It was done. It was finally over.
Queen Chrysalis had fled the changeling castle after refusing Starlight Glimmer's offer of friendship, to be lost and hopefully forgotten in the wastelands. Her throne that sapped the magical essence of the captured ponies - and Discord - had been destroyed, and no intention of ever rebuilding it was shared among the new changelings. And speaking of the captured ponies, the Mane 6, the Royal Sisters, and the Crystal Empire couple along with their daughter were all freed from their prisons and were safe and sound.
And on top of all of that, Thorax had shed his blackened form to reveal literally the beauty within himself, as had the rest of the changeling subjects. The hunger that screamed in their bellies was finally gone; no longer would they ever need to steal love from other races when they could create it for themselves. Thorax's dream of a changeling race that could learn friendship and love no longer seemed impossible thanks to the help of Starlight Glimmer, her inspiring speech during the confrontation with the wicked former queen having cast doubts in the minds of the changelings that stealing love from others was not the way forward, but instead giving it to others was indeed the right path to take.
Celestia, the alicorn of the sun, had offered Thorax a chance to unite the changeling kingdom with Equestria's own, and strengthen both their territories and alliances through co-operation with each other. Of course, what with the changelings only just recently discovering their new forms, and the concern that those changeling who were still masquerading as the princesses back in their respective kingdoms still on the loose, diplomacy would have to wait. But Thorax knew all too well the wait would be worth it in the end.
After waving goodbye to his friends and allies who participated in the daring rescue, King Thorax turned to look upon the remains of the changeling castle, damaged from the blasts of love energy he and the rest of the hive had released to defeat their exiled queen. He looked upon his changeling siblings, now his new subjects. No longer were they intimidating and cruel in appearance. No longer did they sport sharp fangs or holed legs. Instead, each changeling was unique in appearance; colorful, shiny and whole. To think that such beautiful forms lay hidden behind that black chitin of theirs this whole time, and all they had to do was share the love they possessed rather than steal it.
Perhaps if their queen wasn't so blinded by the ways of old, the changeling race would have reached this outcome much sooner, Thorax thought to himself as he walked towards the center of the ruined castle, his new subjects bowing to his presence. Maybe, maybe not. It didn't matter really. Here they were regardless, and now only the future of the new changelings was important.
Thorax felt a tap on his leg. "Um, Your Majesty?" a quiet voice spoke out to him, and he turned his attention to a little green and purple changeling next to him, looking up at him with bright brilliant magenta eyes.
"Yes? What is it?" Thorax asked, kneeling down at head level with him.
The changeling fiddled with his hooves for a moment, unsure whether to speak its mind or not. He flinched a little when Thorax raised a foreleg and placed on his shoulder.
"Queen Chrysalis the Liar is gone, young one," Thorax said gently with a warm smile. "You are free to speak your mind, a free right that you all now have when you did not before."
The changeling smiled back at his new king, and straightened himself up. "Well, in that case...King Thorax...what do we do now?"
Thorax tapped his chin as he thought of a response. The rest of the changelings watched him as he pondered, waiting for his answer. Thorax then spotted a piece of rubble that was once a piece of his queen's throne, and an idea came to him. With a confident smile, he stood up and walked over to it, lifting it up with his magic.
"What we do now, my fellow changelings," Thorax began saying to his subjects as he raised the piece of rubble above his head, "is first rebuild our home. But this time, we make our castle bigger, better, and much nicer than it was before. Everything reminiscent about our former selves is taken out and thrown away. The squalid cold hard holes and tunnels we slept in will be replaced with actual living quarters where we can rest in comfort, and all of our ugly decoration will be stripped down, and new color and life will hang on the new walls and corridors we build."
Murmurs of excitement echoed among the changelings as Thorax stepped over to the edge of what had once been the throne room, looking out onto the horizon. He turned to his changelings and pointed out into the distance. "And then, when we have built our new home, we will then extend our hooves out to every nation, and show the world that the changelings are no longer the boogey monsters lurking underneath their beds, creatures to be feared and resented by all. We will show other kingdoms that the changeling race is capable of friendship and compassion. That we will now offer help to those who need it, and those who ask for it. we will no longer be a hated and loathed species, but a species that will earn the respect and admiration of others through the new deeds we do!"
The murmurs turned into loud cheers as the changelings threw their hooves up in the air in unison. Thorax smiled as he began to levitate more rubble, his subjects starting to join him in the task of cleaning up the mess.
"And finally," Thorax said to himself, "we'll then look onward to the future. One where the world gets to see that changelings...really can change."
The End