//------------------------------//
// All the More for Us 
// Story: The King of Love Bugs 
// by NavelColt 
//------------------------------//

Thorax waded in heated water and felt the stress drain from his muscles. He let himself sink into a shifting mirror wrought with steam and sighed in relief.

His relationship with the hive's hot springs definitely needed revisiting.

The drones were still in a frenzy of excitement over his return from the Crystal Empire. Luckily, within all that confusion, Thorax had managed to slink away for a much-needed break. It'd take the changelings a while to find him, and this time, there were no purple alicorns for him to entertain while down here.

Consumed in a blue flame, Thorax became a golden fish. He dipped beneath the water in his new, tiny form and swam down to the base of the spring. There, he hid himself away, his tail and fins swaying lazily in place.

With lidless eyes, he watched the spring's surface, a gorgeous display of shifting light. He stared for some time, lulled to a doze by the surrounding warmth.

He failed to notice when a blurred shape entered the surface’s frame. When its shadow fell over him, however, his heart leaped.

Blue flames lit the room again, and Thorax erupted out from the water. He chuckled as he wiped his face.

"I have to admit, you guys are getting a lot better at tracking me down. I didn't think you'd-"

Upon opening his eyes, Thorax stopped and grimaced. Calor blinked through dripping water, his azure foreleg still guarding his face.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Thorax cried, twenty apologies already lined up behind his tongue. "I didn't think it'd splash that far. Are you okay? Did any get in your eye?"

Calor lowered his leg and shook his head. He dispelled the tension with a smile.

"I'm okay, Thorax. The water is warm but it's not boiling. Always appreciate the concern, though."

Thorax sat back on his haunches and nodded. He watched the drone with doting eyes no amount of fatigue could hinder. "Well, alright. Did you need something from me? Or were you here to relax, too?"

Calor rubbed his other leg.

"Both, I guess? I wanted to welcome you back personally because, um, we all missed you! Plus I wanted to let you know that I just talked to Aphidel. I'd really like to be a part of that squad that goes to the Crystal Empire regularly."

He paused. That was a mistake. Starting again while faced with perfectly attentive eyes was nerve-wracking.

"I-I know I didn't go this time, but that's because I was so distracted with helping the nursery changelings after that big announcement you made last night. I really wanted to go, so I thought maybe next time I could. If that'd be alright with you..."

He paused again, watching the lip of the spring below his hooves. He was sweating through his carapace, but it wasn't from the steam.

"That's great, Calor," Thorax said gently. "You're one of the most lively, loving changelings I know. Those are the kinds of changelings we need in the empire; changelings who can show everypony how much we've changed."

Calor looked up at last and his breath caught in his chest. Thorax was smiling, layering the humid air with further warmth—warmth born from emotion and magic.

Calor felt his cheeks stain red. A changeling could drown in a room alone with Thorax, singled out by overwhelming affection. Then again, there was no other place he'd rather be.

"Did you hear me?" asked Thorax.

"Uh, yeah, of course."

"Is that a 'yes, she did', then?"

Thorax simpered. Calor stammered. Cocoon slime! He'd missed something entirely.

"Who, Aphidel?"

"Mhmm."

Calor swept his sigh beneath a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah, she said that was fine! I just wanted to check with you also, since it was your idea."

Quiet fell, and Calor fidgeted. He failed to notice the beaming look already hugging him from a half-dozen yards away.

"You know, I think you came to the right place," Thorax chuckled. "Here, why don't you sit down? You look about as nervous as I probably do tired."

In a moment of spontaneity, Calor lowered his head, exaggerating his hoof steps as he approached. He sniffed at the water, cautiously prodding at his reflection upon spotting it. He shook his head vigorously when his nose dipped beneath the surface.

Only when Thorax began to laugh did Calor peer up, his feigned look of curiosity suddenly a face full of glee.

Entering the spring’s depths, he was embraced by heated bliss, and he laid his head against Thorax with a sigh. A cheek lazily flopped upon his head, and that dark red blush returned.

"You know, I'm still surprised at how few changelings come down here," said Calor. Thorax hummed in response.

"I think a lot of changelings just don't like to get wet, even if the water is nice. All the more for us, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so." A firm hoof wrapped around Calor’s barrel and pulled him closer, and so he pressed further into the contrastingly cool chitin.

Luckily for the drone, the heat of his blush was his alone to feel.

"So, how’s the nursery hive doing?"

Calor swallowed. The weight atop his head lifted, and familiar eyes watched him fondly.

"They're doing really well, you know, considering Papa Thorax abandoned them suddenly to go visit crystal ponies," Calor replied, offering a bit of sass in his grin. Thorax's soft look switched to one of shock.

"'Abandoned'?" he repeated, a crack in his voice.

"Their words." Calor dug his nose into his king’s chest. Thorax scoffed.

"I spent several hours with them shortly before we left. Twilight was there, she can vouch for me! They told me they'd be good while I was gone."

"Oh, they were good. Total butterflies, in fact. They were just bored without you there."

"But they had you and the other adults, didn't they? You guys played with them, right?"

Calor withdrew his snout to lay his cheek along that green chitin instead. He thrummed pleasantly, soothing himself with his own vibrations.

"It's not the same without you," he muttered. "It's never the same without you."

Thorax fawned. "Also their words?"

"Nope, mine. But yeah, everyling thinks that, I think."

There was no response, at least none that were verbal. Shifting himself, Thorax closed his eyes. He held the drone closer, further saturating the air with empathetic magic.

For a long time, the pouring of water was all there was to hear. As minutes passed by, the small miracle of their continued privacy grew, and the more comfortable they became.



"I do think some hive activities would be a good idea, though."

Thorax opened his eyes. He observed Calor closely, curiously watching him shift and roll within his hooves to find a new position.

"For the nymphs?" asked Thorax.

"Well, sure, but also for the adults." Calor settled for pressing into Thorax's stomach in order to meet his gaze. "You said it yourself that you'd like to have more things for everyling to do, right? It was quiet without you here, Thorax. Really quiet. I think brainstorming some new hobbies is what we really should do next. A lot of changelings were hoping that's what you'd be working on, now that the hive is complete."

Thorax furrowed his brow in thought. He gently reintroduced his head to the wall, and from within a flurry of thought, gazed at the rolling stone ceiling. The decorative carts of the crystal fair swam to the surface of his mind, and they were not alone. His observations of the empire during his stay followed and brought memories he'd thought he'd forgotten—stories acted out on platforms made from wood, pictures drawn from chalk, and even carefree dancing. They made him smile.

"I might have a few ideas," he said. "I've learned so much about ponies from our visit, as well as my brief stay in the Crystal Empire. In the absence of our own traditions and hobbies, maybe we could try some of theirs."

An eager head lifted from his lime belly.

"Can I help?"

Thorax chuckled. "Let me meet with the other changelings before I make any promises. I need to ask Tarsus about where we could even find supplies for activities. Right now we're kinda stuck with rocks and plants."

Thorax suddenly giggled. Nuzzling assailed him from the blueberry clinging to him.

"What's wrong with rocks and plants?" Calor probed, cocking a brow and a smirk. "I played ‘Find-the-Changeling’ with the nymphs all day while you were gone, using only a veil of vines and a few shiny pebbles."

"I don't know if the adults would be quite so easy to entertain."

"You'd be surprised." Again, Calor retreated into lime chitin.

Tranquility returned with silence. Ever slowly sliding onto his back, Thorax felt Calor's weight like a heavy blanket atop his chest. He closed his eyes and succumbed to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

Thorax smiled a little smile to himself. Truly, it was no small miracle that had kept the other changelings from discovering his hideaway. He suspected interference, and the prime suspect now lay within hoof's reach, lightly yawning.

"Assuming you do find supplies, though," Calor said suddenly, laboring a yawn. "You'll let me help you with hive activities, right?"

"You really wanna help me out, don't you?" Thorax asked rhetorically. "I'm always grateful for help, but I'll need more than you or anyling else could ever give me alone. This is going to be a big undertaking. Noling is even sure how to explore self-interests, let alone decide what hobbies they like."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. I believe in you, and so does everyling else."

Another pause; this one begging to be broken. Calor's confidence seemed to drift away, just as his worries once had.

"Well...mostly everyling, anyway," he murmured. "I'm not so sure about what he would think. Not that we should let it stop us, but he'll probably get riled up again if we start trying a bunch of new things."

Thorax sighed. Cold, violet eyes watched him from within his mind and pushed aside all thoughts of fun and progress alike. A venomous tone spoke in his head, and Thorax, for a moment, let it twist his face.

"Yeah, yeah he would."