Yet again, Thorax found himself staring at his reflection in the vanity in his bedchambers, as he had on more than one occasion since it had been put in. Cadance and Shining Armor had been kind enough to transport the few possessions he had from the Crystal Empire, which he had been more than thankful for. Though his chambers were still rather bare besides a bed, the vanity, a table and a single picture of him and Spike, it had already started feeling like home.
The other changelings had suggested he stay in Chrysalis’s old chambers, but he had quickly refused. He wanted nothing to do with the “former” Queen Chrysalis, let alone sleep in her old room. Maybe we can use it as a storage room. It’s certainly big enough.
Sighing, Thorax went back to staring into the vanity. Ever since that day, it had just been one thing after another, too much to take in all at once. Coming back to the hive he had swore never to return to, facing off against Chrysalis and his subsequent transformation into his new form, along with the transformation of every changeling in the hive into their new and more colourful forms.
Honestly, Thorax wasn’t lamenting about his new appearance. He was still a changeling after all, so going from one form to another was nothing new for a shapeshifter like him. Sure, his increased height and the pair of pincer like horns on his head had taken some getting used to (and resulted in a few headaches), but he quite liked his new form, actually. Prior to their transformation, it had been next to impossible to tell one changeling from another, just another face in a sea of identical faces. Being a changeling had meant being able to disappear into a group, to stand out as little as possible in order to blend in.
But now, the changelings were almost as colourful as ponies, each one distinct and unique from one another. More than anything, the changelings had gained something they had been missing for too long: individuality.
So, no, his new form wasn’t the cause of his depressed mood. It was just about everything else that was giving him a migraine.
Think I’ll go stretch my legs, he thought as he stood up from his vanity, his back legs starting to fall asleep. A walk will help me clear my mind.
***
He hadn’t gotten far before he heard someone call out to him. “King Thorax!”
Here we go again… Quickly composing himself, he turned to see a lime-green changeling with ruby red wings flying up to him. “What is it, Aphid?”
The changeling named Aphid quickly lofted down, giving a quick bow before relaying her message. “There’s a pony waiting in the Entrance Hall to see you. He says he’s an envoy from the Crystal Empire.”
Another envoy… Resisting the temptation to sigh again, he nodded to Aphid. “Very well then. Lead the way, Aphid.”
Bowing again, she replied, “At once, your Majesty.”
And there it was. “King Thorax” this and “Your Majesty” that. Over the last few weeks, he had been hearing that a lot. There had been the official press conference with Celestia, where she had publicly announced the changelings’ alliance with Equestria (though his arrival had been met with an up and close look of more than a few Guard’s spears before that), then there were the meetings with multiple envoys from all across Equestria, not to mention the other changeling’s frequent use of his new title.
A title Thorax was becoming increasingly unsure of with each passing day. What right do I have to lead them? he often wondered. Sure, he was the tallest now, but height didn’t automatically make someone a ruler. Though it seems to work for the ponies, given how tall Princess Celestia is.
Before long, Aphid had led him into the Entrance Hall, a huge room near the base of the hive that acted as a form of nexus to every part of the hive. Despite the constant shifting of the hive, the positions of rooms stayed mostly constant, though it still made getting around difficult for non-changelings since the way between rooms could change at a moment's notice.
During the trip, Thorax had mentally prepared what he was going to say to this visitor, mostly consisting of the usual boring introductions and platitudes. As he stepped into the Entrance Hall, however, all of that vanished the moment he caught sight of the pony he had come to meet, a familiar white stallion with electric blue hair. “Sh-Shining Armor?”
Shining Armor turned at the sound of his name, smiling as he caught sight of Thorax. “Ah, Thorax! Just the changeling I was looking for.”
As Aphid excused herself, Thorax walked up to Shining. “I’m surprised to see you, Shining Armor. I was told I was to meet with an envoy from the Crystal Empire.”
“Yep. Cadance has her hooves full managing the Empire, and Sunburst is too busy looking after Flurry Heart, so I thought I’d volunteer to go. Plus, the last time I was here I wasn’t in any position to look around, so I thought I’d do that now.” Shining nervously chuckled at his own joke, but Thorax could tell right away that there was more than that. If there was one thing that hadn’t changed about the changelings, it was their ability to read people, either through sensing their emotions or through subtle body language.
“And…?”
Shining Armor felt himself beginning to sweat under the much taller Royal Changeling’s gaze, looking away with a sigh. “To tell you the truth, what I really wanted was to talk to you, Thorax.”
This came as a surprise to Thorax. Since the first time they’d met, Thorax could tell that Shining Armor just barely tolerated his presence, so him wanting to speak with him personally was unusual. “Alright. Do you mind if we walk and talk? I was kind of on a stroll before you arrived, plus it’ll give me an excuse to give you a tour.”
Trying desperately to not meet Thorax’s eye, Shining nodded his head. “Sure, that sounds great. Lead the way.”
***
“Sweet Celestia, I feel like we’re walking in circles. And I thought finding my way around the Crystal Palace was confusing.”
“Sorry, I know it can be chaos for ponies to navigate, but I can’t exactly put up ‘You Are Here!’ signs when I can’t guarantee the sign will be in the same place ten minutes from now.”
“I guess that would make things difficult. I’m not even sure how changelings can find their way around without getting hopelessly lost.”
“We manage.”
After that, an awkward silence fell over the pair, the same silence that had hung in the air ever since they had left the Entrance Hall. Despite Thorax’s attempts to show Shining Armor around the hive as best he could, he was still drawing a blank as to what to say, a notion shared by his guest.
It was several minutes later before Thorax finally worked up the nerve to speak. “So… how are things at the Crystal Empire?”
For a moment, it appeared that Shining Armor wasn’t going to answer, before just shrugging his shoulder. “It’s fine. Holding court, dealing with problems within the multiple districts, and making sure all the citizens are happy. You know, same old, same old.”
“Yes…” Thorax replied, unable to hide the strain in his voice, “I’ve come to find how commonplace this ‘same old’ is.”
Hearing the sadness in Thorax’s voice, Shining Armor couldn’t help but sympathize with him. “Let me guess: not used to all the trappings of royalty yet, King Thorax?”
Hearing his title again for the thousandth time made Thorax sigh even more. “You have no idea.”
“Oh, I do, actually. I was a Royal Guard before I married Cadance, so suddenly having ponies bowing to me and treating me like royalty wasn’t an easy thing to get used to.”
“It… It’s just…” Another sigh. “I’m not sure what to do. I want to help my fellow changelings, I really do, but I can’t help but feel there must be someone more qualified to lead them than me. What qualities do I have that makes me so special?”
“Besides being a head taller than most ponies?” Shining joked, receiving a glare in return. “But seriously, from what I’ve heard, I’d say you’re a natural born leader.”
So taken aback by Shining Armor’s comment that Thorax just narrowly avoided walking into a pillar that had literally popped up in front of him. “W-what? I’m not—“
“Starlight filled Twilight in on what happened while we were all being held hostage, who in turn told me. She said that, despite being terrified of setting foot in the same hive you escaped, you still led them along and were willing to face down Chrysalis to give Starlight a chance to destroy the throne.”
“For all the good it did,” Thorax lamented, remember how their rescue attempt had narrowly ended in all of them being captured. “Besides, all I seem to be doing is signing documents and giving orders, and anyone can do that.”
“You’re right about that, kid. Just about anyone can sign a document and give orders,” Shining informed him, ignoring the absurdity of calling someone almost twice his size “kid”. “But what sets apart a true leader from all the rest is the conviction to give those orders, the bravery to make the hard choices for the good of everyone, and, most important of all, the respect of their people. And you’ve got all that in spades.”
“Chrysalis didn’t seem to have the respect of her people and yet she was still in charge,” Thorax pointed out.
“Sorry to say, but when it comes to tyrants, fear is often seen as an adequate alternative to respect, when in fact it’s nothing but a cheap substitute. You showed Chrysalis that personally when you stood up to her, and in doing so earned the respect of your people.”
“I guess…” Thorax said, though his tone of voice betrayed his insecurity. As they walked through an archway that quickly shut closed behind them, Shining Armor spoke up again.
“You want to know something? When I was made Captain of the Royal Guard, I started hearing more than a few whispers of nepotism among the Canterlot Elite since my sister was Celestia’s student, and for a while I believed them. Do you know what it took to finally snap me out of it?”
His interest peaked, Thorax asked, “What was it?”
“It was my predecessor storming into my office and giving me a good kick in the flank, telling me in his own colourful way that the reason he’d nominated me personally wasn’t because I was related to Twilight, but because of the hard work I had put in and because of the respect I had earned amongst my fellow guards.” Shining Armor smiled as he thought back to that day. “I’ll never forget the words he told me. He said ‘Without that respect, you might as well be barking orders through a bullhorn for all the feathering good it does.’ He then told me that if I was going to be shaken up by the words of ‘a few stuck up nobles who wouldn’t know respect if it bit them in their behinds’, then I might as well turn in my badge then and there and go back to cleaning out the latrines.”
Thorax stopped in place, staring wide-eyed at Shining Armor. “He… he said all that?”
“Captain Arrowhead was a pony who had very little tolerance for horseapples, let me tell you.” Chuckling at the memory of his old Captain, Shining reached up and patted Thorax on the back. “What I’m trying to say is that respect is why the changelings were so quick to make you their new ruler. Give it some time, and I just know you’ll be a great king to them.”
Letting out another deep sigh, Thorax felt some of his previous concerns wash away. “I’ll try, Shining Armor. I’ll try.” As they continued on their way, a thought occurred to Thorax. “So… how long before being called by my title stops feeling weird?”
“Er…” Shining Armor grimaced, trying desperately to think of a good response. “… Let me get back to you on that one.”
“Oh. Great…”
Silence once again fell over them as they walked into the Central Hub of the hive, a large open chamber with a catwalk strung across the centre, the walls lined with numerous passageways running across the structure. It might as well have been Manehattan Central Station with how many changelings were zipping around, carrying things back and forth from one corner of the hive to another.
“Whoa…” was all Shining Armor could think to say, stopping in the middle of the catwalk to watch in awe at all the changelings flying overhead and below.
“Quite a sight, isn’t it?” Thorax remarked as he stood next to the stunned unicorn. “Even now, we’re still making repairs and alterations to the hive, trying to make it more inviting. We’re even working on hollowing out a wing of guest’s rooms, in case anypony wants to come and visit.”
“Not to sound rude, but you really think ponies are going to want to visit so soon? I mean, even with the new look, you guys still have a bit of a nasty reputation to shake off.”
“Oh, it’ll take a while, that’s for sure, but I’m positive that more and more ponies will start to warm up to us in due time.” Thorax smiled as he watched changelings buzz past, hard at work. “I’m happy to say that a few changelings have even started making friends. If anything, we can use the rooms to accommodate visiting envoys, since there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of them anytime soon.”
Taking his eyes off the changelings flying past, Shining Armor grinned up at Thorax. “Well, looks like someone’s looking on the bright side of things.”
“Spike’s optimism is rubbing off on me, I guess.” At the mention of the young dragon, Thorax asked, “How is Spike, by the way? I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had the chance to send him a letter.”
“You’re better off asking Twilight, but last I heard he was doing alright. Last time I saw him, he was telling me how excited he was to have another player for his Ogres and Oubliettes campaign.”
Thorax glanced at Shining Armor with a confused look in his eyes. “… Ogres and Oubliettes?”
“You’ve never heard of it?” Shining Armor said, sounding almost horrified.
“I think Spike mentioned it once or twice. It’s… a game, right? About playing pretend?”
“Oh, it’s more than that!” Shining exclaimed, his inner geek shining proudly. “It’s an epic tale of swords, sorcery and embarking on an epic quest across fantastic lands and facing off against dastardly villains.” Looking Thorax up and down, his smile only grew as he said, “You know, we should get together with Spike’s group and play a game or two. It’s been too long since I’ve had a chance to play the Dungeon Master, and I just know you’d make a great rogue.”
“Uh… thank you?” Thorax replied, unsure of how he should take such a thing.
“Oh, it’s compliment, I assure you. See, rogues are a character class that specialize in—“
“Uh, not that this isn’t an interesting topic to discuss…” Thorax cut in before Shining could go ‘Full Twilight’, “but we should really get moving, cause the bridge we’re standing on is about to disappear.”
“What!?” Looking past Thorax, he saw with horror that the changeling wasn’t kidding, as the way they’d come began to crumble before his eyes. Without another word, he took off running, racing across the bridge as it rapidly disappeared behind him. Leaping across the last few feet, Shining Armor came rolling to a stop on the other side, taking one look behind him as the bridge disappeared into the abyss below.
Lying there, panting for breath, Shining Armor watched as Thorax casually settled down next to him, looking none the worse for wear. Once he’d managed to catch his breath, Shining yelled, “What… what was that?!”
“Changeling hive, remember?” Thorax said with a cocky smile on his face. Lighting up his horns, he turned to a nearby wall, a hole large enough for the Royal Changeling to pass comfortably through opening up. “Come, this’ll take us right to my room. We can talk more there.” Waiting for Shining to get back on his hooves, Thorax passed through the opening, Shining Armor following closely behind before the opening shut behind them.
***
True to his word, it wasn’t long before they arrived at Thorax’s room. Despite the familiar looking furniture, Shining Armor couldn’t get over the pulsating substance that lined the walls of the room. “I, uh… like what you’ve done with the place.”
“It really brightens up the room, don’t you think?” Thorax said with a smirk, able to pick up on Shining’s discomfort. Pulling the pillows from his bed, he set them on either side of the table to act as makeshift cushions, settling down on one while Shining took the other.
Just as Thorax was about to speak, he was cut off by a light knocking against the outside wall of his room. “Come in.”
Aphid stepped into the room, balancing a plate carrying two steaming cups of liquid on her back. “Forgive my interruption, King Thorax, but I thought you and your guest might like some tea.”
Thorax smiled at Aphid, making his appreciation known. After having spent so long under Chrysalis’s rule, many of the changelings were still skittish around him. “Thank you, Aphid, that was very thoughtful of you.”
Placing the cups of tea in front of them, Aphid politely bowed as she left, leaving them alone once more. Picking up his tea, Thorax breathed in the aroma for a second before taking a sip. As the tea flowed down his throat, Thorax couldn’t contain a sigh of relief, the drink doing wonders to soothe his aches and worries.
When he looked back at Shining Armor, he was amused to see the stallion staring apprehensively at the cup in front of him, examining it like it was filled with some kind of potentially toxic liquid. “It’s just tea, Shining Armor,” Thorax reassured him, keeping the mirth out of his voice. “It’s not going to bite.”
Still staring at it cautiously, Shining picked up the cup and took a sip. Once he had confirmed that it was in fact tea, he took another sip, the two settling into a comfortable silence as they enjoyed their tea.
Eventually, Shining Armor set his cup back down, looking unsure as he looked up at Thorax. “Hey, Thorax? Do you remember when I said I came here so I could talk with you?”
Thorax nodded, setting his cup down as well. “I do, which is surprising actually. I would have thought I would be the last person you’d want to see, after what Chrysalis did to you and your family.”
“You’d be right, except…” Hanging his head in shame, Shining Armor stared at his reflection in his tea. “I wanted to apologize, actually.”
“Apologize? For what?”
“For not trusting you when I should have.”
At first, Thorax was confused about what Shining Armor meant by that. “Is this about when I first came to the Crystal Empire? Honestly, you had every right to not trust me then. For all you knew, I was just another changeling spy invading the Empire. I’m just glad Spike was able to clear everything up and—“
“No, that’s not true,” Shining Armor admitted, raising his head to gaze at Thorax. “Even after all that, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious around you, watching and waiting for you to show your ‘true colors’. And then…”
Growing eerily silent, Shining Armor once more went back to staring into his tea. Thorax remained silent as well, able to sense the cloud of shame hovering over the stallion. It was several long minutes before Shining Armor was able to speak again.
“It’s still fuzzy, but I’ve remembered more and more of what happened when we were kidnapped. I remember being woken up by something, and the first thing I see is a pair of changelings hovering over me, their horns glowing. I blasted them both before they could react; only to find a swarm of them in our room. I tried to wake up Cadance, but they had already cast some kind of sleeping spell on her and she wouldn’t wake up.
“Then… then I heard Flurry Heart crying from her crib. Like an idiot, I rushed to her without even thinking, focused only on keeping my daughter safe. The changelings were counting on that though, and before I knew it I was sprawled out on the floor, slowly losing consciousness.”
Now it was Thorax’s turn to hang his head in shame. “I’m sorry you had to go through something like that. If I had known Chrysalis was planning something, I would have done everything I could to stop her. I only learned something was wrong when Sunburst came and woke me up, raving that you’d been kidnapped and that I needed to get to Ponyville to warn Princess Twilight. I should be the one apologizing to you—“
“No,” Shining Armor firmly replied, “You have nothing to apologize for. Especially not after I remembered the last thing that passed through my mind before I lost consciousness.”
“Which was?” Thorax asked, fully expecting to not like the answer as he raised his head to look Shining Armor in the eye.
Guilt and regret reflected back in Shining’s eyes as he recalled those words. With a sigh, he finally uttered, “I knew you couldn’t trust a changeling.”
Neither said anything following Shining’s admission, the silence saying everything that needed to be said for them. Occasionally, they would take sips of their tea, but neither found that they could enjoy it anymore.
After several agonizing long minutes, Shining Armor finally broke the silence. “When Twilight told me everything you did to try and rescue us, I realized how much of a total jerk I’d been. Even while you lived in the Empire you were nothing but nice and helpful, yet all I could think about was waiting for the moment you decided to betray us, just because you happened to be a changeling.”
Looking away, his eyes were drawn to Thorax’s vanity, his reflection staring back at him in shame. “What you did… you didn’t just save Equestria when you stopped Chrysalis, you saved the most important things in my life. Cadance, Flurry Heart, Twilight, Spike… all of them mean the world to me, and I can’t thank you enough for rescuing them. I know it doesn’t even come close, but I just want you to know that I’m sorry for ever doubting you, Thorax. I really am.”
Thorax said nothing, sitting there with his eyes closed, his breathing even and calm as he mulled over Shining’s words. When he finally opened his eyes, he did the last thing Shining Armor expected him to.
He smiled and said, “I forgive you.”
With those three words, Shining Armor felt a weight disappear from his shoulders. And yet, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You… you do? Just like that?”
Thorax nodded. “Taking a page from your sister’s book, I know that forgiveness is something that needs to be earned and doesn’t come lightly, and yet I don’t need to be a changeling to see how much you’ve tormented yourself about this.” Putting his hooves on the table, Thorax went on to say, “Like you said earlier, we changelings have a nasty reputation to make up for, but I’m doing everything I can to do just that. With that in mind, I’d like to put everything that’s happened in the past behind us and start anew. I believe ponies refer to this as ‘burying the axe’.”
Despite everything, Shining Armor chuckled. “That’s ‘burying the hatchet’, Thorax.”
“Whatever. So, Shining Armor…” Reaching across the table, he held his hoof out to Shining. “Shall we start over… as friends?”
Smiling, Shining reached over and bumped his hoof against Thorax’s hoof. “Friends, huh? I’d like that.”
“Wonderful!” Thorax cheered, levitating his teacup up. “To friends!”
Lifting up his own teacup, Shining replied, “To friends!”. Clinking their cups together, the two of them downed the rest of their now cold tea in one go, slamming their cups against the table before bursting out into laughter.
As their laughter began to die down, Shining Armor was able to breath a sigh of relief. “Glad that’s over with. However, I’m still here as an envoy of the Crystal Empire, so unfortunately we’ll have to discuss politics and policies at some point before I go.”
Thorax groaned. “Perfect. A ruler’s job is never done, I guess…” Suddenly, his frown switched into a smirk. “Say… earlier you were telling me about this ‘Ogre and Oubliettes’ game, right?”
Shining Armor smiled, knowing exactly where Thorax was going with this. “I was. About time we picked up where we left off before, am I right?”
“That you are, Prince Shining Armor. I would be very interested in hearing about this ‘rogue’ character you spoke of.”
“Well then, King Thorax, we better make some more tea then, cause this could take a while.”
“I’ll send a message to Aphid to let her know,” Thorax said, standing up as he made his way towards the entrance. “In the meantime though, why don’t you get started?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” Shining Armor replied, positively beaming. “See, in Ogre and Oubliettes, you gather up a group of warriors, referred to as a party. A good party needs to have a balance of different kinds of fighter, and the rogue is one such option. They specialize in sneaking behind an enemy and striking before they even have a chance to react, made easier by their high speed and reflexes….”
As Thorax listened to Shining Armor so vividly detail the rules and abilities of the game, he felt better than he had in weeks. Ah, the joys of having friends.
