> A Dragon Among Changelings
>  by James Pwyll
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Dragon Among Changelings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, things are looking pretty good. Nice greenery, the skies aren't menacing anymore...yeah, this is pretty decent." Spike smiled as he walked along the once-barren landscape, looking on with awe at the Changeling Hive in the distance, which even here he could tell was looking a lot better than it used to be. He took in a deep lungful of air, which smelled sweet with all the flowers close by. "Yep, definitely an improvement."

"Hey! Look! A little dragon!" a voice called out. Spike looked upwards, just in time to see a pair of Changelings buzz down from the sky, landing right in front of him. "Awwww! He's so cute!" one of them declared, definitely sounding female. She turned to her companion. "Can we keep him? Pleeeeeeeease?!"

The other smirked at her. "Hate to disappoint you, but this isn't just any baby dragon. This is Spike."

Spike's chest swelled up a bit. "Yep. Savior of the Crystal Empire, right here."

The female Changeling gasped. "Oh! You're Spike! King thorax has told us all about you!" She looked him over. "Huh...kinda thought you'd be a bit taller."

Spike frowned to that, but before he could say anything more, a far deeper voice called out. "Alright, you two, that's enough." All eyes turned to see the arrival of another Changeling, this time far larger than the first two. At a glance, he appeared to be like thorax, though not quite as big, and with far darker coloring. As he stepped forward, he gave a quick bow of his head to the newly-arrived youngster. "I'm sure my brother will be rather pleased you're here, Spike."

Instantly, Spike knew who this was. "Oh! You must be...er...Pharynx, right?"

Pharynx nodded. "Yep. Come on, I'll escort you to the Hive."

Nodding back, Spike followed the larger Changeling, with both he and the other two now sort of looking like an honor guard for him, which he couldn't help but smile to. As expected, when they drew nearer to the home of the Changelings, there were more and more of them. Several of the younger ones followed the example of the first ones he met here, gawking and looking in awe at the dragon among them, while others just gave a happy wave, which he was pleased to return. After a time though, the relative silence that they had been walking with was brought to an end, as an excited and all-too familiar voice could now be heard. "Spike!"

Smiling, Spike turned around, seeing the grinning blue face of a young Changeling he knew very well indeed. "Hey there, Ocellus! How's your vacation going?"

Ocellus giggled. "Oh, it's going well. My family have been asking me all sorts of questions about my first year at Princess Twilight's school." She raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty surprised to see you here though."

Spike chuckled. "Well, me and Thorax kinda go way back. Figured it was time to come and pay him a visit. You know, since the Hive isn't as...er...Chrysalisy anymore."

Another quick giggle from the Changeling youth beside him. "I'm sure he'd like that. It's always good when friends come to visit." Then her eyes widened, and she started sounding more excited than before. "Oh! How would you like to come and visit my family when you're done with Thorax? My younger siblings have never met a dragon before."

Spike, clearly happy with the idea, reached over and petted her on the shoulder slightly. "That sounds great!"

"If you two are quite finished," Pharynx remarked, arching an eyebrow to the two of them. "Ocellus, I believe you still had some school work to attend to?"

Blushing, Ocellus rubbed the side of her foreleg after that. "Um, yeah, sorry. I'll see you later, Spike!" she merrily declared, buzzing her wings and flying off, no doubt to finish her aforementioned work. 

Pharynx chuckled, shaking her head. "A sweet girl, but she really does need to learn to be less distracted."

Spike smirked at him. "Well, better than being a grump I think."

Getting the meaning of that, Pharynx gave him some side-eye. "I'm quite content with being the Hive grump, thank you very much."

Spike rolled his eyes, but as the two of them turned the next corner, his face lit up with excitement. "Thorax!"

The King of the Changelings was indeed there, sitting atop his throne and speaking to another of his people, an elderly female. When he heard his name, he turned, smiling widely at the sight of his visiting friend. "Spike!" He turned again to his older colleague. "I'm sorry, can we take a raincheck on this?" As the female gave a respectful bow, she turned and walked away, leaving Thorax free to jump off his throne and land right next to Spike, his face displaying such overwhelming joy that his smile was reaching Pinkie Pie levels of wideness. "I didn't know you'd be coming today!"

Though taken aback by how forward the regal Changeling was, Spike soon composed himself. "Well, figured it was high time I came over. You know, see how things were doing?"

Thorax squeed with delight, then cast a quick look to his older brother, who maintained his usual degree of stoic seriousness, before leaning closer to Spike and whispering. "Um...you weren't stuffed in a bag before being brought here, were you?"

Spike blinked a couple of times, displaying his clear confusion. "Er...what?"

Pharynx let out a quick huff to that. "Hmph! No need for that, brother. You and I both know my bag-stuffing days are over." He paused, and then turned away slightly with some melancholic nostalgia in his eyes. "...Alas." Then, after sighing, he gave a respectful bow to his king, before promptly flying off. 

Thorax waved to him as he left, then smiled down to Spike. "Don't mind him. He's just a bit more serious than the rest of us."

Spike folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I kinda noticed." The two laughed, and when it was over the young dragon began to explain himself. "I was hoping to visit earlier, but things sort of went haywire over at the school."

Thorax's smile faded a little. "I know. Ocellus told me about that rogue student. I hope everycreature was okay after that?"

Spike's own smile returned. "Oh yeah, everycreature's fine. We have the students to thank for that. I'll bet you guys were pretty proud of Ocellus for it, right?"

Thorax resumed his earlier smile. "Prouder than we can ever put into words. She went to Ponyville to show Equestria that we could be their friends, and she and her fellow students proved that beyond my wildest hopes."

He looked around himself. "This is truly a good time for the Changelings. We're happier, we're no longer looked at with fear by other races, and we're becoming so much more than we used to be."

Here, Spike started to look a little nervous, and he poked the ends of his claws together. "So...any word on...you know...her?"

Thorax sighed, knowing full well who he was talking about. "None. There's been no sign of her since she fled from the Hive that day." He frowned. "But if I'm being honest, I hope never to hear from her again."

Spike frowned. "You know she'll come back one day, right?"

His Changeling friend gave a grim nod. "I do. We all do. And if there's one great fear we Changelings have now, it's the day when we'll have to face our old Queen again."

In spite of the seriousness of that conversation, Spike actually seemed to perk up. "Well, look at it this way. She might be better when you see her next, right? I mean, she's out there all alone. Maybe that'll be enough to convince her to, you know, change for the better?" The raised eyebrow Thorax gave him caused his shoulders to slump slightly. "Yeah, okay, point taken. But hey, I've seen change before, so here's hoping, eh?"

Thorax actually smiled to that, his eyes drifting to just behind Spike, to his back. "Speaking of changes, I can't help but notice that you've gone through one."

Chuckling, Spike looked behind himself, spreading out his newly-acquired wings, giving them a quick flap. "Yeah, and trust me, it was kind of an ordeal getting them."

Thorax laughed out loud. "Hey, guess this means we can fly together for once."

Spike smirked to him. "Yeah, I'm up for a quick race if you're game, buddy."

The two laughed together, but when they were done, Thorax began to walk off, with Spike close behind him. "Maybe later. But for now, I want to show you the rest of the Hive."

Clapping his claws together, Spike chortled. "And I want to see it!" And see it he did, as Thorax now served as tour guide for this place that once inspired nothing but horror. Where once there were dank caves, now there were pleasant homes for Changeling families. Barren patches of land had been transformed into lush and verdant gardens, carefully tended to by eager young drones, who showed nothing but adoration for the flowers they grew. Groups such as the feelings forum and arts and crafts workshops dotted the area, and reminded Spike very much of Ponyville during one of their many festival or party days. Truly this place had come a long way since he was last here, and he was sure to tell his friend that this was how he felt. "Wow, Thorax! This place is totally different now! And in a good way!"

Thorax too looked to his people's home with pride. "Yeah. I hope it's better for you to be here than your last time at least."

Spike snorted. "Well, considering that I was trapped upside-down in a cocoon the last time I was here, I'd say that's a pretty safe bet." The two laughed together again, and Spike soon gave a flap of his wings, hovering up slightly so as to be at eye-level with his friend. "If you'd never known what this place was like before, you'd totally be convinced that this was how it's always been!"

Thorax turned, looking out to his home, now so utterly different from its past. "I'm glad you think that way. The shadow of our old Queen may linger on our hearts for some years, but I have no doubt that we can make something better than what she'd ever wanted us to be."

Spike gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Trust me, my friend, you're well on your way." Though Thorax smiled appreciatively to that, he didn't respond, as it was here when Spike's stomach swelled, resulting in the young dragon belching out one of his magical flames. As Spike watched the newly-formed parchment arrive before his eyes, he took hold of it, reading it for a few moments before looking back to Thorax with some disappointment. "I'm sorry, but it looks like I've got to cut this short. Seems Twilight needs me in Canterlot."

Thorax tilted his head slightly. "Nothing bad, I hope?"

Rolling the parchment again, Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have called us all to the palace for some reason. So it's probably important at least."

In spite of clearly sharing his small friend's disappointment at the shortness of this visit, Thorax nevertheless smiled. "Well, I'm glad you could still be here for as long as you were, Spike. The Hive is always open to you."

Spike gave a salute to his royal companion, then spun around and began to fly off, heading in the general direction of Canterlot as fast as he could. Thorax watched him go, and before long he was joined by his brother, Pharynx, who also looked on as Spike departed. "Before you ask, Thorax, no, I'm still not going to join the feelings forum."

Thorax pouted. "Come oooooooooon! It'll be fun!"