Pinning the Heart

by Random_User

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Rumble watched with an expression of disbelief as Stormbreaker packed the last foalcare item into the saddlebag.

Stormbreaker chuckled at Rumble. “What’s that look for?”

“I can’t believe you got all of that in there.”

“You made it look easy too,” Thunderlane said.

“I’ve had lots of practice.” Stormbreaker snapped the pouch closed and patted it as if it were a loyal dog. “If you want to see something impressive, watch Satin when she does it.”

“He’s giving me too much credit,” Satin told Rumble and Thunderlane. “I cheat and use magic. If I only used my hooves, Storm would beat me every time.”

Stormbreaker adjusted how he was standing and extended his wings upwards. “Ready,” he told Satin.

“I’ll carry the saddle this time.” Satin used her magic to lift the saddle and saddlebags from the coffee table and put them on her back. “I want to carry our little stallion, and I need the exercise.”

“I can understand wanting more time with Rain, but you don’t need the exercise,” Stormbreaker told her.

Satin gave an amused snort. “While I appreciate you appreciating my ‘mom curves,’ I think I could do with a little less of them.”

Stormbreaker put a hoof to his chest and acted distraught. “You want to lessen your perfection?!” He turned to me and asked, “She’s sexy just as she is, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Put yourself in my horseshoes and think about how you phrased that question about my sister.”

“Point.” Stormbreaker turned to Rumble. “You think she’s gorgeous, right? Don’t hold back because she’s your aunt. We need an honest assessment.”

“I think she’s very pretty,” Rumble said, with a light blush.

“I think she’s beautiful,” Coco said, before Stormbreaker could ask her. “If she wants to lose a little weight to feel good in her coat, she can, but she doesn’t need to.” She looked down at Rain, who was seated beside her on the blanket on the floor where she, Rumble, and I had been playing with him. “You think your mother’s beautiful too, don’t you?”

Rain made cheerful noises in response.

“The majority has spoken!” Stormbreaker touched his nose to Satin’s. “You are lovely as you are, but if you want to lose a little weight I’ll do what I can to help.” 

“After you move to Ponyville, you could train with us.” I nodded towards Rumble. “We have an excellent instructor.”

Rumble drew himself up and smiled.

“That sounds like wonderful idea.” Satin glanced over her shoulder and watched as Stormbreaker did the buckles on the saddle and saddlebags for her. “Yep. I need to lose some weight. You had to use the fourth hole on the strap to do that buckle instead of the third.”

Stormbreaker sighed and shook his head. “I’m not even going to say anything.” Stormbreaker stepped towards where Coco was sitting and scooped Rain up with a wing.“Come on, little guy. We’re going on an adventure.”

Stormbreaker secured Rain in his harness on Satin’s side while I picked the blanket and Rain’s toys off the floor and put them away. We gathered Mom and Dad from the study, left the apartment, exited the back of the shop, and then walked to the town square and our meetup point at the fountain.

Turner paused in his conversation with Cranky and Matilda and waved. “Hello everypony!” he greeted. 

As soon as our group came to a stop Berry and Muffins went straight to Satin and Rain.

“He’s getting so big!” Berry cooed at Rain and offered her hoof to him. “You must get tired doing all that growing.”

“It’s a bit of an illusion,” Stormbreaker said. “Rain’s average size for a foal his age, but since Satin’s so petite he looks big.”

“You’re going to have an exciting day today, aren’t you?” Muffins said to Rain.

“Now they’re here and we’re here and our two guides are here; let's get this show on the road,” Cranky said.

“Wait, we need to tell you about something,” Rumble said. “Arista is going to look different than a foal, but she’s fine, so don’t worry about her hind legs and how small she is.”

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“When changeling’s hatch, they’re covered with a protective layer of chitin they shed after about two months,” Rumble said. “Right now Arista looks like she’s in padded onesie pajamas so you can’t see her back legs. It’s normal for nymphs who just hatched.”

“Thank you for telling us, sweetie,” Matilda said. “We wouldn’t want to cause a commotion fussing over something we didn’t need to.”

“How far of a walk is it from here?” Dad asked Noi.

Noi hummed as she thought for a second. “About twenty minutes.” 

Dinky giggled. “With Piña leading, it’s more like fifteen.”

“She gets excited to see the little ones,” Coco surmised.

Dinky nodded. “Yep!”

Mom gestured to Noi’s tie. “That tie looks quite nice on you.”

“Thank you. Mister Pin made it.” She stood taller as she told Mom, “I always wear it when I’m doing something official for Ponyville and Sanctuary for Mayor Mare.”

“So you’re Ponyville’s envoy to the changelings,” Dad remarked.

Noi’s ears snapped up, and she looked at Dad with keen interest. “What did you call me?”

“Ponyville’s envoy,” Dad repeated, seeming a bit confused by the request.

Noi pranced in place with glee. “That’s it! We’re the Envoys! Thank you! Thank you Thank you!” Noi took a step toward Dad and reached for him.

Dad took a quick step backwards and gave a polite bow. “You’re welcome.”

Noi’s ears drooped. “That’s right. You don’t like hugs. Sorry.”

 “I do not want to seem rude. A hug is a generous thing to want to give to somepony, and I appreciate the thought.” Dad smiled and returned to standing. “Instead of accepting it myself, though, I would like it delivered to somepony else.”

Noi grinned. “I can do that.”

Dad pointed to Mom. “I’d like her to have it.”

“Can do!” Noi said and hugged Mom.

“Thank you both,” Mom said, as she hugged Noi back. After a second, Mom patted Noi’s back and let her go. “Shall we?”

Noi released Mom, smiled, and nodded. “We shall.”

Noi and Rumble led us from the square, to the edge of town, and then beyond Ponyville’s limits. Along our way, the well trodden street we started on turned into a lesser used path and then into a hooftrail leading away from Ponyville. After we walked a bit, Mom stopped and looked down at the trail. Her focus remained on the ground even as the rest of us moved past her.

Dad walked back to Mom and looked at her with concern. “Study, dear, is everything okay?”

His worried tone prompted the rest of us to stop. 

“A new route is forming.” Mom stepped off the hooftrail and walked up and down a section. “Hooves of all sizes have come up and down this path from both directions.” She pointed out the ruts on both sides of the trail. “Carts have traveled this way too, some of them with heavy loads. I bet they were carrying goods to help the changelings set up their community.”

Mom moved to the other side of the hooftrail and scanned it as she had the previous section. She leaned closer to ground, her focus on one of the cart trails. “Have the changelings been trading anything with Ponyville?”

“Gems, stone, and subterranean plants used in potions and medicine,” Rumble said. “Maud has been helping them expand Sanctuary, and the changelings have been providing the plants, gems, and worked stone to trade for the supplies and tools they needed and for stuff to keep the colony going.”

“If they are expanding the colony, that shows they are planning to stay long term. They are trading in specialized goods to establish the basis of their economy too,” Mom looked around at everypony with a smile. “We are standing on a very rare thing for this day and age; the start of a new trade route with a new population.” Mom turned her focus to Noi. “Are they trading for anything that would indicate they are looking to be more self-sufficient, such as farm equipment and seeds?” Mom asked, seeming more excited.

Noi nodded. “Goldie and the Apples have been helping them get some crops going. They’re not used to farming, but they’re learning fast.”

“Are they-” Mom started.

“Dear, you’re getting worked up and we-” Dad started, with amusement in his voice.

“Look at this!” Mom interrupted, and then pointed at the hooftrail with a hoof. “This is the start of a whole new community and trade system between groups who were adversaries recently. How could I not get excited about it? How are you not excited about it?”

I chuckled at hearing Mom sound so enthralled with something.

“I am excited, but we could learn a lot more about what is going on if we move on and talk to the changelings and ponies involved.” Dad looked at Noi and Rumble and tipped his hat to them. “Not to say you two haven’t been an appreciated source of information, of course.” 

“We understand,” Noi said. “Dinky, Piña, and Twilight do this kind of thing all the time.”

Rumble laughed. “And Cubi eats it up when they do.”

“Please, lead on,” Mom encouraged our guides. “My anticipation for this visit was high. Seeing the start of this new route has raised it even further.”

Dad laughed as Mom joined Noi and Rumble at the front of our group. She asked them a barrage of questions about how the colony was developing and organizing itself as we walked along.

“Speaking of new business ventures, how is it going for you two with getting ready for Appleloosa?” I asked.

“We’re as ready as we can be,” Dad said. 

“That’s right!” Dinky said. “I almost forgot that you two were moving there for a year.”

“It won’t be too long, and we’ll be heading that way.” Dad grinned. “It’s funny we’re heading out not long after Satin and Storm move. Ponies are going to wonder if the whole family abandoned Canterlot.”

“Do you need help moving stuff there?” I asked.

Dad shook his head. “We’re renting a furnished place. Most of the ‘moving’ we’ll have to do is shipping paperwork from Canterlot to the office in Appleloosa.”

“Have you two decided what you’re going to do afterwards?” Satin asked him.

“We plan to say active, but we haven’t agreed on how we are going to go about that.” He turned his head and nodded toward something down the path. “It seems we’re about there.”

Mom, Noi, Dinky, and Rumble trotted ahead of the rest of our group, as festive decorations, booths, and a gathering of changelings and ponies came into view.

“I thought there would be more changelings here,” Dad said, as we got closer.

“Some of them may still be inside,” Thunderlane said. “Even if they are, there aren’t too many changelings in Sanctuary. A lot of them headed back to the Hive, even with it damaged.”

As our leads approached the gathering, they gained the attention of several of the changelings on the edge of the festival. It did not take them long to notice the rest of our group too. 

“They brought a nymph,” a nearby changeling pointed out.

“Foal,” another changeling corrected. “They’re called foals.”

“Whatever they’re called, they’re cute,” the first responded.

I glanced around at the changelings who were watching us with open curiosity. I wondered if the changelings who came to town felt the same way I was feeling at having ponies look at them like novelties. While their attention did not feel threatening, it made me self conscious.

“There you are!” Cubitus’ voice called from within the crowd. He appeared from the changelings around us and walked towards us. “Wow, Miss Study, I didn’t realize you were the one who was so excited.” He changed his path so he headed for Mom.

“I am almost overwhelmed, to be honest.” Mom scanned the changelings around us with an inquisitiveness that seemed to match theirs about us. “I did not know there were so many variations on physical characteristics among changelings. It is no wonder Junebug has been devoting so much of her time here. I am not even an entomologist and I see why she wants to study all of you from nose to tail.”  

“Dear, please don’t cause any international incidents,” Dad cautioned in a playful tone. 

“I will do no such thi...” Mom’s words dropped off, as a large green colored changeling with orange antlers that looked like they could have belonged on a moose approached us. “Oh my.”

“Hello everypony,” the changeling greeted us. “It’s good to see you again.”

I thought I recognized the changeling’s voice, but I had the impression it was being used by the wrong speaker.

Dinky, her ears angled with uncertainty, tilted her head. “Thorax, is that you?”

The tall changeling smiled. “I’m surprised you knew it was me.”

Dinky’s ears snapped up. “Thorax!” Dinky sprinted to Thorax and gave him a hug.  “I didn’t know you were coming. I thought we wouldn’t see you again, since you’re a king now.” She looked up at him and smiled. “You’re huge!”

“The metamorphosis made me a lot bigger,” Thorax told Dinky, as he hugged her back. “I’m not sure why, though.”

Dinky reached up with a hoof and touched the center gem of the three on Thorax’s chest. “You got gems too.”

“I’m not sure why on that one either,” Thorax told her.

“It’s because you had a lot of love in you when you changed.” Dinky renewed her hug with Thorax. “I bet all the love in you was what made you a super sized cuddle bug too.”

Several of the changelings around us laughed.

From out of the group of changelings, Gena trotted up to Cubitus. “Cubi, did you find...” Gena’s mouth fell open. “Dinky, what are you doing?!” she asked, staring at Dinky with disbelief.

“I’m hugging Thorax,” Dinky replied as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Gena, it’s fine,” Cubitus said in a reassuring tone.

“No it’s not!” Gena grabbed Cubitus’ hoof and pulled him along to stand in front of Thorax with her. “We apologize for our partner’s behavior, King Thorax,” she said and bowed. As she bowed, she pulled Cubitus down with her so he gave an awkward bow too. “She does not know our customs.”

“Are you saying because I’m king now I can’t get a hug from my friend?” Thorax asked, sounding bewildered.

Gena’s head lowered so her nose touched the grass, and she trembled. “No Sire! I would never think to tell you what you can and cannot do.”

Thorax’s ears pinned back in a sad display. “You’re scared of me.”

Gena did not respond, and lowered her head further so her horn touched the ground.

Uncomfortable seconds went by, and some changelings around us fidgeted with tension. 

Dinky looked up at Thorax and told him, with mock seriousness, “She needs a hug.”

“Yes she does.” Thorax grinned down at her. “Shall we give her one?”

Dinky grinned back. “Sure!” 

Dinky and Thorax rushed over to Gena and pulled her into an enthusiastic shared hug.

Gena turned her head toward Cubitus with a look of utter confusion. “What just happened?”

Cubitus laughed so hard he had to sit down.

“Thorax!” Radius greeted, as he, Junebug, and Barrel stepped out from the crowd. “I thought I saw your horns. Have you seen…? Ah. Never mind, you found her and Cubi.” Upon seeing us, he waved at our group. “You found our guests too.”

“Is everything okay?” Barrel asked, as Cubitus took in a breath to recover. “Radius said he felt something intense was going on.”

“Everything’s fine,” Cubitus said, still trying to stop laughing. “Gena freaked out when she saw Dinky hugging Thorax.”

“I thought he’d...” Gena glanced up at Thorax and then turned away. “Never mind.”

“You thought I would react like Queen Chrysalis would have, since I’m king now?” Thorax asked.

Gena nodded as if ashamed.

“Dinky is my friend, who I have given permission to hug me whenever she’d like, and I am not Chrysalis. I will never act the way she did to us to anypony.” Thorax gave Dinky a curious look. “What was that about you being their partner? I thought you were part of Twilight’s research team.”

Dinky blushed. “I…” She looked at Gena, who appeared just as embarrassed. “We...”

“We’re a herd,” Cubitus said as if it was not a big deal but he blushed as he did so.

Thorax looked dumbfounded. 

Gena giggled. “Cubi, I think you broke him.”

Thorax shook his head and refocused on Cubitus. “Radius said he thought you and Gena might end up together a while back, but how did Dinky get involved?”

“She’s cute and smart, and I love how she feels and makes me feel when she hugs me or somepony else,” Gena said. “Cubitus thinks her excitement tastes-”  

“Could we talk about this somewhere else?!” Dinky asked, cutting Gena off. She hid her face against Thorax. “Please.”

“We can do that,” Thorax told her, as giggles broke out among us ponies and the changelings. He looked towards our group and smiled. “You look very nice in your tie, Noi, but I didn’t think this was going to be that kind of event.”

“Thank you, King Thorax,” Noi said and bowed.

“Just Thorax, please,” he said, looking embarrassed. “You don’t have to bow, either. No pony or buggy has to bow to me.”

“You’re king now, Thorax, you’re going to have to get used to it,” Cubitus said.

Thorax raised a playful, defiant eyebrow. “As king, I do not have to.” With a grin, he declared to us and the crowd, “I now decree that no creature has to bow to me!”

“We should, though,” Radius said. “You saved us all from Queen Chrysalis and have given us the opportunity to make new lives.”

“It was more of an accident on my part than anything else,” Thorax said. His eyes got a sad look. “There are changelings out there who would argue what I did destroyed us and our home rather than saved us too.”

“No feeling bad!” Dinky returned to hugging Thorax with her full effort. “We wouldn’t be here with our friends if you hadn’t gotten rid of Chrysalis. You just have to convince them they are going to be happier and safer now and they can make new homes that are even better.”

“That will not be easy,” Thorax said. “The changeling that’s leading them… knows me pretty well and knows how to argue against me.”

“He can’t argue with the results though,” Matilda said. “Ponyville and Sanctuary have started something great that shows changelings and ponies can live as neighbors. Or closer, in our case.”

Thorax’s smile returned. “You’re right, Miss Matilda.” He looked over our group, as if not seeing somepony he was expecting. “Is Kevin not with you?”

“He’s with his special somepony somewhere around here,” Cranky said.

“He’s in the nursery,” Radius said.

“Have you seen the nursery yet?” Dinky asked Thorax.

“I have. It’s a lot better than the ones we have at Hive. Coxa and Spiracle have done a wonderful job of setting it up.”

“We haven’t seen the nursery yet,” Berry hinted, giving Radius a meaningful look.

“Wait a second, please,” Thorax said. “I recognize most of you from Twilight’s celebration, but there are ponies here I don’t know too.”

“They’re Mister Pin’s family,” Cubitus said and nodded toward me.

Finding myself the center of attention, I swallowed and took a second to find my voice. “These are my parents, Intense Study and Useful Insight,” I said and gestured toward them.

Mom smiled and waved a hoof in greeting, and Dad took off his hat and gave Thorax a formal half bow of a salute.

“This is my sister, Satin Stitch, her husband, Stormbreaker, and their son, Intense Rain,” I introduced, after stepping aside so Thorax could see them unobstructed.

“Coxa told me about how wonderful you were to her and Spiracle,” Thorax said. “Thank you for being so kind to them. They needed friends to talk to.”

“We were glad to help,” Mom said.

Thorax looked toward Dinky and Gena and smiled. “I better let you go,” he said and released the fillies. “I think if I hold you up from taking them to the nursery much longer Miss Berry will not be happy with me.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Dinky said, and her ears fell with disappointment.

Thorax paused, as if having an internal debate, and then smiled. “I will, but I can’t stay long. I promised Pinkie and Spike I would play some games with them.”

“I’ll get to see you later, though, won’t I?” Dinky asked.

“Of course you will. In fact, anypony who wants to can come with me.”

“Sounds like fun,” Cubitus said.

Gena looked at him with disbelief. “He’s our king!” she half whispered.

Cubitus snorted. “Yeah, but this is Thorax. He was the biggest softie in the hive before he became a giant cuddle bug. He used to goof around with me, Kevin, and Radius all the time.”

“But-!”

Before she could finish, Dinky put a hoof on Gena’s shoulder. “I’m not sure why you’re so worried about it. We’re friends with Princess Twilight. We do fun stuff with her all the time too.”

 A small smile came to Gena’s lips. “It would be weird not to be friends with the Princess of Friendship.”

“We can be friends and you can do fun stuff with me too,” Thorax assured her.

“Would you like to see the hatchlings and nymphs?” Radius asked.

“Yes, please!” Berry said.

Barrel sighed and acted hurt. “I guess I know where I stand now compared to seeing little ones. I don’t even get a ‘hello’ from you.”

Berry’s ears pinned back with guilt. “Sorry about that. I’m a little bit excited.”

“We can tell,” Barrel said, dropping his act and giving her a smile. 

“Let me try again.” Berry gave Barrel a teasing smile, sashayed over to him, and greeted, “Hello, my handsome husband.” Berry kissed Barrel for a long second, making his ears go up. “How did the delivery and the step up go?”

“They went well,” Barrel answered, his tone warm with affection.

Thorax’s ears snapped up in alert as if he were aware of something untoward happening I could not sense. He looked at the changelings around us while appearing to debate whether or not to say something. When his eyes passed over them, a few of the changelings got guilty looks on their faces.

“Follow us, please,” Radius said.

Our group followed Junebug and Radius towards a rocky outcropping. As we made our way through the gathered changelings, our group got several curious glances.

Mom’s typical searching looks picked up in speed, as if she were looking for something specific.

Cubitus slowed to walk beside Mom. “Are you okay, Miss Study?”

“I am fine, but I am noticing a distinct lack of something for this large of a celebratory gathering,” Mom told him.

“Whatever it is, it’s got you thinking,” Dad said.

Radius nodded in agreement.

“It is nothing serious,” Mom assured. “As you would say, ‘Dear, you’re over analyzing things again’.”

The entrance to Sanctuary was a gap in the outcropping that was little more than a cart width wide. Other than a pair of lanterns that were hung on the sides of the entrance and the wear in the soil from hooves and carts coming and going, a pony could have walked past it and never given it a second thought.

“Mind your head, Thorax,” Radius said, as we entered the opening.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Thorax grumbled, in a low voice, “I don’t need to embarrass myself any more today.” 

There was a flash of green light behind me. I glanced back and saw Thorax had taken his Crystal Hoof form. After doing a quick measurement in my head, I could understand why he would have had trouble navigating the tunnel. While the ceiling was not too low for a pony of average height, Thorax’s larger physique and horns would have made the passage difficult for him.

“There!” Thorax said with a grin. “Problem solved.”

After a short distance, the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern with passageways branching away at different angles. The cavern was well lit by crystals charged with magic. The light they gave off appeared like muted sunlight and illuminated the room without being too bright.

Mom stepped away from the group and examined the cavern. Her eyes started on the floor and moved their way up. “You have worked the floor to be level, but left the walls in their natural state.” She trotted up to one lantern and studied it. “Sun stones? What a clever way to light a cavern. How often do you have to take them outside for them to get sunlight and recharge?”

“Dear, no wandering away on your own,” Dad said. “You might get lost, if you go down a tunnel on your own.” Mom, with obvious reluctance, rejoined the group. Dad moved closer to Mom, took her tail with his, and grinned. “There. Now you’re going to stay with me.”

Mom gave Dad a mock disapproving look that was undermined by her half-suppressed smile. “I am not a school aged filly.”

“You’re acting like one, though, wandering away from the tour group and looking at whatever catches your eye,” Dad teased. “It’s wonderful seeing you... so...” Dad’s words slowed and then stopped, when he realized everypony in the group was looking at Mom and him.

Gena broke out into giggles. “They’re so cute!”

“Tasty too,” Cubitus said. “The nymphs are going to wonder if we brought them to visit or for them to have snacks.”

“Cubi, remember, you shouldn’t take love without permission now,” Thorax scolded in a soft but uncompromising tone.

“Thank you for your concern, Sire, but we gave him and the other nymphs permission to nibble on our love whenever they would like,” Dad said.

“Oh.” Thorax’s expression turned curious. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Mom assured.

“It’s not creepy to you?” Thorax asked.

Dad shook his head. “We find it complementary.”

Thorax’s expression became contemplative. He seemed to ponder something as we continued down the tunnel.

I could hear a voice coming from not too far ahead that sounded as if somepony were speaking to a young audience. 

“We’re almost there,” Gena announced.

Dinky giggled at Cubitus, who had been drifting closer and closer to Berry as if following a siren’s call.

Gena sighed. “He can’t help himself, can he?”

Dinky shook her head. “Nope.”

The tunnel opened up into a roomy cavern. They had worked the floor of the cavern into a configuration similar to an amphitheater with three levels of bowl shaped beds. In the center of the room, which was its lowest point, was a circular common space that was occupied by a group of nymphs and foals having story time with Amethyst.

“Oh my goodness!” Berry said, in a loud whisper, sounding more like a filly than a grown mare.

Piña, Pinch, and Kevin, along with around twenty nymphs, turned their heads to look at our group. The trio of foals were down on the floor on blankets surrounded by the nymphs who snuggled against them and one another in a cozy looking pile.

“We found them,” Radius said.

“I see that,” Amethyst said, putting a bookmark in the book she had been reading. “You found Thorax too.” She told the nymphs, “Everybuggy, these are our friends from Ponyville we told you about.”

Berry sneaked herself closer and closer to the cuddled foals and nymphs.

“Berry, behave yourself,” Barrel said and reached for her with a hoof.

Berry dodged Barrel’s attempt to restrain her with impressive agility. She looked toward Radius and asked, “May I?”

Radius smiled and made an inviting gesture towards the nymphs with a hoof. “Of course you can.”

Berry approached the little ones and then got down on her belly about a foreleg’s length away from the closest nymph to her. “You’re all so precious!”

The nymphs studied Berry with expressions ranging from curious and excited to timid and uncertain.

“This is my sister, and Pinch’s mom, Berry,” Piña told the nymphs.

A yellow nymph with orange eyes and elytra moved from Piña’s side, over and around the other nymphs, and hurried towards Rumble.

“Maxilla, stay with us,” Amethyst said and got to her hooves, disturbing the nymphs who were leaning against her.

“It’s okay, Miss Amethyst,” Cubitus said. “Rumble’s Maxilla’s favorite. She’ll stick to him like pine sap.”

When Maxilla got close to Rumble, Rain made a noise and wiggled in his harness.

Maxilla stopped. Her and the other nymphs’ attention fixated on Rain.

“They’re curious about Rain,” Kevin said and smiled. 

“He’s curious about them too,” Gena said.

Satin looked over her shoulder, as Rain continued to wiggle. “You want down, sweetie?”

“I’ve got him,” Stormbreaker said and reached for Rain. “Hold still little guy. I can’t get you out if you keep moving around.” Stormbreaker removed Rain from his harness and put him down on the floor. “There you go.” 

Maxilla made a worried sound, as Rain walked closer to her and Rumble, causing Rain to halt.

“It’s okay,” Rumble said in a soothing voice. “That’s Rain, my cousin.”

Rain looked towards Satin and Stormbreaker as if needing guidance.

Kevin gave a surprised chirp, as Pinch hugged him around his neck and pulled him to her. “Please, please,” she whispered. 

Thorax took in the scene with great interest. He studied each of us as if trying to gauge our reactions to how the foal sized drama was playing out.

“Rumble, they both want your attention pretty bad,” Noi said. “Play it smooth.”

“He’s got this,” Piña said.

Rumble reached out an inviting hoof to Maxilla. “It’s okay. You can come see me.”

Maxilla looked at Rumble’s offered hoof, seeming to struggle to resist the urge to go to him, as her eyes went back to Rain.

“Well, if you won’t come see me, I guess I’ll have to get my snuggles from somepony else.” Rumble extended a wing toward Rain and cupped it to show where Rain could fit. “Come on, little guy. Get in here.” 

“That’s playing dirty,” Cubitus said with approval.

Rain closed the gap between him and Rumble, and Rumble tucked him against his side and under his wing. “There we go.”

Rain peeked around Rumble and watched Maxilla.

Maxilla gave Rumble a look as if he had betrayed her.

“I have a wing for you too,” Rumble said, and cupped his free wing in the same inviting manner he had with Rain.

Maxilla moved closer to Rumble and put a hoof on the edge of his wing. She stopped and stared at Rain, as if waiting to see what his reaction was going to be.

“You’re almost there,” Pinch encouraged with quiet words.

“Rain doesn’t bite.” Rumble drew his wing in, guiding Maxilla to him. When she was close enough, Rumble wrapped Maxilla in his wing. “There you go,” he said.

Maxilla and Rain leaned forward to see around Rumble and studied each other, both seeming more at ease with his sheltering wings around them.

“Pinch, are you okay?” Thorax asked.

Pinch sniffed and nodded. “I’m fine. I’m having a silly filly moment is all.”

Kevin put a foreleg across Pinch’s shoulders. “Pinch, talk to us.” He gave her a gentle shake. “You’re getting the nymphs worried about you.”

“Oh!” Pinch looked at the nymphs and put on a smile. “I’m okay, I promise. I was worried that Maxilla and Rain were going to be afraid of each other.” She sniffed and leaned against Kevin. “I made a terrible mistake when I first met Kevin. I didn’t want something like that to happen again with Maxilla and Rain.”

“What’s going on?” Coxa asked as she stepped into the room from another entrance, carrying who I assumed as Arista with her. “All kinds of emotions are flaring.” As if guided by instinct, her eyes went to Maxilla. “Maxilla, you know you’re supposed to stay with the group,” she chided.

Maxilla ducked under Rumble’s wing and made a guilty sound.

Before anypony else could speak, Cubitus raised his hoof. “It’s my fault. Miss Amethyst was going to herd her back, but I said it was fine since Maxilla was going to glue herself to Rumble.”

“I see she’s not the only one who is sticking to Rumble,” Coxa said. She smiled and waved with her free hoof. “Hello again, Rain. I’m glad you came to see us.”

“Is that who I think it is?” Berry asked.

“It is.” Coxa adjusted how she was holding the hatchling in the crook of her foreleg and presented her to us. “Everypony, this is Arista.”

“She’s so tiny!” Berry said.

“For a hatchling, she’s pretty big,” Thorax said. “We think it’s because of all the nourishment she’s been getting.”

A trio of the nymphs got to their hooves, and several others looked tempted to do the same. 

“Coxa, I think they’re about at their limit for sitting still,” Radius said. “I’m shocked they have been so well behaved with all that’s going on, to be honest.”

“You’re right. We should let them run around a bit, before they go outside.” Coxa looked to those of us who were new to the nymphs and smiled worriedly. “They can be rambunctious. We could take you into another chamber for a bit, if you would like.”

“We’ve all been around and raised little ones, we’ll be fine,” Barrel said.

Cranky and Dad gave Barrel glances that seemed to say, “Speak for yourself.”

Coxa turned to address the nymphs. “You can get up and move around now, but behave yourselves. We have guests.”

I could not follow all of the flurry of activity Coxa’s words set off. The nymphs scattered and bounced around as if somepony had made the opening break on a rack of bright colored billiard balls.

Berry laughed as two of the nymphs vied with each other to fit in the space between her forelegs. She made more room between her forelegs for them and hugged them both.

“Hello there,” Mom said to a nymph who had approached her and Dad. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, he’s a pegasus too,” Rumble said to the pair of nymphs and Maxilla who were looking at Rain.

“Hello, sweetie, I missed you too,” Junebug said to the nymph that had jumped into her forelegs. She nuzzled the nymph and asked, “Have you been behaving for Amethyst and Coxa?”

Radius smiled at Junebug and the nymph with delight.

“Pin,” Coco said and giggled. She pointed at Barrel, who had taken a position similar to that of Berry on the floor. Four of the nymphs had climbed on him as if he was a jungle gym. Barrel, unperturbed by the nymphs exploring and romping over him, grinned down at a nymph who was sitting down in front of him as if taken by Barrel’s size. “Hey there, little guy,” he greeted.

I jumped a bit, as I felt something grab my foreleg. I looked down to find a green nymph with purple eyes and elytra holding onto my left leg. The nymph half hid himself behind my leg, as he stared at Coco. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” I asked the nymph, making Coco blush.

The nymph smiled, moved from my left leg to my right, and then looked up at me as if expecting me to do something. When I did not react, he let go of my leg with one hoof and reached out towards one of Coco’s legs. Coco was just beyond his reach, even when he stretched to his fullest, but he did not give up his hold on my leg. 

“Frons, let him go,” Dinky said, as she trotted up to us. “That only works with Noi, Piña, and Rumble.”

“What is he trying to do?” Coco asked.

“He wants you two to hold hooves so he can get some love,” Dinky said. “He figured out that whenever Piña would hold hooves with Noi or Rumble they would give off love. Now, whenever any of the three of them are close to each other, he tries to get at least two of them to hold hooves.”

“How could he tell Coco and I were in love?” I asked.

“The same you can tell when other ponies are in love.” Dinky nodded toward Muffins and Turner, who had gotten down on the floor together and were enjoying being visited by a trio of nymphs. “It shows somehow. The nymphs are even better at picking up on it.”

Coco offered her hoof to Frons and then moved closer to me so her side touched mine. Frons put Coco’s and my hooves together and then took a step back from us.

“Hold on, sweetheart,” Coco said. With a slight pull on my hoof, she guided me to settle down on the floor with her. “Get right here,” she told Frons and patted the floor in front of her.

Frons took the offered spot and leaned into Coco’s leg. When he touched Coco’s coat, his eyes widened. He wiggled forward and curled against her chest as if to touch as much of her coat as possible, making a joyful noise.

“There we go,” Coco said and wrapped her free leg around Frons. She took my tail with her hers and settled against me. “Now we’re ready for a good snuggle.”

I put my head on Coco’s and basked in the feeling that came over me. It was as if knowing that loving her was helping somepony else allowed my love for her to bubble up in a warm and almost euphoric way.

Dinky looked past Coco and me. “Thorax, are you okay?”

“It’s like it was in the Crystal Empire with Flurry and her parents,” Thorax said, sounding as if he were having trouble believing it. “Everypony is sharing their love without even thinking about it.”

“How could we not share our love with such little cuties?” Berry said, as she tickled one nymph into a fit of giggles.

“Even my standoffish husband is enjoying the experience,” Mom said.

I turned my head to see Dad grinning at the nymph who had been visiting him and Mom. Dad must have put his hat on the nymph, as the little changeling was half obscured under it. The nymph, who was  giggling and peeking out from under the brim of Dad’s hat, seemed delighted by the ‘game’.

Thorax sounded as if close to being overcome with emotions. “I had hoped changelings and ponies might learn to get along over time, but this is so much more than I had expected.”

“It seems the party started in here before it started outside,” Spiracle said, as he led Cheerilee, Mayor Mare, and Riff into the room from another tunnel.

Cheerilee looked to Coxa. “Should I wait for a couple of minutes?”

Coxa smiled and shook her head. “I think they’re ready to go. They’ve gotten to let out enough energy they should be manageable now.”

Cheerilee nodded and then addressed the room in her teacher’s voice, “Hello, everybuggy. It’s good to see you all again.” Cheerilee paused for a second to allow a light blue colored nymph to hug her. She smiled and hugged the nymph back. “We have a surprise waiting for you outside. The students from my school, with the help of Mister Barrel and Mister Riff, have set up all kinds of games outside. They would like to meet and play with all of you.”

Several of the nymphs looked toward Coxa.

“Go with Miss Cheerilee and her friends and have fun, but behave yourselves,” Coxa told them. “If we make a bad first impression there may not be any more events like this.”

Muffins deflated a little, as the nymphs that had been visiting with her and Turner wiggled out from under her wings. “Goodbye,” she told them, trying to sound cheery.

The nymphs rushed back to Muffins and gave her a hug.

“Oh, little ones, I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty.” Muffins returned the nymphs’ hug and nuzzled the top of their heads. “You two go play.”

“They learned to hug ponies to cheer them up from Dinky,” Cubitus said with amused pride.

“Can we take Rain too?” Gena asked Satin.

“Rumble and I will watch him,” Thunderlane said.

I did not hear Satin’s response to Gena’s question because of my attention going to Coco, who leaned away from my side.

“You better get going,” she told Frons and lifted her head from him.

After a show of reluctance, Frons got to his hooves.

“I don’t blame you,” I told Frons. “She’s wonderful to cuddle with.”

“How do you say ‘thank you’ to someone who’s given you love?” Dinky asked Frons in a prompting way.

Frons’ ears snapped up. He smiled at Dinky, and then turned and gave Coco a hug around her neck.

“You’re welcome,” Coco said, and returned his hug.

To my surprise, Frons let go of Coco and hugged me around the neck too. “You’re welcome,” I told him and used my free leg to give him a hug.

“Come on, cuddle bug,” Cubitus said to Frons, who scampered to Cubitus’ side.

“Mom, you need to let them go,” Pinch teased.

“I’ll see you outside soon,” Berry promised the nymphs in her forelegs and then gave them each a nuzzle. “Go have fun with Miss Cheerilee’s class.” The pair of nymphs gave her a hug and then trotted to join the other nymphs who were gathered in front of Cheerilee.

“Let’s go, everycreature,” Cheerilee said, and led the way into the tunnel heading toward the surface.

After the foals, including Rain, the nymphs, Amethyst, and Thunderlane left, the room felt much larger and too quiet.

Satin stared at the tunnel’s entrance as if struggling with something.

“It’s hard isn’t it?” Muffins said.

Satin snapped out of her thoughts. “Pardon?”

“It’s difficult letting them go on their own adventures, is it?” Muffins said.

Satin took in a slow breath. “It’s not.” She smiled and leaned against Stormbreaker, who put a wing around her shoulders. “I keep telling myself I can’t fret over him every second, but that impulse is still there.”

“It will still be there when he’s grown and has a home of own,” Muffins told her. “Even though she has Cheerillee and Riff looking out for her, I still worry about Ammy.” She sighed wistfully. “I worry about Dinky too, even thought she’s brilliant, can take care of herself, and has wonderful friends to watch over her.” She cut her eyes towards Turner, “But she’s got a lot of her father in her.”

“About fifty percent,” Turner quipped.

Muffins raised an eyebrow at Turner. “And she’ll jump in to help ponies or get too excited about one of her ‘inspired’ ideas and race to do things without thinking them through.”

Berry returned to standing, moved closer to Coxa, and cooed over Arista. “You are too cute, did you know that? Rumble was right, you look like you’re in pajamas.”

“It’s not off putting to you?” Coxa asked.

Berry shook her head. “Nah. It’s a little different, but having a little extra padding on a newborn seems like a good idea to me.”

“Speaking of the differences between foals and nymphs, we would like to get input on what raising a foal is like from those of you who have,” Spiracle said. “We have gotten some information from Cheerilee, but she suggested we talk with ponies with ‘hooves on’ experience.”

“We’re hoping to...” Coxa looked troubled for a second. “Adjust how we raise our nymphs here,” she finished.

“Study was right then,” Dad said. “You are planning to stay long term.”

“We’ve been asked not to make comments on such topics for now.” Spiracle looked toward Thorax and smiled. “Our King will address the long term plans for Sanctuary at the ceremony.”

Mom hummed a curious note and made a show of looking around the room. “I noticed there are no eggs in this chamber. Are they in a more secure location for safekeeping?”

“They’re in another room designed for them, and it is further in, but security wasn’t the main reason for its location,” Coxa said. “We have taken precautions to make sure we could close off the room in case of...” Coxa’s words faded, and she looked sickened by some thought.

“Troubles of any kind,” Spiracle finished for her. He put a comforting leg around Coxa’s shoulders. “We are as secure here as we were at the Hive, if not more so.”

Coxa met eyes with Berry, who was giving her a pleading look, and giggled. “Would you like to see the egg chamber?”

“Yes we would!” Berry said.

“Too bad Cubi left with the others,” Radius said. “He’d enjoy this.”

“I’m sure he’s getting plenty of excitement from the nymphs and foals right now,” Junebug said.

 Coxa and Spiracle let us into a tunnel on the other side of the nursery. After a short distance, we entered into a smaller chamber. Though similar to the nursery, each of the three levels of the room had bowl shaped depressions in the floor that were lined with cloth padding. Only four of the ‘nests’ held eggs, which gave the chamber a solemn and wanting feeling.

“They’re beautiful!” Muffins said, as she moved close to examine one egg. “It’s like they’ve been painted with swirls.

“You can see the nymphs!” Berry said. “You have to look close, but you can see them!”

I moved closer to one egg and studied it. It took me a second to recognize it among the swirls of the outer shell and the floating matter inside, but there was a vague outline of a curled up foal in the center of the egg.

“Fascinating,” Dad said.

Mom moved from one egg to the next, looking each over. She then stopped and looked around the room systematically.

“You have questions,” Spiracle said to her.

“Several interlocking ones,” Mom said.

“Please ask them,” Coxa said. “Part of the reason for the Viewing was to help changelings and ponies understand each other.” 

Mom looked toward the empty nests. “Why are there so few eggs when the room is designed to hold so many more?”

“We have not been here long enough for more changelings to have an egg here,” Coxa answered, sounding as if she were trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

“Something is bothering you about that,” Dad said.

“Mom, Dad, no interrogations,” Satin warned them.

Spiracle did not seem phased by Mom and Dad or Satin’s words. “My mate has a caring heart.” He made a gesture that took in the eggs and then pointed towards the tunnel that led to the nursery. “These eggs and the nymphs you met were abandoned by their parents who joined with Ph-” 

Thorax made a noise that cut Spiracle’s words short. 

“Who have joined with the rebel changelings,” Spiracle said, seeming to correct himself. 

“They left them behind?!” Berry whispered, sounding disturbed and saddened by the thought.

“Most changelings’ views on parenting differ greatly from ponies. In fact, ‘parenting’ is a foreign concept to them. Because of Chrysalis, we-” Arista squirmed, and Coxa halted her words. She held Arista closer and nuzzled her. “I’m sorry, my love. I’ll try to cheer up for you. I know sadness doesn’t taste good.”

A soft, sleepy chirp caused everypony to pause. 

Coxa smiled, as Berry’s and Muffins' full attention focused on one nest on the third level up. “They must be waking up too.”

“The other hatchlings?” Muffins said.

Coxa nodded. “Would you like to see them?”

Berry pranced in place. “Yes please!” she whispered.

Coxa gestured for us to follow her. “They are almost ready for their first molt, so they are not looking their best, but they’re doing fine.” She guided us up to one bed and pulled aside the curtains that had been shielding the bed from the light in the room. 

I waited for a moment for everypony else to find their spot and then shuffled so I could see. The three hatchlings were cuddled together in the center of the nest. Their colors appeared dulled compared to the nymphs. One of them raised her head and met eyes with Berry.

“Oh my goodness!” Berry said in a whisper. She got so close to the bed her nose almost touched its edge. “I should have brought our camera.”

“Berry, you can’t get in the nest with them,” Barrel said.

“Same goes for you, sweetheart,” Turner told Muffins, who had taken her spot on the opposite side of the nest from Berry.

“Hello there,” Berry greeted the still sleepy nymph.

“They’re so cute!” Coco said, as she leaned against me.

The hatchling started and looked around as if panicked. She reached out with her hooves and patted the nest around her, getting more upset as she could not find what she was searching for.

“It’s okay, Syrphidae,” Coxa said and stroked the nymph’s back with a gentle hoof. “Arista is right here. She woke up and was a little fussy. I didn’t want her to wake you up too, so I let her meet our visitors.”

The other hatchlings stirred and sat up.

“Their eyes are milky,” Muffins said with concern.

“They do that right before a molt. They could use a little care and attention, since they can’t see as well right now.” Spiracle grinned. “Would either of you like to hold one of th-”

“Yes!” Berry and Muffins answered in unison.

“I’ll take Syrphidae,” Spiracle said, as he picked her up. He turned and held Syrphidae so she was close to Arista. “Arista’s right here. You can calm down now.”

Syrphidae reached out and touched Arista with a hoof. She relaxed, when Arista put a hoof on top of hers in response.

“She’s very protective of Arista,” Dad noted.

“Arista was the first addition to their nesting group, after they came here,” Coxa said. “Syrphidae made herself the nest’s guardian and makes sure that everybuggy is where they’re supposed to be.”

“You mentioned changelings cannot nurse their nymphs the other day,” Mom said. “Does that mean they can eat solid food this young?”

“Not yet,” Coxa said. “After their first molt, they will be able to handle some solid foods. Right now, they only feed on love.”

“So you are a little love bug aren’t you?” Muffins gave a gentle nuzzle to the nymph she was holding. “He’s so small I’m worried I might hurt him if I’m not careful,” she said to Coxa, as the nymph cuddled closer to her.

“Gryllus is tougher than you might think,” Spiracle said. “He, Bombus, and Syrphidae rough house a lot.” He looked at Coxa with a smile. “I think this would be a good time to ask them.”

Coxa gave an amused snort, but she looked somewhat troubled. “Asking now seems unethical.”

“Unethical?” Barrel said. “Now you’ve got to ask. You’ve got my curiosity stirred up on how holding a little one could be used as leverage for something.”

“Mine too,” Dad said.

We ponies not holding nymphs raised our hooves, as did Matilda and Cranky, while Berry and Muffins nodded in agreement.

Mom grinned. “I believe that makes it unanimous.”

Coxa’s hesitancy disappeared. “While we’re able to share love between us now, there are not enough changeling pairs here to provide the amount we need,” she explained. “Gathering love is not near the problem it used to be, but it’s still taking efforts away from other things we need to do to get Sanctuary stabilized. We’d like to know if you would help us provide love for the nymphs until we can get a larger and more stable supply going.”

“We’ll get to visit with the nymphs some more?” Berry asked, her eyes filled with excitement.

Coxa smiled at her. “Of course.”

“I’d never turn down an opportunity to make love with Berry,” Barrel said, with a lecherous curl to his smile.

“Barrel, behave,” Barry warned, sounding both flattered and serious. She told Coxa, “We’re in.”

I watched Coco, waiting with unexpected anticipation to see what her response was going to be. 

Sensing my attention on her, Coco turned and gave me a curious look.

Even with the conversation continuing around us, I lost myself in Coco’s blue eyes and thinking about what I had felt while we cuddled in the nursery. I heard a couple of more questions and answers from those around me, but they were distant and vague to my ears.

Dad chuckled and said something that got part of my attention and made my ear flick, but it was not enough for me to register what he said.

Coco smiled, lifted a hoof, and booped my nose. “Pin?”

After coming back to reality, I blinked and gave her a smile. “I’m here.”

“You okay there, buddy?” Barrel asked with amusement. “You zoned out on us.”

“He’s fine,” Satin assured. “Coco enraptured him again is all.”

“Did you say, ‘again’?” Turner chuckled. “How often does this happen?”

“It’s not a regular occurrence, but it happens often enough we’ve gotten used to it,” Satin said.

“Your emotions were an interesting mixture,” Thorax said. “What were you thinking about?”

“Other than Coco’s eyes,” Berry teased.

Trying to avoid further inquiries, I gave the truncated but truthful response, “I was wondering what Coco’s answer was going to be.”

“There was a lot more going through your head than that,” Dad said. “You didn’t even hear me ask you what you thought about the idea.”

I shrugged and put on my best smile. “It wasn’t important, or even coherent.”

“You say that, but you are acting nervous and embarrassed while being evasive with us,” Mom said. 

“Pin.” I looked at Coxa, who had a kind but no-nonsense expression. “Beyond all of you being our friends and us wanting to share this celebration with you, we wanted to get your impressions and opinions on several things during your visit. We’re trying to plan for Sanctuary, and the ponies of Ponyville are going to be key to whether or not we succeed. You were putting a lot of thought into something concerning giving love to our nymphs, and I want to know what it was.”

“I’ll try to make it all make sense,” I said and tapped my temple with a hoof. “It was kind of jumbled in here, though. I’m not sure where to start.”

“Then I’ll give you a prompt,” Spiracle said, a touch of his commanding tone entering his voice. “Your emotions flared when you two cuddled with Frons. You didn’t just give off love, you seemed to have some kind of epiphany. Tell us about what caused that flare of emotion and go from there.”

You had to ask about that first thing didn’t you? I thought. “I-” My eyes went to Coco, who gave me a supportive look, and I lost my ability to speak. “I-, She’s-,” I stammered.

“Coco, give him a hug,” Muffins prompted. “He’s bottling things up with all of us looking at him.”

“And knowing we’re waiting with high expectations, ready to judge him and every word he- Oof!” Barrel’s joking was cut short by a shoulder bump from Berry.

“Quit giving him those eyes of yours, too,” Berry said. “We need him talking sense.”

Coco giggled and then moved closer and hugged me. As I returned her hug, she tucked her head against my chest. “Now you have support and I won’t distract you by looking at you,” she said.

“Thank you.” I moved my mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Your eyes are such a pretty distraction, though.”

Smiling, Stormbreaker chided in a teasing tone, “Pin, quit flattering your fiancee and focus.”

“Sorry.” I turned my attention back to Coxa. “Coco’s been helping me quit hiding behind etiquette and Canterlotian social rules and let my emotions out. I love Coco to the core of my being, but even with her giving me permission to express it something still causes me to… restrict myself as if loving her is some kind of guilty pleasure I shouldn’t indulge in. When we were cuddling, and she was holding Frons, her effect on me got much stronger and that feeling vanished.”

“You felt a release,” Thorax said.

“I did. It was as if knowing that my loving her was helping somepony else allowed it to flow with no resistance. I didn’t feel guilt for enjoying it or shame for having feelings about her with others around either. It was amazing.” 

“I know what you’re talking about,” Cranky said. “Knowing that loving Matilda feeds Kevin makes it even sweeter than it already is.” 

Matilda gave Cranky a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Doodle dear.”

Cranky blushed and grumbled, “Let’s not make this any more embarrassing than I already have.”

“If Coco agrees, I’d be more than happy to come and donate love,” I told Coxa.

“Count us in,” Coco said. “By the way, I felt something similar to what Pin described when we cuddled with Frons.”

“The same with me and Cranky,” Matilda said.

“All four of you’ve had the same reaction,” Turner said, putting a hoof to his chin. “Interesting.”

“They’re not the only ones,” Radius said. “Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff have said similar things. As have Pinch and Kevin and the Training Partners.”

“That’s a significant number of outcomes considering the sample size. I wonder...” He looked at Muffins and grinned. “I know everypony would be watching, but would you be willing to do a quick experiment with me?” he asked and waggled his eyebrows.

Muffins blushed to her ear tips and her wings fluffed. “Turner!”

Berry laughed. “It’s nice to know my husband isn’t the only one who misbehaves in public.”

“In all seriousness, I would like to find out if we can experience the same sensation if we snuggle with purpose.” Turner, sounding much like a colt trying to justify getting a treat, added, “It would be to further our efforts to help the changelings and advance science too.”  

 “Don’t give me that ‘to help’ and ‘for science’ malarkey,” Muffins said and extended a wing.

Turner tucked himself under Muffins’ wing and held her close in a tender embrace. “That is a positive aspect of the experiment’s methodology, I must admit.” Smiling, he leaned his head against Muffins’ and they both closed their eyes.

There was a silent, still second, and then the ears of the adult changelings in the room perked up and Bombas cuddled against Muffins as if enjoying a warm blanket.

Barrel moved to sit just behind Berry. “I think we should have an experiment of our own,” he whispered.

Berry smiled at him, nodded, and settled back against Barrel’s chest. She hummed a cheerful note, as Barrel held her and put his cheek on the top of her head.

Gryllus did much the same to Berry as Bombus had done to Muffins, and wiggled in her forelegs until he was tucked against her.

Coxa drew in a breath as if she were enjoying wholesome sea air. “They’re giving off a steady flow of love like the others.”

“Can changeling couples not do the same?” I asked.

“They can, but ponies’ love still has a special appeal,” Radius said. “A pony’s love has a richer flavor, and it’s even better when you find a pony that gives off the secondary emotions you like.” He glanced towards Junebug but caught himself and looked back to me. “In the past, changelings have gotten into trouble by sticking around too long trying to get love from a particular pony because their other emotions were so enticing.”

Thorax’s ear flicked and he looked at Radius with a teasing smirk.

“So getting love from a pony may have different, please forgive my lack of a more precise description, ‘nutritional values’ for a changeling?” Dad asked.

“Dinky and Twilight think that might be the case,” Spiracle said. “They are already trying to figure out how to test their theory, but they are not even sure how we take in love.” He chuckled. “Kevin has been enjoying their efforts to ‘unravel the mysteries of a changeling’s magical metabolism’.”

“So you may still need ponies?” I asked.

“It seems so.” Coxa smiled. “You felt good about that. Why?”

“It feels good to know we can still be of help.  You’ve all become our friends too. It’s nice to know we’ll still have something that could keep us all together.”

Cranky snorted. “You live up to your mark don’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?” Radius asked, sounding offended on my behalf.

Cranky pointed towards my rear with a hoof. “He’s got a safety pin with a heart on it on his flank. He’s a bring everypony together and keep everypony safe kind of guy.”

“That’s a very sound interpretation!” Matilda praised. She looked at me and smiled. “I bet you earned it doing something nice for somepony sewing or mending something.”

My ears perked up with surprise. “I did. How did you know?”

“I have a degree in sociology with a specialization in pony studies. Cutie marks and their meanings are one of my favorite topics.”

“Matilda’s taught summer courses at Canterlot University and been invited to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to present her research more than once,” Cranky said with proud affection.

“Dear, don’t talk me up so much,” Matilda said, blushing. “They might get the impression that I’m somedonkey special. That was a long time ago.”

“Don’t act like you’re some average high school teacher. You’re so good at what you do Celestia herself invited you to that Gala.” He leaned and touched his head to Matilda’s. “I’m so very glad she did too. You’re somedonkey special to me.”

“And here you told me you weren’t a sweetheart,” Matilda teased.

Dad rubbed his chin with a hoof and stared at Berry and Muffins holding the hatchlings.

“What is on your mind?” Mom asked him. 

“I was thinking about the broader ramifications of such an arrangement.”

“I was pondering the same thing. My first impression is that the changelings are getting the most tangible benefits out of the arrangement.”

Satin and I winced and shared concerned glances.

“Do we need to offer some kind of repayment?” Coxa asked Mom, sounding worried.

Mayor Mare, Spiracle, and Thorax watched Coxa and Mom with their full attention.

“If ponies want to give their love for the benefit of positive feelings and knowing they are helping others, then it is a fair exchange.” Mom gave Coxa a reassuring smile. “I, for one, would never ask for repayment. Seeing my husband open up and play with a nymph was more than payment enough for any love anybuggy may have nibbled from me.”

“Could you give us a rough estimate of how much love you would need?” Turner asked. A coltish grin appeared on his face. “That’s something I’m going to talk with the research team about. We may have the honor of establishing a measuring unit for love!” 

I smiled as Turner put his hoof to his chin and stared off into space much like the way Dinky did when she mulled things over. He muttered to himself, “Would it need to be a volumetric measurement or something similar to measuring an electrical current? Since love’s flow seems tied to magic, perhaps we could alter-”

“Turner, come back to us, sweetie,” Muffins said and gave his shoulder a bump with hers.

Turner shook his head. “Sorry, drifted off for a tick there,” he apologized.

Coxa giggled. “Not a problem. To answer your question as best I can, the two herds and Pinch have provided the nymphs enough love for a couple of days with no issue, but we cannot keep asking them to disrupt their schedules and lives to help us.”

Mayor Mare looked to Thorax with matronly concern. “Thorax, you seem troubled.”

“The donkeys and ponies here are very generous creatures, but Mrs. Study brings up a good point. If Sanctuary or the Hive needs more love than we can gather we will need to be ready to trade for it.”

Spiracle's ears snapped up in alarm. “Are there supply problems at the Hive?”

“We’re not having supply troubles, right now anyway. Thanks to Celestia arranging for us to gather love from the ponies of Canterlot.” Thorax sighed and rubbed his temple with a hoof. “However, we’re facing the same thing at the Hive you’re facing here. We’re not producing enough love on our own to be independent yet.”

“Your society is restructuring itself on both the literal and figurative levels,” Mom said. “You cannot expect changelings who know almost nothing of positive emotions of any kind to produce enough love to sustain themselves.”

“I know, but we can’t depend on ponies for love indefinitely. We’re putting strains on relations enough as it is. There are ponies, especially in Canterlot, who think we shouldn’t even have diplomatic relations after all we’ve done. They see us as monsters, and their fears are well founded considering changelings have been raiding and threatening Equestria’s peace for close to a thousand years.”

“Thorax, you have to let what Kevin said go,” Radius said, with a bit of force. “He was scared, he was angry, and he was wrong.”

“No, he was right, and that’s why we have to stand on our own hooves as soon as possible. With the metamorphosis, we have a chance to not be-” He stopped as if not wanting to utter his next word.

“Not be what?” Coco asked.

“Parasitic,” Thorax said, making it sound like a vile cuss-word.

“You are not parasitic!” Junebug said. “I know parasites. I study and fight against parasites, and you are no such thing.”

“As a whole, we were, though! We produced little to nothing and took everything by guile or force! My br-” Thorax took a moment to collect himself. “The renegade changelings would have us go back to that life. We have to become self-sufficient as soon as we can so we don’t endanger our relations with ponies and show the renegades there is a viable alternative way to live rather than sneaking around or attacking and draining others.”

“You cannot do such a thing overnight,” Mom said. “Building up a complex system like a country takes time and the efforts of dozens of specialists.”

“We don’t have that kind of time or the knowledge to do it,” Thorax said. He breathed as if trying to control his emotions against a rising panic. “The renegades could force the issue with an attack, and we’re not prepared for it. I don’t even know if we could field a fighting force, since we might feel every horrible thing we do to them while they attack us.” 

“There will be no attack,” Spiracle said. “We both know their commander well enough to know he would never lead changelings against fellow changelings.”

“He might, if he thought we were not ‘true’ changelings. That is why we have to show him and the others our way can work, but we don’t have the educators and experts we need to build a functional society. We only have a hoofful of ‘softie’ officers and spymasters who know the logistics and planning of war, not of a peaceful nation and supplies that ponies give us, which makes us weak in their eyes.”

“We have you,” Coxa said in a supportive way.

“You have me?!” Thorax laughed a bitter laugh, as tears ran down his face. “A scared, selfish, cowardly traitor, who left everybuggy behind and became king by being glued to the floor at the ‘right’ time?!” The hatchlings squirmed in discomfort, as Thorax continued his self-demolishment, “I’m no leader, I’m-”

“Thorax, you need to stop,” Muffins' calm voice cut through the tension like a clear chime.

In the silence that followed Muffins' words, everycreature looked toward her.

“You’re upsetting the hatchlings and hurting yourself.” Muffins turned and asked Berry, “Could you hold Bombus for me for a minute?”

“Sure,” Berry said and took Bombas, with her free foreleg and then gave him a comforting nuzzle. “It’s okay sweetheart.”

“Thorax.” Muffins held out her hooves. “Come here, please.” Though her words were gentle, it was clear he was to obey.

Thorax, his head down and seeming every bit the defeated and saddened young pony he appeared to be, went to Muffins like a colt to his mother. 

Muffins pulled Thorax to herself, guided his head to her chest with a gentle hoof, held him close, and then wrapped him in her wings. 

Thorax, returning her hug, shook and sobbed against her.

“You’ve been working so hard for everybuggy else, but you haven’t been taking care of yourself, have you?” Muffins asked. From the motion under her wing, I could tell she was stroking his back with a hoof. “When was the last time you slept a full night?”

“I don’t know. Luna’s been helping me with the nightmares, but I’m still having trouble getting to sleep. There’s too much for me to do and think about. I can’t get myself to let it all go.”

“It won’t be easy but you need to learn how.” She paused, and patted around on him with both hooves as if giving him an impromptu examination.  “When was the last time you sat down and had a good, full meal? Even as a pony, you’re feeling thin.”

“A couple of days at the most.” Muffins gave him a critical gaze, and Thorax’s ears flattened. “None of us have been getting regular full meals, but we’re used to that, and they’re becoming more frequent for all of us. I have been eating, I promise.”

“He’s not telling you the whole truth,” Radius said. “I don’t think he’s been taking in much love, and, from what I’ve been told, he hasn’t been taking in love from ponies at all.”

Muffins raised Thorax’s chin with a hoof so he looked at her. “Why not?” she asked, sounding like a concerned mother.

“We have a shortage, and others need love more than I do,” he said, without meeting her eyes.

“Thorax.” At her tone, Thorax looked at Muffins again. “Tell us what’s going on.”

“I’ve been thinking about what Kevin said, about what we were and how we acted. I wanted to set an example, now that we can change things.”

“You’re not setting a good example if you’re staggering around half awake and looking like a scarecrow,” Muffins scolded in a soft tone. “You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of the other changelings.”

Matilda’s ears snapped up. “Kevin!” she whispered as if she had a revelation. “That’s what’s going on.”

Cranky looked at her as if worried about her. “What are you talk…” He stopped and his eyes widened. “Oh, now I get it.”

“Have you been sleeping alone?” Matilda asked him. “Kevin has the hardest time getting to sleep, unless I snuggle with him until he drifts off.”

Thorax nodded as if confessing something.

“Thorax!” Coxa chided. “Changelings don’t sleep well alone. You know that.”

“My nesting group is gone,” Thorax said. “I don’t know that many other changelings well enough to ask to join theirs. Even if I did, me being king would make things weird.” A small, but genuine smile, came to his face. “Besides, I take up a whole nest now. Nobuggy wants to sleep with a nest hog.”

“Now I think about it, how did you handle sleeping alone in the Crystal Empire?” Radius asked.

 “I didn’t. I slept in the barracks with the guards.”

Radius stared at Thorax with his mouth open. “What?!”

“I asked to be put there. It was the perfect spot for me. I had ponies around, so I slept okay. The guards knew where I was, which dropped their paranoia level, and it helped them get to know me and realize I wasn’t a spy.”

“Brilliantly done,” Spiracle said, as if praising a student.

Thorax blushed at the compliment. “Not too long after they started asking me about how changelings lived, Cadence and Shining caught on to my motives for asking to be in the barracks. To help, they made it my official duty to be Flurry’s nap partner, so I could help protect her and get the contact and love I needed.”

Spiracle’s eye got a devious glint in them. “As to be expected for the top of your class in collection and infiltration techniques.”

“Top of his class?” Berry said.

“By a good margin too,” Spiracle said. “Thorax was never a fighter, but he knew ponies and how to get love from them. There were several times when he brought more love back to the hive by himself than some of the lower performing teams did.”

“We used to tease him he should have been born a pony rather than a changeling,” Radius said, grinning at Spiracle as if picking up on whatever scheme he was using. “He was also right at the top of the class for concealment and survival techniques too.”

“Yes, he was. In fact, I bet-”

“What are you two up to?” Thorax asked Spiracle, sounding much more like himself.

“I wanted to remind you you are not weak. Even by changeling standards, you are good at what you do and you’re tough. I doubt any other changeling could have crept out of the Hive, made their way through hundreds of miles of hostile territory, feeding off the love of ponies on the way, undetected, and then survive in one of the harshest climates a changeling can face without freezing to death.”

“There are a couple of others who could have,” Thorax said, in a tone that hinted he was uncertain about his own argument.

“Like Radius?” Spiracle snorted. “Sure, he might have been able to sneak around undetected, but he’d have starved to death before he even got to the border of the Empire. If starvation didn’t get him, had he stayed in the wilds there as long as you did we’d still be trying to thaw what was left of him out.”

Radius grumbled, “That was harsh, but true.”

“Thorax, you and the leader of the renegades have to face it. We’ve needed the ponies to survive, and we will always need the ponies. The difference between you two is you are taking the only sane road we have in confronting that fact and working together with them. We are not as bound to them now, thanks to you and the metamorphosis, and there’s a tiny possibility we might be able to live without them, but it’s easier and healthier for us to accept what they are offering us, including their love.”

“Like ants and aphids,” Junebug said. 

There was an awkward moment of silence, and then Barrel laughed. “June, we’re going to need some context with that one.”

“Oh, sorry.” June Bug blushed and danced hoof to hoof like a filly put on the spot, as she explained, “There are ants who live with and take care of aphids because the aphids provide a ‘honey’ that’s nutritious to the ants.” Her ears perked up, and she smiled. “In fact, you taking care of Flurry to nibble on her love is a good example of the relationship the ants and aphids have.”

“It’s a wonderful theory, and I wish it were that simple, but ponies don’t need protection like aphids do,” Thorax said. “Beyond trading goods, which any species can do, we can’t offer them anything special to repay them for their love.”

“Basic goods coud suffice,” Mom said. “Once a price for love has been determined, systems of exchange and prices will develop between changelings and ponies.”

“While I don’t disagree with your logic, I would hope that everypony realizes love is too precious a thing to be reduced to a base trade good,” Dad said, gaining him a surprised stare from Mom. “I know our shared love is something I could never put a price on, and it would be vulgar for me to attempt to.”

Mom smiled and touched her nose to Dad’s. “Ever the flatterer.”

Dad nuzzled Mom’s nose and then turned to address Thorax, “Respectfully, Sire, I believe you are wrong in saying changelings have nothing unique to offer ponies. I believe changelings being part of their lives has enriched the Research Team’s, the Training Partners’, and the Envoy’s lives.”

“Envoys?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Gena, Noi, and Cubi,” I supplied.

“Oh, I see.” Mayor Mare laughed. “I bet Noi is thrilled they have a title now. Not having an ‘official name’ for her trio was bothering her.”

“By extension, I guess you’re an ‘envoy’ too, Radius,” Coxa said.

Radius grinned and nodded. “I like it. It sounds more friendly than ‘representative’.”

“From what I understand, the young ones’ working together with Princess Twilight have pushed a couple of areas of magical research forward by years, and Dinky has opened up a whole new line of research on emotion based artifacts and detectors,” Dad added.

Turner puffed himself up in a manner that would have made a pegasus proud. “That’s our filly.” 

“I know Cheerilee has been enjoying being able to share ponykind’s knowledge with others has given her an enormous boost too,” Mayor Mare said. “I believe more cultural exchanges, like today’s Viewing, would do both our communities good. Amethyst and Rift have already suggested that we could put on plays and have music recitals for everycreature to enjoy.”

Coco’s ears snapped up and she exclaimed, “Plays would be wonderful!” When everybody looked at her, she blushed and dipped her head down in adorable embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“That makes me feel somewhat better, but we still have a trade imbalance that will cause trouble down the line if we don’t address it now,” Thorax said.

“I would not worry about a trade imbalance, for the time being. The emerging market is being primed by both sides, and it is too early to see where the flows of trade will go.” Mom made a gesture with her hoof that took in the room. “You could exchange your services for portions of love. Changeling stonework is impressive. To do so much in such a short time, and with such skill, is remarkable.”

“Thank you, but it’s not true ‘changeling’ work,” Spiracle said. “We bend the rules a bit and change into different creatures that are good at burrowing, like diamond dogs, to open up the caverns. After that, we get into the finer detail work.” He told Thorax, “She is right, though we have skills we can offer for love.”

“That’s a good thought, but using our abilities like that burns through our energy, which is one of the reason’s we’re still close to being short on love even with the Sisters allowing us to send infiltr- Sorry, old habit. Collectors to gather love.”

“Collectors?” Junebug’s eyes lit up. She asked Coxa and Spiracle, “Has Sanctuary been sending collectors to Ponyville? I want to observe them in action.”

Coxa gave Junebug an amused smile. “We haven’t hit the point where we’ve needed to send out official collectors, but you’ve been around at least one changeling when they were collecting love to share,” she said and nodded towards Radius.

Junebug gave Radius a teasing look, and he gave her a guilty smile. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“I was planning on saying something, but you weren’t...” Radius blushed and he glanced away from Junebug’s eyes. “I mean, I got nibbles from other ponies by accident.” 

Junebug gave a snort. “How do you nibble love on ‘accident’?”

“I wasn’t after their love. I was hoping... Never mind. The long and the short of it is, I was wrong about what I thought was going on. I didn’t want the love to go to waste, so I took nibbles to bring back to Sanctuary.”

“Radius, you two need to have a talk,” Coxa said. “Especially after the display you put on in the nursery.”

Junebug scrutinized Radius. “What display? I missed it.”

Radius’ blush deepened and he waved his hooves towards Coxa as if to shoo away her words. “I wasn’t putting on a display! I was happy you and Petrova were so glad to see each other.”

Spiracle let out a dramatic sigh. “And for the longest I thought Thorax was the hopeless one of you two.”

“Hey!” both Thorax and Radius said while Coxa giggled at them.

The sound of approaching, rapid, and echoing hoofsteps halted the conversation.

“Thorax!” a filly’s voice called from the tunnel we entered the room from. “You’ve got to come outside. Pinkie’s looking for you and getting more and more wound up not being able to find you.”

“She’s getting the nymphs riled up, with all the energy she’s giving off,” another filly’s voice said. 

A second after, Dinky and Gena ran into the room. Dinky froze when she saw Muffins holding Thorax. “Mom, is everything okay?”

“He’s okay, he just needed a little T.L.C.,” Muffins assured. “He’s been under a lot of stress trying to take care of everybuggy and needed a hug.” Muffins made an inviting gap in her wings. “I’m sure he could use a couple of more.”

“Can do!” Dinky ducked under Muffins' wings and joined her mom in hugging Thorax.

Muffins smiled at Gena, who seemed hesitant to say anything. “Come on, sweetie.”

Gena smiled, scooted under Muffins’ wings, and hugged Thorax’s free side.

“Are you doing better now?” Dinky asked, her voice muffled.

“I am. Your mom helped me feel a lot better.”

“She’s good at that,” Dinky said.

“It’s still kinda weird getting to hug you,” Gena said. “It’s double weird hugging you with you being a pony.”

Dinky giggled. “Did you know I got to braid his mane and tail one time?”

“No way!” Gena said. “You’re serious?!”

“You three better get going,” Muffins said, as she released them from her hug and tucked her wings to her sides. “We don’t want Pinkie to have a full on conniption.” 

Dinky took Thorax’s hoof with hers. “Come on! We’ve got all sorts of games set up.” She guided Thorax toward the exit all but skipping with every step. “Everybuggy that tried them seemed to like them.”

“I’m sure I will too,” Thorax said, hurrying to keep up with the two fillies.

Spiracle sighed and shook his head, as the trio disappeared into the tunnel. “Our king’s like a nymph himself in some ways.”

“He’s what we need, though,” Radius said. “His concern for us, his kindness, and his open nature are going to get us through this.”

Spiracle hummed in approval. “I agree. He’s going to need a lot of support, though.”

“He’s not as out of his league as you might think,” Radius said. “He and I have been talking on and off since he and the others got here. He’s trying to make long term plans, but there is so much going on and changes coming so fast he hasn’t had time to sit down and work it out. I’m hoping having here here for the next couple of days will give him that time and he can see how far we have come.”

Something almost desperate sounding edged into his voice.

“Sanctuary has to work.  We can’t go back, especially not after all we’ve done and tasting what life could be like for us here.” Radius’s eye’s went to Junebug for split second and then he forced his gaze to the floor and swallowed. “I can’t even imagine what it would do to Cubi and Gena and the nymphs, if it fails.”

“It’s already working,” Junebug said. “Look how it’s brought all of us together.” She took his hoof with hers and gave it a reassuring shake. “Give it some more time for Thorax and the Hive to do their part. Once word gets out about Sanctuary, there’s no way the others are going to continue to live like they are.”

Radius to his and Junebug’s hooves with a bit of hope in his eyes. “You sound so confident about that.”

“Of course I am,” Junebug said. “Ponies follow the path of least resistance. It’s easier to ask for love rather than having to sneak around and try to sneak nibbles.”

Radius looked up to meet Junebug’s eyes and gave her a timid smile. “Asking somepony for their love can be a lot harder than you’d think.”

Junebug’s ears perked up, and she studied Radius for a long moment.

“Ponyville will do it’s part to help too,” Mayor Mare said, breaking the quiet. “I am sure we might have a few holdouts, we always do, but the ponies I have spoken to are more than willing to help any changeling in need.”

“You’ve all done so much for us already,” Coxa said. “Speaking of which, let’s head outside for the party. The Viewing is as much a thank you for everycreature’s generosity and hard work as it is a welcoming for Arista to Sanctuary.”

Radius looked toward Berry. “Would you like me to take them for you?”

“No, thank you,” Berry said.

Muffins took Bombas back from Berry. “We’ll be happy to carry them.” She giggled and nodded towards Radius’ and Junebugs’ clasped hooves. “Besides, somepony has hold of you already.”

“I’m not planning on letting him, or any of the others go either.” Radius turned toward Junebug as if to say something in response, and Junebug pulled him to her and gave him a hug. “Sanctuary is going to work, you and everybuggy else are going to stay right here, and we’re going to figure out how everypony can live together like ants and aphids.”

Afer a slight hesitation, Radius put his forelegs around Junebug in something not quite a hug. “But-”

“No buts,” Junebug interrupted and gave him a little shake. “It’s going to be a lot of work but we will do it.”

“You’re right.” Radius gave Junebug a full hug. “We will.”