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// My Brother's Keeper is All of Us 
// Story: The King of Love Bugs 
// by NavelColt 
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"Peachy. Now the tiny terror is here. Better evacuate the city, Your Highnesses. Noling can conjure headaches like Apex can!"

A pestering hoof prodded at Apex's crimson shell. He huffed and kicked at it with his back legs. Thorax, whose head served as the battlefield, winced through it all.

"I am not a tiny terror!" Apex retorted, leaping to his hooves and wheeling around in one motion. A grunt of discomfort from Thorax went unnoticed. "I am a 'rambunkshious bedbug'. That's what Papa Thorax said. And that means I outrank you, Xenny. Did Papa Thorax give you an awesome nickname?"

He paused, but only long enough for Xenica to barely open her mouth before adding, "I didn't think so!"

Xenica pursed her lips, playing along. Her hivemates snickered for her.

Apex's tail swished to and fro in front of Thorax's face. The alpha lazily blew at the pesky appendage, but his eyes pursued another target. His brother's uncanny smirk continued to mock him from across the room, and Thorax couldn't decide on returning one of equal snark or something more irate.

"Enjoying yourself, Pharynx?" The smirk had won. He wouldn’t suffer his brother's belittling before the eyes of Equestria's near-complete coregency. "Did you really come all the way here yourself, just because you couldn't handle Apex? Were all the messenger and escort changelings on vacation, too?"

An uncomfortable moment of quiet led to a decisive drop of Pharynx's head. It then shook slowly to the beat of a menacing chuckle.

"Sure, I'll bite," Pharynx cooed with an eerie smile. He stepped into the foyer proper, taking it upon himself to close the front doors with a burst of magic. "See, I was going to leave quietly and let you get on with whatever chimeric mesh of politics and touchy-feely nonsense is clearly going on here. But you know what, Thorax? You wanna sass me, instead? I got time."

Pharynx advanced steadily towards Thorax, who braced himself for the coming storm of sarcasm. The trio of alicorns, meanwhile, stayed unnoticed on the sidelines and watched with interest.

"Quite charming, isn't he?" Luna deadpanned. "He breaks Thorax's mold entirely. I must admit, after seeing such positive behavior from the rest of the changelings, I'm surprised to see one so..."

"Gruff?" Twilight offered. Luna nodded. "I've never met him face-to-face before, either. I've heard quite a bit about him from Thorax and Starlight, though."

"Was he not present during your initial visits to the hive, Twilight?" Celestia asked, fighting to contain her giggling at the brotherly faceoff.

"Not even once. Starlight told me that before his reformation, Pharynx was a figurative black sheep. He tended to stay away from the other changelings, and when he was around, he went out of his way to cause disarray because he disagreed with how things were being run. And according to Thorax, he didn't even see Pharynx for weeks after Chrysalis's defeat."

"Hmm. A spiteful sibling feeling cast aside. How such a thing could spark rebellion baffles the mind."

Luna grinned shamelessly, even as Celestia’s head turned slowly towards her.

Across the room, the boisterous taunting escalated.

"Don't tell me you're losing your touch, Thorax." Pharynx’s hoof was like a snake that dodged and weaved every attempt to block it from showering Thorax's carapace with light jabs. His sneer grew the more Thorax protested. "Don't tell me His Royal Dorkbug, he who has mastered the art of the hug, can't handle one more changeling. I mean, it's not like you're essentially on vacation right now. It's not like you have three princess escorts here to help you keep an eye on everyone."

"I don't object to having Apex with me, but I was trying to keep myself and our schedule as stress-free as possible by having our group be relatively small," Thorax said, annoyed. His temper boiled in an instant with a flare of his eyes. "And will you knock it off? I might be able to handle six drones and a nymph today, but six drones and two nymphs is too much."

The assailing hoof retreated. A choir of chittering sounded from behind Thorax and harmonized with the alicorns’ giggles.

"There's that bite your dragon friend taught you," Pharynx commented coolly. He cracked a joint in his leg, and like a switch turned off, his demeanor changed. "I brought the gnat myself because I don't trust anyone else to do it, Thorax. No changeling other than a hive leader should be transporting nymphs across borders, and I can't spare to send a sizable squad right now. We're understaffed as it is. Which I can't understate enough is your fault."

For the first time, Pharynx offered his attention to the greater crowd. He met each welcoming face with the same reservation: a face etched from stone, unflinching and unremarkable.

"Besides, I was starting to feel restless. Figured I should at least make an appearance; show your pony friends that I'm more than this faceless big brother who never leaves the hive."

"Well, that certainly doesn't sound like you," Thorax quipped. "You love being a homebody and a loner. It kind of sounds like you're saying that you missed us, big brother. That you missed me."

Thorax beamed. Pharynx rolled his eyes.

"Like a head cold, Thorax. What I miss is you distracting the drones with your sap so I can actually get work done. Speaking of which, is this little field trip about done yet? The first changeling to look me in the face and tell me it takes more than an entire day to look at pony drawings is getting laughed at."

Pharynx raised a hoof to step forward, and his brother was suddenly consumed in a flurry of buzzing wings and tightening hooves. At that moment, Thorax found himself embraced within an assembled shield of changelings. The drones challenged the beta with looks lively enough to disarm his scowl.



"Sorry, Pharynx," said Clypeus. The drone huddled himself behind Thorax, peeking out from behind the alpha's chest crystals. "We can't go home yet. The princess ponies invited us to have dinner with them. I think we're obligated."

"Which means we can't let you bugnap Thorax, either," Xenica continued, pressing herself into Thorax from his immediate side and wearing a sly little smirk. "Or continue to rile him up, for that matter. Could you tone down the tough love for a bit? Physical meals get spoiled by stress, you know. Adds way too much spice."

"Glad to know I'm just a meal ticket at this point, guys," Thorax mumbled.

"You should stay and come to dinner with us, Pharynx," Calor added, pulling himself over the curvature of Thorax's shell. "Thorax would love for you to come, assuming you don't tell embarrassing stories about him the entire time."

"Wh-hold on, whose side are you guys on, anyway?"

Pharynx visibly shivered. He buckled under the sudden eruption of concentrated love magic. Oh, what a horrible mistake he'd made, leaving the cold embrace of the hive's lower bowels.

"Cuddlebugs, I swear," he murmured. He turned to the princesses and motioned a hoof to the ball of glitter and buzzing wings. "And you lot are seriously buying this? You sure you don't want to go to war with us just on principle, at this point? This is way more terrifying than anything Chrysalis could’ve dreamed up, trust me."

The princesses chuckled. Ever the icebreaker, Celestia stepped forth to formally greet the co-monarch. While she did, Luna whispered into Twilight’s ear.

"I retract my earlier statement, Twilight Sparkle. He's actually quite funny."

"Hello, Pharynx." Celestia greeted the changeling with a bow. "Or is it 'Prince Pharynx' now?"

"Just Pharynx." The changeling nodded briefly in return. "Thorax and I disagree on a lot of things, but royal titles being superficial is not one of them."

"Of course. Well, in case my guards failed to properly greet two changeling dignitaries today, I'd like to welcome you to Canterlot, Pharynx. It's our privilege to host both you and your brother."

Celestia peered at Luna. The two shared a brief gaze, one that served as a signal for its receiver.

"As your subject so generously mentioned, you are, of course, welcome to join us for dinner," Luna said. "I do not know Thorax's plans for the evening, but it is certainly the last planned item on our list."

Twilight trotted over to her tall, colorful friend.

"Aren't they impressive?" Her pupils had become stars. "I call it the 'Sister Cycle Two-Step'. They use it with all the foreign dignitaries. It has a ninety-nine percent success rate. I know. I've checked."

She waited for a response to her fangirling. When it didn't come, she sought Thorax's face. It was sheepish and distracted, caught by a rather devilish glare that Twilight was only now noticing.

It was Pharynx, and thankfully for Twilight, he repeated himself.

"Well, Thorax? We're all listening. What are your plans for the evening? Are we heading back after dinner, or are you gonna find some excuse to have a sleepover?"

"Always ready to embarrass me in front of everyone," Thorax hissed. His timidity had started to evaporate the longer he stared down at his brother. When he next spoke, it was clear and concise.

"I don't know yet. After dinner, I wanted to see how everyling was feeling. Maybe we’d head home from there if everything was settled. Although that was before you dropped Apex on me, Pharynx. He'll be tired after dinner this late, and I don't think either of us wants to try a journey home with a nymph after dark. If you think he's made you miserable now, try after his sleep schedule gets messed up. I might just stay here with him until daybreak. If any of the adults want to go home sooner, they could go with you. I assume you wouldn't want to stay overnight."

Pharynx’s flicker of smugness quickly faded. He'd walked into that one. Voices piped up from around Thorax's legs before he could respond.

"Who’d want to go home early? Ponies have good food, pretty castles, and fireplaces."

"A nice dip in our hot springs tomorrow after staying a night in the castle sounds amazing."

"Sleepovers mean cluster sleep in cozy pillows, right?" To his own question, Calor looked at Thorax. The alpha smiled weakly.

"Um, I hate to impose, Your Highnesses, but would you even be open to the idea of some of us staying the night? If not, I'm sure we could find somewhere in the city to stay. I remember the concept of hotels, though I'm not exactly sure how they work. We can figure it out."

"Nonsense," Luna declared. "The castle is vast, and even with our live-in staff, has several unused guest rooms available. You'll not need to learn the intricacies of hotel etiquette tonight, Thorax."

Luna winked, and to her left, Celestia not-so-subtly danced in place.

"Fine. Plan B, it is," Pharynx said. He promptly turned his back to the group and made headway for the door. "As for me, you're right, Thorax. I can spare neither the time nor the patience for staying here till dawn. Enjoy your pony food. I'll have a patrol squad ready to meet you all back at the hive in the morning."

"Uncle Pharynx, you're leaving already?"

Pharynx stopped. He could feel tiny eyes watching him, with an aura of desperation surrounding them. He sighed.

"Yes, I am. I should help Tarsus and Tibia keep the hive safe tonight."

"But what about the princess ponies and the dinner?"

"You, Thorax, and the adults are here to have dinner with them." To this, a few reassuring head pats befell Apex from his adult hivemates. "My attendance is a non-issue."

"But, what about Papa Thorax?"

Pharynx rolled his unseen eyes. "What about him?"

"Remember? When we were flying here and I said I was excited to see Papa Thorax again, you said 'I figured so', so then I said 'are you excited to see him, too?', and then you said 'hardly', and so I said 'but he's your brother, shouldn't you be happy to see him?'"

The eye-roll skidded to a stop.

"You didn't say anything about Thorax after that, but I felt warmness when I asked you that." Unbeknownst to Apex, his tall, multi-colored chariot was already grinning slyly. "Papa Thorax says warmness happens when changelings share love or feel love. You must have been excited to see him too, right, Uncle Pharynx?"

"For Hive's sake, let's write them a novel," Pharynx groaned. "Reenact a play while we're at it. Can't get away from the chatter even when I'm about to leave."

He turned in a bout of frustration, ready to vent further, but was stopped again. Thorax watched him with a kind of limitless patience and an indecipherable smile. Pharynx couldn't bring himself to turn his back again, not while trapped by a look like that.

"I was right earlier, wasn't I? Bringing Apex here wasn't really about getting time to yourself, at all." His heart leaped, his energy capped, but still, Thorax spoke softly. "It was an excuse. You really were hoping to get us to come home tonight, weren't you?"

"The gnat is getting better at tapping into his freaky empathy powers." Pharynx glared at Apex, only to get a tongue in return. "And yes, it seems I am, too. Emotions still make me sick, but lately, I've gotten it down to dry heaving."

Thorax dared to beam a wholesome look once again. It wasn't a direct answer, but then, he hadn't expected or needed one.

His big brother missed him, and it was all he could want in the world.

"...Far be it for me to ruin the moment," Luna said, "but does this mean you'll at least be staying for dinner, after all, Pharynx?"

Pharynx closed his eyes and moaned. True to his confession, he could feel the otherworldly tug of some unseen force in his abdomen, cluing him into the anticipation and excitement saturating the room. He could feel heat numbing the depths of his chilled heart, chipping away at his precious indifference.

He raised his head and glared at Thorax. Ultimately, this was all his fault. If the once-great patrol leader would fall to the clutches of hippiedom, then an even greater call for brotherly torment would soon be in order.

"Yeah, guess that's what's happening now," Pharynx answered flatly. He trotted back towards the group to the onset of victorious cheers. There, he met Thorax and demanded his eyes.

"To be clear, I'm not staying the night. After dinner, I'll head back, with or without anyone else."

"Yeah, alright."

Thorax held a cheeky little smile. Pharynx would’ve uppercut it if he cared any less about making his brother cry.

"You're a dork. A tall, sentimental eyesore of a dork. If I wake up someday soon with new pansy colors because I fell too deep into this new age love philosophy of yours, I'm coming for you."

"I love you too, Pharynx."

Pharynx smiled, though it was more conniving than his brother realized. His gaze bypassed Thorax.

"Yeah, I know you do. Hey, moon princess, can I bother you for a second?"

Thorax blinked confusedly. He watched his brother trot over to the lunar monarch and embrace her without so much as a word, and as a result, his face twisted with shock. A silent gasp was audibly filled by his drones in his place.

"Goodness, whatever did I do?" Luna chuckled, returning the hug.

"Just in the right place at the right time, princess," Pharynx whispered, dragging out the embrace until he could hear his brother's stammering.

"B-but you...What are-why would you-"

"Geez, Thorax, guess I'm getting used to this 'feeling emotions' thing even faster than I thought." His smile contorted into something blatantly sinister. "Now, where's this fabled dinner at? I admit I'm curious to see how greens and grains compare to greens and small arthropods."

"B-but Pharynx, you've never spontaneously hugged anyling in your life, not even me." Thorax's voice cracked, and his lip bordered a pout. From amidst his mobile fortress of doting changelings, he grew visibly antsy. His maturity slipped away from him, but he didn't care. "I don't get one? Seriously? You're going to throw away your first act of charitable affection just for a chance to tease me? I thought you missed me!"

Pharynx scoffed. "Well, that doesn't sound like me, Thorax. Sure, maybe I missed you, but you know I don't hug dorks. I just tolerate hugs from them, now. I think we've been over my rules for this."

A knock interrupted the scene, and everyone's collective focus shifted. This time, it was Luna who reached the front doors first.

"Now for absolute certain," she said with confidence. "Dinner is just around the corner, everyone. Our esteemed castle cook, Chef Sedani, has returned."

Before Luna's aura could so much as turn the knob, the oak doors were blasted open. There, standing tall and proud, was a young mare wearing a comically tall toque. Her hoof extended towards the sky to present a small pouch of purchased parsley. She addressed the alicorns with a violent whip of her head, offering respectful nods and a single eye unobscured by her frizzy, orange bangs.

"I have returned, m'ladies," she crowed, dramatically clenching her free hoof. "The garnish has been secured. We shall have a feast unlike anything our changeling friends have ever seen."

There was a long, intense silence. Twilight was the first to speak.

"Is...is she by any chance-"

"Related to Photo Finish?" Luna finished. "Yes, and we get that a lot."

Celestia smiled knowingly and shook her head. "There's a reason Canterlot is often called the 'City of the Sisters', and I assure you it's not just because of Luna and I. Even you'd be surprised by how many pairs of sisters live here, Twilight."