nymphs have made me feel more like a parent than a king. But, you know...I don't think they have to be so different."

Apex felt his head briskly rubbed again by Thorax's hoof, but this time he met it with an eccentric chirp.

Twilight silently squealed. With exaggerated pupils, she turned to her brother and sister-in-law.

"Aren't they simply adorable!?" she whispered gleefully, her face pressed between her hooves. "The intimacy of their patriarchal dynamic is just so precious! I've been with them for two days now, and I still can't get over it! And you should see how they sleep together in clusters. They restore each other through sharing love while they sleep, it's so fascinating!"

"Whoa now, Twilight, calm down before you blow a fuse," Spike chuckled, gently patting the alicorn on her flank.

"It's a beautiful thing, indeed," Cadance replied warmly. The princess turned her lavender eyes back towards Thorax. He and Apex were practically lost in a playful world of their own. She appeared lost as well, entranced in a seven-mile stare that went far past the room's walls.

"I understand what Princess Celestia meant in her letter, now," Shining Armor said quietly, holding his wife in a close embrace as Cadance swept Flurry into one of her own. Even Sunburst seemed smitten, taking a chance to ruffle the young filly's hair.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked.

"As I mentioned during my speech to the crystal ponies, Princess Celestia sent a message to the empire after her initial visit with the changelings, which differed from the message she sent across the rest of Equestria," the stallion explained.

"My aunt doesn't become overwhelmed by emotion very often, but through her writing, I could tell she had, this time," Cadance added. She watched Apex leap behind Thorax's back in an attempt to hide, whilst Thorax ungracefully twisted around and fell over in an attempt to grab him. All the while, both changelings were at the mercy of their unbridled laughter.

"She wouldn't stop going on and on about how the empire would be the perfect place for the changelings to make their start. She was so insistent on that point, that it actually surprised me. But now I understand. Being in-tune with love magic, I felt something just now; something that puts everything she was talking about into perspective. Shining Armor felt it, too, because our magic is synced."

Cadance turned to meet Twilight's agape look, her eyes on the verge of tears.

"Even if you can't recognize it, I'm sure your mood has been impacted by it, Twilight. What I just felt was broadcasted love magic. The changelings don't just share love now. It looks like they can also spread love to other living things."

Twilight's eyes darted among random sections of the crystalline floor before a gasp filled her lungs.

"You...you mean like you, like the crystal heart...", she muttered to herself, a massive epiphany overtaking her mind. The hive's flourishing plant life, the changelings' polarized demeanors—as connections fired off, Twilight developed a mad grin.

"Oh my gosh, that makes so much sense! Why didn't I think of that? Spike, quick, help me take notes! This is going to make Equestrian history! No species but the crystal ponies have ever been capable of magically spreading love!"

Twilight scurried to pull her notes and journals from her saddlebags. Meanwhile, Thorax shared a long glance with Cadance. Two monarchs of love, their cherished children peacefully resting against their hooves.