"Get inside the hive, hatchlings, it's about to get torrential."
A lime green bug scoffed. "Buzz off, sentry drone, we're not afraid of a little rain."
"Sorry, but that wasn't a suggestion. Get inside the hive."
"Oh, I'm shaking. Why do you care? Don't you have some door to go stand in front of?"
"What I care about is not getting scolded when you two get washed away and eaten by a manticore."
"Sounds like insecurities talking from your days as Chrysalis's foot stool."
The speaker, a young adolescent with gleaming orange eyes donned a wicked sneer. The recipient, an armored changeling guard, ground his teeth together as he gave a brisk snort in reply.
"Quit stalling and get inside," the guard growled. "King Thorax expects a head count, and you two are last on the list, per usual. If you'd like to complain about his policies, I'd recommend taking it up with him inside."
The sneering changeling said no more. Making his way through a morphing hole in the hive's wall, head held high, a hornless changeling sporting aqua eyes trotted after him. The pair made their way down the corridor, and once finally out of earshot, the blue-eyed drone let out a deep sigh.
"You're as venomous as ever, Katipo," he muttered, forcing a chuckle. "Did you see his face? I thought he was going to flatten you for sure."
"Not like it'd have surprised me if he had," the amber-eyed changeling replied. "Up until recently sarcasm and cold humor was the way of life around here. Not my fault we changed policies overnight. If changelings wanna be soft-shells now just because some new leader is all about the warm and fuzzies, that's their problem."
"Well it's probably in your best interest to tone it down at least, I don't think Thorax likes it when changelings act like that. Even the guards have stopped giving you as much guff as they used to. Things are really changing."
Katipo slowly rolled his compound eyes. "What can I say, I'm a product of my upbringing and the environment I've been subjected to."
The blue-eyed bug let out a sharp cackle. "Way to avoid responsibility and justify being mean. One of these days you're gonna get thrashed by some pent up changeling, and when that day comes I'm gonna laugh."
The distant sound of thunder rippled through the air, clearly audible from even the depths of the hive. Dark and foreboding, the sky outside was thick with ripe storm clouds, pounding the exterior of the hive with a steady stream of rain.
The storm's presence was noticeable even from inside the hive's dry walls. The more the young drones navigated through twisting hallways, the more barren and desolate those hallways became. Changelings had already fled to the deeper parts of the hive to seek safety. Impenetrable to the cold rain, the nesting chamber had become a popular spot for changelings - from the occasional drone seeking peace and quiet, to the entire hive using it for meetings and convergences.
"It looks like everyling has descended to the lower hive, already."
"Way to state the obvious, Kumara."
"Hey, I'm just making conversation. You're the grump on a warpath to spread his bad mood to everyling else."
"Have you met me? That's how I am every day."
"Yeah well, maybe getting soaked in the rain wouldn't be such a bad idea for you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It might cool you off a bit. Maybe then you'd actually be pleasant for once."
Kumara put on a cheeky smile. Katipo shot daggers.
"Will I cool off, or will the rain boil to steam off my back? That is the question."
"Ooh, so edgy. Keep it up, edgeling, wow me with more epic comebacks."
With every changeling secure in the lower hive, the upper levels of their kingdom had become as silent and eerie as a tomb. But the pair of drones challenged that silence with the echoes of their increasingly loud voices. Their bickering rounded corners and reverberated through passageways, as they made their way through the cold castle of stone.
"So I've got a question then."
"Yeah?"
"If you find me so miserable then why do you hang out with me?"
"Mostly because you're really funny, and I get to live vicariously through you. If you think being you while you're roasting changelings is fun, you should try watching you do it. Classic."
"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Katipo said dryly. "You turn into me, I'll turn into you, and you can do terrible impressions of me while I cringe on the sidelines. We'll have a grand old time."
Just as Kumara began formulating a reply, something in his peripheral caused his heart to flutter, and his train of thought to derail. Turning his gaze to a side room they were passing, he found a darkened abyss, lit only by the marginally brighter clouded sky outside filtering in through a trio of carved windows.
Kumara's sudden halt of both body and mouth caught Katipo's attention.
"What are you doing?", the salt bug asked, equal parts confused and impatient.
"...I think something is in there," Kumara muttered, his voice barely a whisper. He stood transfixed like a spooked deer, squinting in an attempt to pierce the darkness.
"What are you talking about?", Katipo replied, impatience growing. He peered into the room, his eyes darting around the void, searching for the source of his friend's sudden skittish behavior. "Leave it to you to see things in the dark. You're a total scaredy bug."
But as soon as Katipo's mocking words fell from his mouth, he too saw it. Amidst the tall rectangular windows was a blackened shape, still and quiet. The pair of drones silenced themselves, and once more the distant sound of driving rain filled the air.
"...Katipo, go see what it is."
"Why me? You saw it first, you go see what it is."
"I can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"I'm allergic to shadow beasts."
"Oh right, my mistake. I forgot you're a helpless nymph in a drone's body."
Katipo slowly entered the room, the overwhelming darkness consuming his form. His orange eyes aglow, he cautiously crept towards the dark figure, adrenaline on high alert to bolt if the situation took a turn.
"If you're able to speak, that'd be cool," Katipo declared aloud. "If you're more about fangs and claws, that's cool too, we'll just be on our way out before you get to that."
The young drone felt a lurch in his chest as the shape moved. A pair of magenta eyes stared back at him through the darkness.
"No fangs or claws here, but be careful moving around in the dark, okay? These antlers are pretty sharp - I don't want you to poke your eye out."
Katipo felt a mixed wave of relief and amusement wash over him. "It's just Thorax, you dolt,", he called across the room, where Kumara's aqua eyes blinked from the open doorway.
"Wait, really? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure. He just warned me not to stab myself on his head rack."
"Oh, yeah, that does sound like him."
Impending danger proven to be little more than his vivid imagination, Kumara meandered into the dimly lit room, heading towards the floating eyes watching him.
"Thorax, what are you doing here?" Kumara inquired, struggling to see. "Shouldn't you be with the rest of the hive in the nesting chamber by now? I thought you were the one who started these mandatory rain procedures."
"More importantly, why are you sitting here alone in the dark?" Katipo followed up, his eyes beginning to adjust to the low levels of light. Thorax's face, and the relaxed smile he held steady were now visible.
"Well firstly, I'm not alone," the alpha changeling whispered, motioning his head towards his front hooves, where a small shape rested. "As for why I'm here, I just needed somewhere nice and secluded to think for a bit. I'll join the others in a few minutes, I just figured it takes everyling a while to settle down after getting down there, so I'd rather avoid the crowds."
"Hold on, is that Apex?" Kumara asked absently, crouching towards the ground to get a better look at the alpha bug's front legs. A black shape made a few twitching movements, unidentifiable with no eyes open to illuminate his form.
"That's a silly question," Katipo said flatly. "Apex is hardly ever away from Thorax. Do you really have to ask who that is?"
Kumara stuck out his tongue at the salt bug, safe from retaliation thanks to the veil of darkness.
"You're Kumara, right?" Thorax clarified, focusing on the blue lights before him. "I think we spent some time together when I was first crowned - when I wanted to get to know all the hive's nymphs and young changelings. It's nice to see you again."
Kumara gave a smile and nod, but quickly realized the monarch probably couldn't see them.
"It's nice to see you again too, Thorax," Kumara said politely. "I think it's cool you wanted to hang out with us. You really live up to your 'Papa Thorax' nickname."
Thorax pivoted his gaze from one drone to the other. Katipo's half-closed eyes shined most of all, highlighting his apathetic look.
"You must be Katipo," Thorax surmised.
"Stellar deduction, your highness."
"You're the drone I keep hearing about from the border guards."
"You're just on fire tonight, your highness."
Thorax smiled, and then, he laughed. For the briefest of moments Katipo's far-away stare snapped back to attention.
"Why don't you guys join me for a few minutes?" Thorax offered, turning to each of them once more in turn. "Apex and I could use some company, and once we get downhive it'll be a mad house. Let's enjoy the peace and quiet while we have it."
Kumara nodded without hesitation. Katipo curled his lip, but accepted the offer all the same. The pair of drones sunk to the cool stone floor on either side of Thorax, fidgeting their legs to get comfortable. Thorax took a deep breath, returning his focus to the shroud of rain just beyond the room's windows, obscuring the world from view.
"...do you listen to the rain often, Thorax?" Kumara chirped up.
"Oh yes, I've always loved the rain," the bug monarch said softly. "It's soothing, and when I was away from the hive I used to listen to the rain all the time. It helped me fall asleep, and it helped me not think about my problems so much."
"Unless you get caught in it, then you've picked up a new problem altogether," Kumara chuckled.
"Well yes, there is that," Thorax acknowledged. "But that's why I started these drills. We can't fly in the heavy rain, and with our sensitive eyes even full grown changelings can get disoriented. It's best if we avoid downpours altogether."
"Well I still don't see what's so threatening about it," Katipo challenged. "Unless you go wandering around like an idiot, you're probably gonna be fine. I always have been. Your guards always get on our case, but Chrysalis never cared what we did. I've practically swam in rainstorms before, and here I am, fully intact."
The soothing sound of water dripped from the windows, combining with the steady static of rain. Kumara gave a little yawn as he watched water droplets shatter against the windowsills, and Thorax watched Katipo with a kind of patient interest.
"I know it may sound corny, and I know you're probably not used to hearing things like this, but I deeply care about all of you guys - all the changelings."
Thorax dropped his gaze to the tiny nymph snuggled between his hooves, blissfully ignorant of everything around him as he slept. "That said, I know a lot of you are bitter. Following Chrysalis, it can be hard to take me seriously, and I understand that. You're not the only one having trouble adjusting, Katipo, and I don't want you to think you're alone-"
"No offense your highness but you can save the sappy speeches," Katipo interrupted, his narrowed eyes once again piercing through the dark. "I'm not lonely or insecure or whatever, I just act the way I always have, and it's gonna be a while before I do anything remotely different. In the meantime I'm not going to apologize for it."
Katipo withdrew his face deeper into his hooves, doing his best to ignore the pair of luminescent eyes surveying him.
"That's fine," Thorax replied, his voice even more quiet than before. "All I want is for you to be happy, and to feel comfortable with where and how you live. No kingdom is created overnight - moving at your own pace is all I ever expect. Just remember I'm always here if you'd like to talk. Being here to support you is part of what I'm here for."
The cold, dark room fell into silence for a time. The torrential downpour continued on outside, the distant sky flickering with brilliant forks of lightning. Even as he watched the rain, Thorax could see that the young bugs were growing more still, more calm. He himself could feel his alert state of mind slipping down a slope. The rainfall was a potent relaxant, affecting even the rowdiest of changelings.
"Thorax."
"Yes?"
"Do the guards really talk to you about me?"
Once more Thorax's enjoyment of the evening rain was halted. He turned to look at the salt bug, who was now watching him with a glint of investment. Thorax could only smile at the sudden outreach.
"At least twice a week I overhear, or am directly told about a 'troublesome brat' who always manages to put them in a bad mood," Thorax explained, donning a subtle smirk as he went on. "In fact, I've yet to see a weekly security meeting that hasn't involved your name somewhere in the conversation at least once."
Katipo's orange eyes ignited as a sly smirk crossed his face. "I knew they complained to you about me. They totally deserve it, though, they're obnoxious to the point of inducing nausea."
"They might seem overbearing at times, but I do hope you know they're only trying to protect you," Thorax reasoned. "They want to keep you safe, just as I want to keep you safe. Protecting our young is always my biggest concern."
Katipo's cocky, boastful demeanor was quickly disarmed. He had expected a counter, a scolding of his habit of provoking the guards to start with, but not this. The adolescent drone buried his mouth into his legs, once more avoiding Thorax's watchful eye.
"They sure have an irritating way of doing it," Katipo grumbled. "I've never needed protection before, and I don't need it now."
A fork of lightning tore apart the sky, illuminating the bugs against the stone floor. Sitting contently by Thorax's side, Kumara scarcely even breathed as he watched this rare interaction unfold. Thorax tilted his head in an attempt to spot Katipo's concealed face, but to no avail. The bug's slender eyes were all that was visible.
"There's nothing wrong in protecting each other, you know," Thorax said softly. "When everyling works together, we're stronger than we are apart."
"I don't need other changeling's help to be strong."
"Katipo, it's not a sign of weakness to require a little help from time to time."
"That's not what Chrysalis believed."
Thorax said nothing. The smell of damp grass flowed through the chamber on the howling wind, teasing the changeling's senses while eliciting shivers from their shells.
"You know, you're so different from her, it's actually a little scary," Katipo continued, barely audible now over the relentless rain. "She never cared what we did as long as we followed her, she never asked how we felt or what we were interested in - as long as changelings followed her orders when she called, she left us alone. It was...detached, I guess, but for me it worked. I never got along with most other changelings anyway."
Katipo's gaze fell to Apex. The tiny drone twisted and turned about in his sleep, settling once more upon gripping hold of Thorax's leg. Katipo then lifted his eyes to Apex's grand castle, Thorax, and looked him in the eye for the very first time.
"And now here we are - Chrysalis is gone, changelings suddenly care about each other, and here I am, feeling like I'm the odd one because I didn't flip-flop overnight like everyling else. Whether it was for better or worse, I just don't get how we went from someling like Chrysalis to someling like you."
"Katipo, this isn't the time to be blunt", Kumara said abruptly, leaning around Thorax to deliver an unseen scowl. "Regardless whether you like how things are now or not, you should at least show him respect, especially to his face."
"That's alright, Kumara," Thorax interjected, the ghost of a smile playing around his mouth. "I'd never be angry with anyling for being honest with me. Actually, that's something I'd hope every changeling would be comfortable in doing."
Kumara's ears drooped. Still staring at his sour-tongued friend, he readjusted himself and remained silent.
"A lot has changed very quickly, perhaps too quickly," Thorax said thoughtfully, taking a moment to drink in the cool, damp air. "I was away from the hive for some time, but even before I left I never had a very big social circle. That's showing now more than ever. I have to work on earning everyling's trust as their new leader, and to meet with those who still have concerns - but honestly I'm still just trying to learn everyling's name. Believe me, there's still a lot of work to do."
Another chilled breeze swept through the chamber, and Kumara's violet shell quivered. With his attention locked on Thorax, the young drone instinctively pressed himself into the monarch's side, seeking warmth.
"But even if we are fractured right now, everyling took a step that's never been done before," Thorax said, acknowledging Kumara's affection with a warm smile. "Changelings have a chance to discover friendship, now. They have a chance to experience love in a pure form, rather than taking it from other creatures. And do you know what excites me the most? We actually have the opportunity to live together as more than workers for a cause. We can actually be a kingdom where everyling has their own identity, and everyling can stand out for their own thoughts and beliefs, not just what their leader wants them to think and believe."
Katipo pressed his chin against the smooth stone floor. "That seems counterproductive to me. Changelings have always had a hive mindset, I mean look what we live in. Trying to teach changelings to be unique is like telling a boulder to roll uphill."
Kumara stifled a laugh from Thorax's other side.
"It's true that changelings are most comfortable in swarms, but that doesn't mean each changeling can't have his or her own identity, too, does it?" Thorax asked. "If even a few changelings had new thoughts and ideas, shouldn't they be heard?"
With an exasperated sigh Katipo rolled onto his side, facing away from the other two changelings.
"All I'm saying is that I'm here to support you, whatever paths you choose to take," Thorax explained. "Changelings have always been tight-knit creatures, living together to accomplish goals for their leader, but I think a leader should care about and support their subjects, as well."
"Aww, you hear that, Katipo?" Kumara called in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Papa Thorax says we're all one big happy family."
"Shut up, Kumara."
"Don't you want to come cuddle with him, too?"
"I said buzz off!"
"Guys, guys, come on. You're going to wake Apex-"
"You could fit right over there under his hoof if you really squeeze in."
"Keep talking and I will come over there and end you, bug."
"W-what's going on?"
All other voices ceased as Apex's groggy, confused one joined the fray. The nymph pushed his way out of Thorax's legs, stood to his hooves and peered around at the two newcomers.
"What are you guys doing here?" Apex asked curiously. "Everyling else is supposed to be downhive."
"Hey, menace," Katipo said slyly, grinning at the tiny drone.
"Ugh, it's you, Katipo," Apex responded. "Why are you here? I thought you get sick when you have to be near other changelings."
"Very funny. Kumara was a ditz and thought Thorax was a shadow monster from the hallway, so here we are."
Apex wheeled around to stare at Kumara's blue orbs, his sassy demeanor replaced with childish amusement and glee. "Wait, you thought Papa Thorax was a shadow monster!? Seriously!?"
"And on that note, we should probably get going," Thorax said suddenly, promptly standing from his spot and scooping up Apex with a burst of magic. "I'm sure any minute now the guards will come looking for us, and I don't want to cause them any more stress than they're already dealing with."
Kumara and Katipo followed the alpha changeling's lead, standing and stretching their legs of cramps before following him towards the lit doorway. Apex reeled in laughter as he rolled about between Thorax's antlers, keeping Kumara in his sights as he giggled and wiped away easily shed tears.
"A s-shadow monster!?", the nymph repeated again. "Friendly, soft and cuddly Papa Thorax a shadow monster!? I'm gonna have to tell everyling about that one!"
Katipo shot Kumara a wicked sneer. "He's sure got you figured, Kumara."
"Shut up, Katipo. You were on edge, too."
"I'm also the one who had enough nerve to actually go in the room."
"I said shut up!"
"Ooh, the cuddlebug has fangs. I better watch myself, wouldn't want to get teethed on."
Kumara growled. "To cite your own question from earlier, sometimes I do have to wonder why I'm friends with you."
The storm of rain grew muffled and distant as the changelings made their way through the arteries of the hive. Before long Apex's restlessness took hold of him - he leapt down from Thorax's head to trot along ahead, taking great pride in pretending to guide the group down each hallway. As Apex continued to mock Kumara, the blue-eyed changeling stepped ahead to try and convince the excitable nymph to not spread gossip of the evening's events.
Staying in the rear were Katipo and Thorax, walking alongside each other. While Thorax remained calm and fixated, watching Apex's shenanigans up ahead with amusement, Katipo watched the floor beneath his hooves.
"Thorax."
"Hmm?"
"Do you really think changelings can be as close as you want them to be?"
Thorax stared off into space with a content smile. "Serving under Chrysalis made us cold and distant from each other, but I believe we're just as capable of finding happiness and love as any other species in Equestria."
"I still think it's wishful thinking," Katipo replied flatly, "but I can't say it doesn't interest me. All these things you want us to do are things changelings have never tried before. No matter what happens, I'm sure it'll be hilarious to watch."
Thorax came to a standstill, turning and beaming at the drone. "Katipo, are you actually giving me a chance?"
The adolescent drone curled the corner's of his mouth into a subtle smile. "Let's just say I wouldn't mind tagging along for the ride. A front row seat to see the growing pains and adjustment troubles of changelings trying to be the good guys for once? Priceless. Just don't expect me to call you 'Papa Thorax' or anything, or to let up on those sentry drones. I have a reputation to uphold."
Katipo picked up his pace, trotting ahead to join his friend. The young changelings had arrived at the entrance of the nesting chamber, and now hundreds of glowing eyes stared them down as they entered, the new changeling monarch right on their tail.
"I wouldn't want it any other way."