Thorax is Phototacticby DeergenerateChaptersLampMoonLanternFireworksHearth's WarmingLampThorax was currently sitting in his room. The cool air of the empire chilled him to the bone, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Changelings were cold blooded after all. He was trying to read a book that Shining Armor and Cadance had given him. On the cover was an image of two pony foals in winter cloths having a snowball fight, in the back ground was the unmistakable sight of the Spire of the Crystal Empire's palace. Written on the cover was; "Making Friends in the Crystal Empire." Emphasis on trying however, as it was currently too dark for him to see. The sun had just set and no longer bathed his room in light through the rooms window, and unlike unicorns, Changelings couldn't cast illumination spells. They also couldn't cast really impressive spells, or teleport, or do a load of other cool stuff Unicorns could. Well, Chrysalis could do all those things, but she was a special case. It was a book meant for younger ponies, that much was obvious to him, but he would accept anything he could get. Friends were something he hoped to have in abundance. What made him upset right now was the fact that he couldn't read it right now. He couldn't help but loudly groan. He set the book down on the small desk, that had been put into his room, and put his hooves to his face. If he couldn't even finish this little foals book in one day, how was he supposed to make friends? That was a rhetorical question of course, for he already knew the answer. "Argh I'm hopeless!" He shouted before he let his head hit the desk with a loud thud. There was a knock on his door. "Hey Thorax, you doing ok there buddy? Can I come in?" Came the calm and fatherly voice of Shining Armor from the other side. "No and Yes..." Thorax slowly replied to the questions as he turned his head, which was still on the desk, to the Door. Shining Armor opened the door and entered. "What's the matter Thorax? You were making loud noises as I was walking by." "Well..." Thorax started as he kept his head to his desk. "How am I supposed to learn about friendship here in the empire if I can't even read a foals book about friendship." Thorax raised his head again and spread his forelegs out in the air in hopelessness. "What the heck should I do?" "That is horrible, but I guess I expected as much." The Unicorn said, crossing his arms. Thorax lowered his hooves and looked at Shining Armor with a face showing pure betrayal and hurt. Shining expected him to fail? Shining Armor slowly closed his eyes and hummed for a second. "They never taught you how to read back in your hive did they? Don't worry, lots of creatures your age still have trouble reading. Spike for one couldn't actually read proper books until he was 15, that's why he loves comics so much." Thorax cocked an eyebrow in response. "What? No, I can read. Pretty well actually. The last books I read before this was Lord of the Bracelets." Shining's face then went red and he coughed a little. "Erm… never mind, then." He then cleared his throat and turned back the Thorax. "If you can read Lord of the Bracelets, why are you having so much trouble with this book?" Thorax then lowered his head again in sadness. "It's too dark. I can't see the word. How am I supposed to read it if I can't see the words." Shining was quiet for a second before he desperately tried to stifle a laugh. He put a hoof to his mouth and his cheeks puffed up a bit. "Is that it?" Shining said after a couple minutes of intense struggle. "Phew, you had me worried for a minute there bud." Shining Armor pulled himself up and walked over to Thorax's desk. Sitting on top, off towards the side, was a sphere like object sitting on top of a metal stick. "Here, this is a lamp." Shining said as he pointed to it. "These things produce light." Thorax cocked his head to the side in response. "They do? I though that was some kind of decoration..." "I mean, they can be." Shining said as he raised a hoof. "Anyway, you just have to push this button to turn it on." Shining pressed the button and the lamp turned on and the room was brightened to a more acceptable level. "Oh my gosh thank you." Thorax said as relief spread across his face. Shining yawned and stretched his back a little. "Whelp, there you are Thorax," Shining replied. "You just gotta press the button to turn it off again. Don't stay up too late, I'm going to bed." "Goodnight Shining." Thorax said happily as can be. Shining waved goodnight and left the room. "Goodnight Thorax." He said with another yawn. Thorax turned back around, picked up the book again and started reading. He had finished in record time, the remaining 30 pages being read in 10 minutes. A look of pride and bliss spread across his face and he let out a content sigh. All the stress he had felt earlier had been lifted off his shoulder by this one magical device. "Whelp, time for bed." He said as he looked over to the lamp to try and turn it off. As he looked at it he suddenly felt the world grow dark around him, and the only thing he could seemingly focus on was the light bulb of the lamp. "Wha-?" He started but he couldn't finish. As he stared he couldn't help but feel everything else fade into nothingness. The sounds of crickets outside, the slow footsteps of patrolling guards in the hallways, even the sound of his own breathing became muted to him. The cold he had felt earlier was completely chased away as he stared at the lightbulb. He felt himself start to slowly drool. "Pretty." He stated as he slowly inched his head closer to the lamp until his snout had been firmly pressed against it. The morning light spread into the Crystal Empire like always. Nothing was more inevitable it seems, then the sun rise. Cadance and Shining Armor were currently sitting at the table in the Castle's dinning room eating their meals. A quick serving of a pancake, coffee and cereal, nothing big. Sunburst stood off to the side, slowly and absent mindedly spoon feeding Flurry Heart her daily breakfast of oatmeal. Sunburst was also using his levitation to drink some teas and read the newspaper. He then raised an eyebrow and lowered his newspaper. "Don't you think it's really quiet today?" He said. Cadance and Shining looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, it seems like we are missing someone." Cadance said before she took a bite of an orange slice. Then she looked over at the meal that had been set out for Thorax, which had been completely untouched. "Hmm, that's weird." She said. "Usually Thorax has completely cleaned his plate by now, and he is always here before us..." She slowly took a sip of coffee as the gears in her head started to turn. She suddenly spurted out her coffee all over the table when she finally realized what was going on. "THORAX!" She suddenly shouted, bringing her hooves to the side of her head. "He is always here for breakfast before us! He must be in trouble!" Shining rose from his seat too. "Oh no! Your right!" he shouted. "Sunburst! Watch the baby!" Sunburst nodded as the two ran off. He then brought the Newspaper back to his face the moment they were out of eyeshot. Flurry crooned in her chair in confusion. "Don't worry Flurry, that's just Mommy and Daddy over reacting, like always." Shining Armor was the first one to arrive at the door to Thorax's room. He quickly jumped back and threw his shoulder against the door. It didn't budge and he only succeeded in bruising his shoulder. "The door's made of crystal Shining." He said to himself with a grunt. Cadance looked at him for a second before she reached over and turned the nob with her hoof. "Did you even try to open it regularly?" She asked. "No." Shining said as his face went red again. Cadance opened to door fully, allowing the two to peer into the room. Thorax was currently sitting at his desk, exactly where Shining had let him, with snout pressed firmly against the lamp's light bulb. His eyes were completely glazed over, and a veritable puddle of drool had been formed on top of the desk. "Thorax?" Cadance asked walking up to him. She stood right next to him and clapped her hooves to try to get his attention. "Hey Thorax? You ok?" Nothing. "Hey Thorax." Shining Armor said as he walked over. "Flurry said she wanted you to make funny faces for her." Still nothing. "This is weird..." Cadance said as she put her hoof on Thorax's shoulder and shook him a little. The only response she ended up getting was Thorax turned his head in tune with the shake so that his eyes were still locked with the light. Thorax giggled a little. "Shiny." He stated, almost mindlessly. "What the hay?" Shining said as he looked at the lamp too. "It's just a lamp Thorax wake up." "Maybe we should just turn it off?" Cadance said reaching over to turn it off. "Why didn't we turn it off sooner?" Shining replied. Candance quickly responded with a shrug. Cadance pressed the off button on the lamp. As soon as she did Thorax blinked a couple times and pulled his head back. He looked around for a couple seconds. "What the heck?" He asked rubbing the back of his head. "It's day time already?" "What do you mean by that?" Shining asked raising an eyebrow. "Were you staring at this thing all night?" "No, I could have sworn it was only for a couple seconds, honest." Thorax said rubbing the back of his head. "It was just so... pretty... and shiny..." "Uh huh..." Cadance said. "Well uh... breakfast is ready." Thorax nodded and gulped. He pulled himself out of his chair. "Ok, let's go." He smiled as he walked out of the room to go to the dining room, leaving Cadance and Shining in the room, incredibly confused. Author's Note The first chapter in my new story. Feel free to give me feedback MoonThorax flopped into bed with a harrumph. With a light frown he looked over to his desk, which was know lampless. Cadance and Shining Armor had taken it away for some reason. He forgot why, but maybe because they wanted to have it to themselves. This thought made Thorax frown more, but then he remembered what he had read last night. 'Friends are supposed to share.' He thought. This made him a little less grumpy, but he still wished they hadn't taken away his lamp. The lamp was one of the best things to happen to him! Right after meeting Spike and being welcomed into the Crystal Empire. Thorax sighed and laid down, face first, onto his bed. He groaned a little in annoyance. "It's not like I was going to use the lamp again tonight!" He shouted to no one in particular. "Ok that's a lie." He replied to himself quietly as he pulled himself to look out the window. "But it would only be for a couple minutes!" He stared outside in complete boredom. It was a full moon tonight, the first full moon in fact since he got to the Empire. Thorax stared up at the moon indifferently. He groaned once again and gazed down at the cities street. His eyes immediately widened in response to what he saw. The moon light reflected off the crystal roads, bathing the entire street in a pale blue light. At the very center of the explosion was a magical display of sparkling moonlight. A circular beacon that captivated his attention like nothing else could. "Shiny!" Thorax shouted in response, as the glow already started to take effect on him. He needed to get to the light now. His mouth opened slightly and tongue lulled out. His compact eyes soon perfectly reflected the circle of light he couldn't take his head away from. His wings buzzed into life as he lifted off the ground. He flew forwards and was immediately stopped in his place by some kind of invisible force field. He blinked a couple times, not taking his attention away from his target. He reared back, and flew forwards again, and again he was stopped by the invisible wall, preventing him from reaching his beloved luminous surface. He shouted in frustration and reared back once again. With all the force the young changeling could muster he rushed face first into the shield. A loud thump echoed through the room and Thorax was bounced backwards by the force of the blow. He landed on his bed with a large bruise on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and rubbed his forehead. With a shout of rage that would have put Tirek to shame, he rose into the air again. He flew forwards with all his might once again, and was once again thrown onto the bed, but that would certainly not stop him! Flash Sentry was currently patrolling the Crystal Castle's many hallways. The Castle was like a maze, even more so then the Canterlot Castle, and Princess Twilight's Castle, but he felt that he was getting to know the place. He thought he knew his way around so much that he closed his eyes. "I bet I can figure out my way in this patrol with my eyes closed." He said contently, before he promptly ran race first into a wall. He fell onto his back and dropped the spear he was holding. "Ow." He said rubbing his nose. As he pulled himself up be became aware of a loud, and repeated thudding that was coming from one of the guest rooms. He couldn't help but be engrossed by his curiosity, causing him to raise an eyebrow. He picked up his spear and walked towards the room. He saw that another guard was already outside the room with his ear to the door. Flash walked up right next to the other guard, who was a Unicorn by the name of Stalwart Shield, and placed his ear to the door as well. "Do you have any idea what he is doing in there?" Flash asked "RAH!!!" Came Thorax's voice from within. "I have no idea, he has been making that sound and shouting for like..." The other guard looked down at a watch on his wrist. "20 minutes now." "And you didn't think to help him?" flash asked as he walked back from the door. "To be honest," Stalwart Shield started. "Not at all." "Of course you didn't" Flash said as he readied himself. "Stand back!" Stalwart took a step to the side away from the door. Flash took this as his order. He jumped into the door shoulder fist, and like Shining had before him, only managed to bruise his shoulder. "Ow." Flash said for the second time in one night. "People should really start trying to open the doors here before slamming into them." Stalwart said as he pulled on the nob using his magic. The door opened, and the two stuck their heads inside. Thorax was repeatedly ramming face first into the window. His eyes were completely captivated with something outside, and like a moth, every time he was thrown back by the window, he would realign himself in the air straight away and hit the window again. "Must" Thorax said pulling back. "get" He rushed forwards and hit the window. "to" He held himself against the window pushing with all his might. "shiny!" He shouted when he was unable to push the window open. "Should we do something?" Flash whispered as he turned to Stalwart. "No," Came Stalwart's reply. "maybe he will get tired and go to sleep. I really don't want to deal with a crazy Changeling tonight. Or ever." "Agreed" Flash said with a nod and the two looked back to Thorax. Thorax didn't even notice them, and he instead continued his self given goal of breaking his new glass cage, so he could reach the unbelievably worth it goal, of being able to get close to the shiny. For 30 minutes the two stallions watched as Thorax tirelessly headbutted the glass without fear. "He is quite persistent." Flash said as he watched. "Yeah. He is either going to get a concussion or break the window if we don't do something soon." Stalwart said. "So what do you recommend?" Flash asked. "Should we uh... tie him up or something?" Stalwart asked in reply. "Of course not! I don't think Captain Armor or the Princess would like that at all." Flash shouted back in reply. "Do you have a better idea?" Stalwart asked back. "Can't you just use your horn to open the window for him? I am certain he will come back when he gets what ever he is after." Flash replied back. "Oh. That is a better idea, your right." Stalwart said, as he hid some rope he had pulled out. Thorax pulled back one final time. Stalwart used this opportunity to open the window, causing Thorax to rocket out the now open window to the streets of the Empire below. "So uh..." Flash stated as he closed the door. "How are the kids?" "Pretty good actually, one just started learning piano." Stalwart replied as the two started to walk away from the door. Thorax had done it! He had made it outside. With a chitter of joy, he shot towards the circle of light he had not taken his eyes off all night. He landed in the direct center and immediately pressed his face against the crystalline road of the Empire with a giggle. "Pretty." he said without a worry in the world. Author's Note Wow, never expected this story to get so popular so quickly. Pretty good for a first fic. Thanks to everyone who has liked this fic so far ^^ LanternAs the moon moved through the sky, so did it's reflection on the Crystal Empire's streets, and Thorax had followed it the entire time. By the time the moon had set, Thorax had exited the Crystal Empire, and was now in a rather expansive ice field just outside the grassy meadows of the Empire. When the reflection finally disappeared, and he was able to focus again, he noticed two pretty glaring things. One: He was really, really cold. Like so cold that he couldn't even feel his hooves or wings. And two: He was really far from the Crystal Palace. "Oh no. They must be so worried right now. I've got to get back!" He shouted to himself. He spread his wings to take to the air. He tried buzzing them but nothing happened. They didn't even move in fact. Thorax looked back at his wings to see that they were frozen completely stiff. It looked like thin sheets of ice were emerging from his back, and that a single impact would shatter them like glass. "That isn't good." Thorax said as he hid his wings under his back plates again. "Oh well, looks like I am gonna have to walk." Thorax took a step with one of his hole filled hooves and immediately slipped and face planted the ice. "Ouch." Thorax groaned. "What is this stuff?" The changeling, who was born and raised in a desert and thus never saw Ice before in his life, had no idea what was going on. Thorax slowly picked himself up off the icy ground. His legs shook as he tried to keep them from slipping again. He growled a bit and cursed the ice. Who's idea was it to make something so slippery? Thorax took another step forwards, and this time he managed to avoid slipping, but the same couldn't be said about the step after that. He landed on his back after his forehooves were swept out from under him. He couldn't help but shout in fear as he slid across the ice on his slick back plate. He slipped over an ice ramp and was sent careening through the air, landing in a large pile of snow. He pulled himself out of the snow with a brrr. If he was cold before, he was freezing now. He looked around for a second to see that he was out of the ice field, and closer to the Crystal Empire's grassy area, so that was a major plus. He slowly pulled himself out of the snow and walked forwards. "I am gonna ask for some hot chocolate when I get back." he said with a sad chitter. He smiled a bit when he finally stepped onto the grassy fields of the Crystal Empire, and have a content smile. It definitely warmer with the Crystal Heart around. He decided to sit down for a second or two to let the warmth wash over him. After a few minutes of absorbing the heat that the Crystal Empire offered he decided to press forwards, walking onto a crystal road, the same one he had left the Empire on. Thorax was still uncomfortable with being outside of the Crystal Palace without a disguise, so he decided now would be a good time to put it on. With a burst of flame Thorax the Changeling was gone, and in his place was Crystal Hoof the Crystal Pony. After about an hour of being outside, he finally stepped into the Empire proper. It was about eight in the morning, and most people were inside having breakfast, with the occasional soul out and about on the streets. That only made Thorax's push towards the palace all the more easier. He let out another content sigh as he walked. He could only hope that no one noticed he was gone yet. That was when out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. It was a lantern, but different from any he had ever seen. Instead of a glass case, this particular lantern had a cage of horizontal metal bars, and in the center of the lantern was a large glowing blue cylinder which hummed like the droning of a changelings wings. It was hanging out on the porch of one of the houses of the empire. Once again Thorax found himself utterly captivated by the sight. So much so, that he dropped his disguise then and there in the street, causing a couple people around to jump in fright, but most knew it was only him, and not some different changeling come to cause trouble. Thorax couldn't take his eyes away from it, and all the sounds of the busy Empire street faded away. He spread his wings, which were no longer frozen due to the heat radiating from the Crystal Heart, mixed with his earlier sun bathing, and he slowly rose into the air. Shining Armor frowned as he walked down the street of the crystal empire leading west with Flash Sentry and Stalwart Shield. A frown was evident on the Captain's face. "So let me get this straight," Shinning said angrily. "You two decided that you would just let Thorax outside the palace to chase something, in the middle of the night?" Flash was the first to respond. "Yeah, but we honestly thought he was gonna break something." Shining frowned even more at this response. "What do you mean by that?" Stalwart turned his head over to the side, looking for any trace of the changeling. "He was ramming into the window in his room." Shining's frown dropped pretty quickly at that. It was replaced by a look of pure confusion. "Why was he doing that?" "He said something about a Shiny thing." Stalwart said he turned his head in the other direction. "Oh." Shining responded. "He mentioned a shiny thing when the lamp fiasco happened too." "Speaking of the lamp fiasco," Stalwart said he looked at Shining. "You and Cadance freaked out when Thorax failed to come to breakfast, and yet, now that he might actually be in danger, you seem so calm." "Oh trust me," Shining started. "I am not calm, I am actually absolutely livid. If we don't find him in the next hour, you two are gonna be running laps around the entire empire until your hooves have been whittled down." Stalwart gulped in response but Flash suddenly pointed forwards. "I see him!" Flash shouted as he rose into the air with his wings. The three of them looked down the street. There were about a dozen ponies spread out on the large road, but at the end of the street, was Thorax. He was currently slowly flying towards a house actually, which only added onto everyone's confusion. "What is he flying towards?" Shining asked. "It looks like a... bug zapper?" Flash replied cocking an eyebrow. Then realization hit him like a pile of bricks. "Oh no!" Flash shot forwards closely followed by Shining and Stalwart. "Thorax don't touch tha-" Shining started but he was too late and Thorax's face bumped against the cage of the bug zapper. Thorax suddenly jolted in the air, and shook from the zap. There was a pop and the bug zapper shorted out. Thorax pulled his snout back and blinked. He coughed up some smoke, before he fell out of the air and landed on the ground unconscious. Shining, Flash, Stalwart and a small crowd of ponies gathered around the slightly smoking Thorax. Shining frowned again and turned to Flash and Stalwart. "50 laps. Now." He seethed through gritted teeth. Flash sighed. "Right away sir." he said before the two took off. FireworksThorax yawned as he pulled himself out of bed. 'Wait, I'm in a bed?' he thought to himself as he looked down at his bed. Sure enough he was indeed tucked in a bed. He looked around to see that he was in his bed room in the Crystal Palace, which was weird, because the last thing he could remember, he had just stepped foot inside the empire. Looking out the window, he saw that it was the afternoon, which was weird because he remembered he entered the city in the morning. For some reason his mouth tasted very..... lightning-y, which made him all the more confuzzled. Outside he heard the sound of running and commotion outside his door. Then there was a sound of excited knocking. He pulled himself out of bed and walked up to said door. He opened it and stuck his head out the door. A green Crystal Pony maid was on the other side of the door a look of pure joy on her face. "Uh... Hello?" Thorax said as he raised an 'eyebrow'. "Thorax!" The Crystal Pony shouted at him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Crystal Pony grabbed him in a hug and crushed the air out of him. She pulled him off his feet while she excitedly bounced in place. "Thank you for what?" Thorax wheezed as the air was crushed out of him. "Princess Twilight wrote a letter that she and Spike the Brave and Glorious were coming to the Crystal Empire to visit you!" The Crystal Pony cheered. "Spikes coming because of you! That is reason enough to thank you a thousand times!" Thorax would have smiled and cheered too, if he could breath that is. "Come on Emerald, you can let him go now." Cadance said as she walked up. "You might break his carapace if you keep hugging him." Emerald gave a sheepish smile in response and set Thorax down. "Sorry ma'am." Emerald said with an embarrassed giggle. "It's fine, but we need to still set up. Shining Armor and I are planning to have a big party for the event. Could you help set up?" Cadance asked with a tender smile. Thorax coughed a bit as he tried to pull himself up. "Yes ma'am." Emerald replied before she walked off. Cadance leaned down and picked him up. "Hey Thorax, how are you doing?" Cadance asked. "You gave us quiet the fright yesterday." Thorax raised an 'eyebrow' yet again. "I did? Wait... Yesterday? I must have blacked out for longer than I thought." Thorax rubbed the back of his head. "What even happened?" He asked Cadance. "How did I get from the outskirts to my bed and why does my mouth taste like lightning?" "Erm…" Cadance started, sweating a little. "You should really get ready for Spikes visit he is getting here in about an hour." Thorax smiled. "You're right, I have so much stuff to do. I have to polish my fangs and my carapace, clean my room and make sure my head fin stays in place!" He excitedly shouted. Thorax quickly rushed into his room and closed to door behind him. Cadance happily sighed. 'Thorax sure can be trouble sometimes but, atleast he means well.' She thought as she walked away. Spike smiled as he walked through the streets of the Crystal Empire with a huge spring in his step. Whenever Spike was having a particularly bad time, he could always remember that the Crystal Ponies completely adored him. And if it somehow got worse then that? Well, let's just say that the Empire was a train ride away. He also got free train tickets because of Twilight, so that was always fun. Spike made a pair of finger guns at a group of mares who were walking by. The Mares practically fainted in response, which only made the drake smile more. A row of Stallions and Mares formed to the right of him holding up photos. Photos of him in fact. He pulled out his trusted quill, and with several wrist motions he signed all of them. The group of Crystal Ponies cheered in response. "Careful Spike." Twilight said with a smile. "If you smile any more you might reach your ear fins." Spike made a playful frown back. Then he looked back to his path and kept walking. "I am so excited to be back in the empire. I love this place." "Me too." Twilight said with a smile. "Its gonna be great to See Cadance and Shining armor again." "And I can't wait to see Thorax again!" Spike practically shouted as he walked forwards. Twilight pulled up next to him and lowered her head. She started to whisper into his ear. "Speaking of Thorax, have you heard that he has been having trouble recently?" Spikes eyes widened in response to Twilights word. "He has!" He shouted but he quickly shushed himself. "What's wrong with him?" He quietly whispered back. "Apparently the guy has hurt himself a couple times recently." Twilight replied. "Cadance and Shining said in their letters that they are really worried about him." "What do they mean by hurt himself?" Spike asked as they neared the palace. "Apparently he recently ran face first into a bug zapper. That is part of the reason we are here. He might need some cheering up." Twilight said as the two walked up to the Crystal Heart. One of the castle doors opened up and Cadance and Shining Armor walked out with some guards. "Hey Twily, hey Spike, thanks for coming." Shining said as he walked up. He quickly embraced his sister in a hug. "Is Thorax doing ok?" Spike asked as he walked over to them. "Actually yes," Cadance said. "Weirdly he doesn't even remember the Bug Zapper thing." Spike grabbed the sides of his head in fright. "Does that mean he has amnesia!" He screamed. "No. I think he just plain doesn't remember it." Cadance said with a shrug. "He seems to remember everything else." Shining then set his sister down. "We have decided to not tell him about it. To save him from the embarrassment." Spike gulped. "OK." he said rubbing the back of his head. "Now then," Cadance said. "Chin up, the Crystal Ponies have a party planned to celebrate your arrival." Spike smiled in response. "I really love the Crystal Ponies. They are just so great!" No one managed to notice the chitinous black form of a Changeling sneak outside, and stalk towards the group. It barred it's fangs in a mischievous smile as he clung to the shadows. "Yeah, we have the party set up to start when the moon comes up." Cadance said as she started to lead them towards the Castle, accidently leading them past a shadow which contained a very sneaky Changeling. Spike smiled as he walked by, but then he was suddenly thrown aside by a flash of black tackling him. He landed on his back with the form of Thorax looming over him with a playful smile on his face. "Hey Spike! Thanks for visiting!" The changeling excitedly said. "Nice to see you too Thorax." Spike said with a hearty smile. It was night time, therefore, about time for the party. Half of the entire Crystal Empire had flooded into the main Plaza of the Crystal Empire in hopes of getting a glimpse of Spike. There was basket weaving, punch, treats, and even a jousting tourney. Cadance and Twilight were currently playing with Flurry Heart near the punch bowls, while Thorax and Spike were off in the distance chatting while Spike was absent mindedly signing autographs of a long line of ponies. "So," Twilight started. "How are things here in the empire?" Twilight took a sip of her punch after she said that. "Really great. Me and Shining are doing great, Flurry is happy as can be and despite all the occasional mishaps, Thorax is doing well too." Cadance replied. Emerald walked up to them as the continued to absent mindedly chat. In her hoof, she held a remote. "We are ready to set off the Fireworks ma'am." Emerald said as she held up the remote. "All anyone has to do now to set them off now is press this button." She pointed at the remotes only button, a very large a red one. "Fireworks?" Cadance asked. She turned and set Flurry down on the table as Emerald walked up and stood directly in front of her. "As in the really sparkly loud things?" "Yes ma'am." Emerald replied as she held the remote out to her. "Would you like to do the honors?" Cadance inhaled through gritted teeth. "Maybe we shouldn't set off fireworks." She said, still through gritted teeth. Emerald and Twilight cocked their eyebrows in response. "Why?" They both asked in unison. "Well remember how Thorax ran head first into a bug zapper yesterday?" Cadance said as she took the remote. "Well I think he might also run into a fire work if we set these off." "Oh." The other two mares responded in unison. "Yeah that is a good point." "So let's just keep the party as it is and not do anything unnecessarily." Cadance said as she put the remote on the table. That was when Flurry, who saw the big shiny red button, and as a baby did the only thing she could think to do. The second her mother's levitation let go of it, she slammed her little hoof directly on the button with all her might. "FLURRY HEART!" Cadance shouted in shock. She definitely did not expect her daughter to do that. In fact, she forgot she had even put her on the table. A second or two later there was a whistling sound and the first of many Fireworks exploded in the sky, forming the face of Spike out of sparkles. The crowd of Crystal Ponies, Dragon, Alicorns and Changeling looked up in awe at the fireworks. "Oooooh Ahhhh" Came the mesmerized voices of the Ponies below, baring Cadance and Twilight. "SOMEONE GRAB THORAX!!" Cadance shouted at Thorax's general direction. Spike had heard her, but he was confused. Why was Cadance telling him to grab his best friend? He turned to his friend who was staring at the Fireworks completely out of it. The Changeling was drooling and didn't take his eyes off the fireworks. "Pretty..." The Changeling muttered. "Thorax?" Spike asked. Thorax didn't even hear him instead he spread his wings and started to fly towards the fireworks. "Woah Thorax!" Spike shouted as he reached out to grab his friend, but he was too late and the changeling was already well on his way into the air. The Crystal Pones all turned their gaze to the Changeling who was now flying towards the explosions of light in the air. They all immediately shielded their eyes as the sky was soon covered in an explosion of red. "Ooh!" They all grimaced at once with a flinch. A somewhat flaming Changeling was sent rocketing to the ground. He landed next to Spike in a crumpled up mess, smoking rising off his carapace. Spike, Cadance and Twilight all looked down at him as he twitched. "Worth it." Thorax wheezed with a loud cough. Author's Note Dang guys. I never expected this story to do this well. A whole hearted thank you to everyone who read the story, and commented, it means alot to me :) Hearth's WarmingThorax's little stint with the fireworks had gotten him a pretty long talk from Cadance and Shining Armor, alongside a rather lengthy stay in the Crystal Empire's Hospital, but it would be best to glance over that. He did get visited by Spike, Flurry Heart, and the others a lot while he was there though, so that was a major plus. He had just been let out today, and he was excited to get back to the palace. He smiled as he walked through the streets, free of casts bandages or any other wounds. Changelings were very quick to heal. He jaunted down the street with great joy until he arrived at the Crystal Palace. He turned his head to the Crystal Heart for a second as he walked. It was looking much brighter then usual, causing him to drool a little. Then he shook his head. He thought back to what Shining Armor and Cadance had tried to drill into his head while he was in the hospital. "Stop getting distracted by shiny things!" They had said to him over and over, although they used different words and different intonations. Thorax shook a bit and whimpered. "It is just so shiny!" He shouted to himself as he fought with himself. The closed his eyes and rushed into the palace without looking. He ran straight into a Crystal Guard and fell on his back. "Hey Thorax, good to see that your finally up and at em. You should probably go to the Crystal Throne Room. Cadance and Shining Armor might want to talk to you." The guard said as he helped Thorax up. "Why would they want to talk to me about?" Thorax asked as he turned to go walk to the Thone Room. "Its either princess business, or to welcome you back from the hospital." The guard said. "Umm... Ok.." Thorax said as he walked past the guard. Thorax started shaking in fright. What would Cadance and Shining Armor want to talk to him about? Was he in trouble? Thorax couldn't help but hyperventilate as he dragged himself through the palace halls. Thorax couldn't help but hesitate when he arrived at the throne room doors. He gulped before he pushed the doors open and walked in. Upon entering he found himself in a sparkly room of wonders. Shiny ornaments covered every wall, and in the center if it all was a massive tree coated top to bottom in tiny balls of silver, gold and blue. Thorax started drooling. "Shiny..." He said as he started walking towards it. He almost touched his nose to one, before he found himself grabbed in levitation and yanked away. "NO!" Cried the voice of Sunburst. "Uh uh. Not a chance. I was told to keep you from becoming overwhelmed by shiny things. I am not letting you even look at them!" "But Sunburst-!" Thorax whined. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, Shining Armor and Cadance giggling on their thrones. "No buts!" Sunburst said before he dropped Thorax onto his haunches in front of Shining Armor and Cadance. Thorax pouted a little before he turned his attention back to Shining Armor and Cadance. His anxiety immediately came back and he gulped rubbing his elbow with his hoof, he almost started hyperventilating. "W-w-why do you n-need me?" He nervously asked. Shining Armor looked at him with concern on his face and Cadance shook her head. This unfortunately only caused him to tremble in fear. "Thorax." Cadance said. "Calm down Thorax, you are not in trouble." Thorax nodded and gulped before he looked up at the two. "R-r-really?" He asked frightfully. "Yeah, we just wanted to ask a couple questions is all." Shining armor said. "Like for instance, do you know anything about Hearths warming eve?" Thorax, surprisingly, nodded. "It's that pony holiday where everyling dresses up as a person who lived 1,000 years ago and puts on a play right? I remember Chysalis made me an infiltrator and had me hide in the crowd during one of those." Cadance and Shining Armor stared at him for a second. "That happened a couple times yes..." Shining said. "Were you there for the time I played Clover the Clever?" Thorax shook his head. "No." He said as Cadance took a sip of some tea and Shining sighed in relief. "But I was there for the one where Cadance was Princess Platinum." Cadance's eyes widened as she spurted all of her hot tea all over the ground. Sunburst's eyes widened in response, but Shining just glanced over at her. "It sucked for you too huh?" He asked and Cadance coughed. She nodded in response. "For some reason Twilight was the only one to have it go right for her." Cadance said crossing her hooves over her chest. Thorax cocked he head to the side and raised an eyebrow in response, then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Anyway, Thorax," Cadance said as she closed her eyes. "It's not all about plays. Hearth's warming is about love, companionship, friendship, it's about being a pony." "Cadance." Shining said. "And I know you aren't a pony but I think this holiday is for you as well. Because being a companion, being a friend, being family. And you know Thorax, I have come to consider you apart of our family." She continued, unaware of Shining Armor. "Cadance!" Shining said once again. "I see you as a son, is a way of putting it. A son who I love dearly. When you first came to the Crystal Empire, I was unsure of you. I thought you might be an invader, or somepony who would steal my daughter and take her to your queen. I thought you would be evil, but now I see how wrong I was. You Thorax have touched my heart in the same way a child touches their mother's heart, and so I am going to say this. Thorax, I would be proud to officially call you a member of the Mi Amore family!" She said holding out a hoof for Thorax to take, smiling and with her eyes still closed. "CADANCE!" Shining shouted. "What?" Cadance said turning to Shining armor. Shining Armor pointed at Thorax who had flown up to the star that was atop the Hearth's Warming tree, not paying any attention to her, while marveling at it's pure shine and luster. Thorax giggled while Sunburst tried to get him down. "Pretty light..." Thorax droned. Cadance sighed and put a hoof to her head. "We really need to do something about him..." Shining put a hoof over her shoulders. "Well if it's any consolation, I think that speech of yours was amazing." "You helped write it you silly colt." She said with a happy smile. Author's Note Sorry about the wait guys. I had kinda forgotten this story existed for a while lol
LampThorax was currently sitting in his room. The cool air of the empire chilled him to the bone, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. Changelings were cold blooded after all. He was trying to read a book that Shining Armor and Cadance had given him. On the cover was an image of two pony foals in winter cloths having a snowball fight, in the back ground was the unmistakable sight of the Spire of the Crystal Empire's palace. Written on the cover was; "Making Friends in the Crystal Empire." Emphasis on trying however, as it was currently too dark for him to see. The sun had just set and no longer bathed his room in light through the rooms window, and unlike unicorns, Changelings couldn't cast illumination spells. They also couldn't cast really impressive spells, or teleport, or do a load of other cool stuff Unicorns could. Well, Chrysalis could do all those things, but she was a special case. It was a book meant for younger ponies, that much was obvious to him, but he would accept anything he could get. Friends were something he hoped to have in abundance. What made him upset right now was the fact that he couldn't read it right now. He couldn't help but loudly groan. He set the book down on the small desk, that had been put into his room, and put his hooves to his face. If he couldn't even finish this little foals book in one day, how was he supposed to make friends? That was a rhetorical question of course, for he already knew the answer. "Argh I'm hopeless!" He shouted before he let his head hit the desk with a loud thud. There was a knock on his door. "Hey Thorax, you doing ok there buddy? Can I come in?" Came the calm and fatherly voice of Shining Armor from the other side. "No and Yes..." Thorax slowly replied to the questions as he turned his head, which was still on the desk, to the Door. Shining Armor opened the door and entered. "What's the matter Thorax? You were making loud noises as I was walking by." "Well..." Thorax started as he kept his head to his desk. "How am I supposed to learn about friendship here in the empire if I can't even read a foals book about friendship." Thorax raised his head again and spread his forelegs out in the air in hopelessness. "What the heck should I do?" "That is horrible, but I guess I expected as much." The Unicorn said, crossing his arms. Thorax lowered his hooves and looked at Shining Armor with a face showing pure betrayal and hurt. Shining expected him to fail? Shining Armor slowly closed his eyes and hummed for a second. "They never taught you how to read back in your hive did they? Don't worry, lots of creatures your age still have trouble reading. Spike for one couldn't actually read proper books until he was 15, that's why he loves comics so much." Thorax cocked an eyebrow in response. "What? No, I can read. Pretty well actually. The last books I read before this was Lord of the Bracelets." Shining's face then went red and he coughed a little. "Erm… never mind, then." He then cleared his throat and turned back the Thorax. "If you can read Lord of the Bracelets, why are you having so much trouble with this book?" Thorax then lowered his head again in sadness. "It's too dark. I can't see the word. How am I supposed to read it if I can't see the words." Shining was quiet for a second before he desperately tried to stifle a laugh. He put a hoof to his mouth and his cheeks puffed up a bit. "Is that it?" Shining said after a couple minutes of intense struggle. "Phew, you had me worried for a minute there bud." Shining Armor pulled himself up and walked over to Thorax's desk. Sitting on top, off towards the side, was a sphere like object sitting on top of a metal stick. "Here, this is a lamp." Shining said as he pointed to it. "These things produce light." Thorax cocked his head to the side in response. "They do? I though that was some kind of decoration..." "I mean, they can be." Shining said as he raised a hoof. "Anyway, you just have to push this button to turn it on." Shining pressed the button and the lamp turned on and the room was brightened to a more acceptable level. "Oh my gosh thank you." Thorax said as relief spread across his face. Shining yawned and stretched his back a little. "Whelp, there you are Thorax," Shining replied. "You just gotta press the button to turn it off again. Don't stay up too late, I'm going to bed." "Goodnight Shining." Thorax said happily as can be. Shining waved goodnight and left the room. "Goodnight Thorax." He said with another yawn. Thorax turned back around, picked up the book again and started reading. He had finished in record time, the remaining 30 pages being read in 10 minutes. A look of pride and bliss spread across his face and he let out a content sigh. All the stress he had felt earlier had been lifted off his shoulder by this one magical device. "Whelp, time for bed." He said as he looked over to the lamp to try and turn it off. As he looked at it he suddenly felt the world grow dark around him, and the only thing he could seemingly focus on was the light bulb of the lamp. "Wha-?" He started but he couldn't finish. As he stared he couldn't help but feel everything else fade into nothingness. The sounds of crickets outside, the slow footsteps of patrolling guards in the hallways, even the sound of his own breathing became muted to him. The cold he had felt earlier was completely chased away as he stared at the lightbulb. He felt himself start to slowly drool. "Pretty." He stated as he slowly inched his head closer to the lamp until his snout had been firmly pressed against it. The morning light spread into the Crystal Empire like always. Nothing was more inevitable it seems, then the sun rise. Cadance and Shining Armor were currently sitting at the table in the Castle's dinning room eating their meals. A quick serving of a pancake, coffee and cereal, nothing big. Sunburst stood off to the side, slowly and absent mindedly spoon feeding Flurry Heart her daily breakfast of oatmeal. Sunburst was also using his levitation to drink some teas and read the newspaper. He then raised an eyebrow and lowered his newspaper. "Don't you think it's really quiet today?" He said. Cadance and Shining looked at each other and nodded. "Yeah, it seems like we are missing someone." Cadance said before she took a bite of an orange slice. Then she looked over at the meal that had been set out for Thorax, which had been completely untouched. "Hmm, that's weird." She said. "Usually Thorax has completely cleaned his plate by now, and he is always here before us..." She slowly took a sip of coffee as the gears in her head started to turn. She suddenly spurted out her coffee all over the table when she finally realized what was going on. "THORAX!" She suddenly shouted, bringing her hooves to the side of her head. "He is always here for breakfast before us! He must be in trouble!" Shining rose from his seat too. "Oh no! Your right!" he shouted. "Sunburst! Watch the baby!" Sunburst nodded as the two ran off. He then brought the Newspaper back to his face the moment they were out of eyeshot. Flurry crooned in her chair in confusion. "Don't worry Flurry, that's just Mommy and Daddy over reacting, like always." Shining Armor was the first one to arrive at the door to Thorax's room. He quickly jumped back and threw his shoulder against the door. It didn't budge and he only succeeded in bruising his shoulder. "The door's made of crystal Shining." He said to himself with a grunt. Cadance looked at him for a second before she reached over and turned the nob with her hoof. "Did you even try to open it regularly?" She asked. "No." Shining said as his face went red again. Cadance opened to door fully, allowing the two to peer into the room. Thorax was currently sitting at his desk, exactly where Shining had let him, with snout pressed firmly against the lamp's light bulb. His eyes were completely glazed over, and a veritable puddle of drool had been formed on top of the desk. "Thorax?" Cadance asked walking up to him. She stood right next to him and clapped her hooves to try to get his attention. "Hey Thorax? You ok?" Nothing. "Hey Thorax." Shining Armor said as he walked over. "Flurry said she wanted you to make funny faces for her." Still nothing. "This is weird..." Cadance said as she put her hoof on Thorax's shoulder and shook him a little. The only response she ended up getting was Thorax turned his head in tune with the shake so that his eyes were still locked with the light. Thorax giggled a little. "Shiny." He stated, almost mindlessly. "What the hay?" Shining said as he looked at the lamp too. "It's just a lamp Thorax wake up." "Maybe we should just turn it off?" Cadance said reaching over to turn it off. "Why didn't we turn it off sooner?" Shining replied. Candance quickly responded with a shrug. Cadance pressed the off button on the lamp. As soon as she did Thorax blinked a couple times and pulled his head back. He looked around for a couple seconds. "What the heck?" He asked rubbing the back of his head. "It's day time already?" "What do you mean by that?" Shining asked raising an eyebrow. "Were you staring at this thing all night?" "No, I could have sworn it was only for a couple seconds, honest." Thorax said rubbing the back of his head. "It was just so... pretty... and shiny..." "Uh huh..." Cadance said. "Well uh... breakfast is ready." Thorax nodded and gulped. He pulled himself out of his chair. "Ok, let's go." He smiled as he walked out of the room to go to the dining room, leaving Cadance and Shining in the room, incredibly confused. Author's Note The first chapter in my new story. Feel free to give me feedback
MoonThorax flopped into bed with a harrumph. With a light frown he looked over to his desk, which was know lampless. Cadance and Shining Armor had taken it away for some reason. He forgot why, but maybe because they wanted to have it to themselves. This thought made Thorax frown more, but then he remembered what he had read last night. 'Friends are supposed to share.' He thought. This made him a little less grumpy, but he still wished they hadn't taken away his lamp. The lamp was one of the best things to happen to him! Right after meeting Spike and being welcomed into the Crystal Empire. Thorax sighed and laid down, face first, onto his bed. He groaned a little in annoyance. "It's not like I was going to use the lamp again tonight!" He shouted to no one in particular. "Ok that's a lie." He replied to himself quietly as he pulled himself to look out the window. "But it would only be for a couple minutes!" He stared outside in complete boredom. It was a full moon tonight, the first full moon in fact since he got to the Empire. Thorax stared up at the moon indifferently. He groaned once again and gazed down at the cities street. His eyes immediately widened in response to what he saw. The moon light reflected off the crystal roads, bathing the entire street in a pale blue light. At the very center of the explosion was a magical display of sparkling moonlight. A circular beacon that captivated his attention like nothing else could. "Shiny!" Thorax shouted in response, as the glow already started to take effect on him. He needed to get to the light now. His mouth opened slightly and tongue lulled out. His compact eyes soon perfectly reflected the circle of light he couldn't take his head away from. His wings buzzed into life as he lifted off the ground. He flew forwards and was immediately stopped in his place by some kind of invisible force field. He blinked a couple times, not taking his attention away from his target. He reared back, and flew forwards again, and again he was stopped by the invisible wall, preventing him from reaching his beloved luminous surface. He shouted in frustration and reared back once again. With all the force the young changeling could muster he rushed face first into the shield. A loud thump echoed through the room and Thorax was bounced backwards by the force of the blow. He landed on his bed with a large bruise on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and rubbed his forehead. With a shout of rage that would have put Tirek to shame, he rose into the air again. He flew forwards with all his might once again, and was once again thrown onto the bed, but that would certainly not stop him! Flash Sentry was currently patrolling the Crystal Castle's many hallways. The Castle was like a maze, even more so then the Canterlot Castle, and Princess Twilight's Castle, but he felt that he was getting to know the place. He thought he knew his way around so much that he closed his eyes. "I bet I can figure out my way in this patrol with my eyes closed." He said contently, before he promptly ran race first into a wall. He fell onto his back and dropped the spear he was holding. "Ow." He said rubbing his nose. As he pulled himself up be became aware of a loud, and repeated thudding that was coming from one of the guest rooms. He couldn't help but be engrossed by his curiosity, causing him to raise an eyebrow. He picked up his spear and walked towards the room. He saw that another guard was already outside the room with his ear to the door. Flash walked up right next to the other guard, who was a Unicorn by the name of Stalwart Shield, and placed his ear to the door as well. "Do you have any idea what he is doing in there?" Flash asked "RAH!!!" Came Thorax's voice from within. "I have no idea, he has been making that sound and shouting for like..." The other guard looked down at a watch on his wrist. "20 minutes now." "And you didn't think to help him?" flash asked as he walked back from the door. "To be honest," Stalwart Shield started. "Not at all." "Of course you didn't" Flash said as he readied himself. "Stand back!" Stalwart took a step to the side away from the door. Flash took this as his order. He jumped into the door shoulder fist, and like Shining had before him, only managed to bruise his shoulder. "Ow." Flash said for the second time in one night. "People should really start trying to open the doors here before slamming into them." Stalwart said as he pulled on the nob using his magic. The door opened, and the two stuck their heads inside. Thorax was repeatedly ramming face first into the window. His eyes were completely captivated with something outside, and like a moth, every time he was thrown back by the window, he would realign himself in the air straight away and hit the window again. "Must" Thorax said pulling back. "get" He rushed forwards and hit the window. "to" He held himself against the window pushing with all his might. "shiny!" He shouted when he was unable to push the window open. "Should we do something?" Flash whispered as he turned to Stalwart. "No," Came Stalwart's reply. "maybe he will get tired and go to sleep. I really don't want to deal with a crazy Changeling tonight. Or ever." "Agreed" Flash said with a nod and the two looked back to Thorax. Thorax didn't even notice them, and he instead continued his self given goal of breaking his new glass cage, so he could reach the unbelievably worth it goal, of being able to get close to the shiny. For 30 minutes the two stallions watched as Thorax tirelessly headbutted the glass without fear. "He is quite persistent." Flash said as he watched. "Yeah. He is either going to get a concussion or break the window if we don't do something soon." Stalwart said. "So what do you recommend?" Flash asked. "Should we uh... tie him up or something?" Stalwart asked in reply. "Of course not! I don't think Captain Armor or the Princess would like that at all." Flash shouted back in reply. "Do you have a better idea?" Stalwart asked back. "Can't you just use your horn to open the window for him? I am certain he will come back when he gets what ever he is after." Flash replied back. "Oh. That is a better idea, your right." Stalwart said, as he hid some rope he had pulled out. Thorax pulled back one final time. Stalwart used this opportunity to open the window, causing Thorax to rocket out the now open window to the streets of the Empire below. "So uh..." Flash stated as he closed the door. "How are the kids?" "Pretty good actually, one just started learning piano." Stalwart replied as the two started to walk away from the door. Thorax had done it! He had made it outside. With a chitter of joy, he shot towards the circle of light he had not taken his eyes off all night. He landed in the direct center and immediately pressed his face against the crystalline road of the Empire with a giggle. "Pretty." he said without a worry in the world. Author's Note Wow, never expected this story to get so popular so quickly. Pretty good for a first fic. Thanks to everyone who has liked this fic so far ^^
LanternAs the moon moved through the sky, so did it's reflection on the Crystal Empire's streets, and Thorax had followed it the entire time. By the time the moon had set, Thorax had exited the Crystal Empire, and was now in a rather expansive ice field just outside the grassy meadows of the Empire. When the reflection finally disappeared, and he was able to focus again, he noticed two pretty glaring things. One: He was really, really cold. Like so cold that he couldn't even feel his hooves or wings. And two: He was really far from the Crystal Palace. "Oh no. They must be so worried right now. I've got to get back!" He shouted to himself. He spread his wings to take to the air. He tried buzzing them but nothing happened. They didn't even move in fact. Thorax looked back at his wings to see that they were frozen completely stiff. It looked like thin sheets of ice were emerging from his back, and that a single impact would shatter them like glass. "That isn't good." Thorax said as he hid his wings under his back plates again. "Oh well, looks like I am gonna have to walk." Thorax took a step with one of his hole filled hooves and immediately slipped and face planted the ice. "Ouch." Thorax groaned. "What is this stuff?" The changeling, who was born and raised in a desert and thus never saw Ice before in his life, had no idea what was going on. Thorax slowly picked himself up off the icy ground. His legs shook as he tried to keep them from slipping again. He growled a bit and cursed the ice. Who's idea was it to make something so slippery? Thorax took another step forwards, and this time he managed to avoid slipping, but the same couldn't be said about the step after that. He landed on his back after his forehooves were swept out from under him. He couldn't help but shout in fear as he slid across the ice on his slick back plate. He slipped over an ice ramp and was sent careening through the air, landing in a large pile of snow. He pulled himself out of the snow with a brrr. If he was cold before, he was freezing now. He looked around for a second to see that he was out of the ice field, and closer to the Crystal Empire's grassy area, so that was a major plus. He slowly pulled himself out of the snow and walked forwards. "I am gonna ask for some hot chocolate when I get back." he said with a sad chitter. He smiled a bit when he finally stepped onto the grassy fields of the Crystal Empire, and have a content smile. It definitely warmer with the Crystal Heart around. He decided to sit down for a second or two to let the warmth wash over him. After a few minutes of absorbing the heat that the Crystal Empire offered he decided to press forwards, walking onto a crystal road, the same one he had left the Empire on. Thorax was still uncomfortable with being outside of the Crystal Palace without a disguise, so he decided now would be a good time to put it on. With a burst of flame Thorax the Changeling was gone, and in his place was Crystal Hoof the Crystal Pony. After about an hour of being outside, he finally stepped into the Empire proper. It was about eight in the morning, and most people were inside having breakfast, with the occasional soul out and about on the streets. That only made Thorax's push towards the palace all the more easier. He let out another content sigh as he walked. He could only hope that no one noticed he was gone yet. That was when out of the corner of his eye he noticed something. It was a lantern, but different from any he had ever seen. Instead of a glass case, this particular lantern had a cage of horizontal metal bars, and in the center of the lantern was a large glowing blue cylinder which hummed like the droning of a changelings wings. It was hanging out on the porch of one of the houses of the empire. Once again Thorax found himself utterly captivated by the sight. So much so, that he dropped his disguise then and there in the street, causing a couple people around to jump in fright, but most knew it was only him, and not some different changeling come to cause trouble. Thorax couldn't take his eyes away from it, and all the sounds of the busy Empire street faded away. He spread his wings, which were no longer frozen due to the heat radiating from the Crystal Heart, mixed with his earlier sun bathing, and he slowly rose into the air. Shining Armor frowned as he walked down the street of the crystal empire leading west with Flash Sentry and Stalwart Shield. A frown was evident on the Captain's face. "So let me get this straight," Shinning said angrily. "You two decided that you would just let Thorax outside the palace to chase something, in the middle of the night?" Flash was the first to respond. "Yeah, but we honestly thought he was gonna break something." Shining frowned even more at this response. "What do you mean by that?" Stalwart turned his head over to the side, looking for any trace of the changeling. "He was ramming into the window in his room." Shining's frown dropped pretty quickly at that. It was replaced by a look of pure confusion. "Why was he doing that?" "He said something about a Shiny thing." Stalwart said he turned his head in the other direction. "Oh." Shining responded. "He mentioned a shiny thing when the lamp fiasco happened too." "Speaking of the lamp fiasco," Stalwart said he looked at Shining. "You and Cadance freaked out when Thorax failed to come to breakfast, and yet, now that he might actually be in danger, you seem so calm." "Oh trust me," Shining started. "I am not calm, I am actually absolutely livid. If we don't find him in the next hour, you two are gonna be running laps around the entire empire until your hooves have been whittled down." Stalwart gulped in response but Flash suddenly pointed forwards. "I see him!" Flash shouted as he rose into the air with his wings. The three of them looked down the street. There were about a dozen ponies spread out on the large road, but at the end of the street, was Thorax. He was currently slowly flying towards a house actually, which only added onto everyone's confusion. "What is he flying towards?" Shining asked. "It looks like a... bug zapper?" Flash replied cocking an eyebrow. Then realization hit him like a pile of bricks. "Oh no!" Flash shot forwards closely followed by Shining and Stalwart. "Thorax don't touch tha-" Shining started but he was too late and Thorax's face bumped against the cage of the bug zapper. Thorax suddenly jolted in the air, and shook from the zap. There was a pop and the bug zapper shorted out. Thorax pulled his snout back and blinked. He coughed up some smoke, before he fell out of the air and landed on the ground unconscious. Shining, Flash, Stalwart and a small crowd of ponies gathered around the slightly smoking Thorax. Shining frowned again and turned to Flash and Stalwart. "50 laps. Now." He seethed through gritted teeth. Flash sighed. "Right away sir." he said before the two took off.
FireworksThorax yawned as he pulled himself out of bed. 'Wait, I'm in a bed?' he thought to himself as he looked down at his bed. Sure enough he was indeed tucked in a bed. He looked around to see that he was in his bed room in the Crystal Palace, which was weird, because the last thing he could remember, he had just stepped foot inside the empire. Looking out the window, he saw that it was the afternoon, which was weird because he remembered he entered the city in the morning. For some reason his mouth tasted very..... lightning-y, which made him all the more confuzzled. Outside he heard the sound of running and commotion outside his door. Then there was a sound of excited knocking. He pulled himself out of bed and walked up to said door. He opened it and stuck his head out the door. A green Crystal Pony maid was on the other side of the door a look of pure joy on her face. "Uh... Hello?" Thorax said as he raised an 'eyebrow'. "Thorax!" The Crystal Pony shouted at him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" The Crystal Pony grabbed him in a hug and crushed the air out of him. She pulled him off his feet while she excitedly bounced in place. "Thank you for what?" Thorax wheezed as the air was crushed out of him. "Princess Twilight wrote a letter that she and Spike the Brave and Glorious were coming to the Crystal Empire to visit you!" The Crystal Pony cheered. "Spikes coming because of you! That is reason enough to thank you a thousand times!" Thorax would have smiled and cheered too, if he could breath that is. "Come on Emerald, you can let him go now." Cadance said as she walked up. "You might break his carapace if you keep hugging him." Emerald gave a sheepish smile in response and set Thorax down. "Sorry ma'am." Emerald said with an embarrassed giggle. "It's fine, but we need to still set up. Shining Armor and I are planning to have a big party for the event. Could you help set up?" Cadance asked with a tender smile. Thorax coughed a bit as he tried to pull himself up. "Yes ma'am." Emerald replied before she walked off. Cadance leaned down and picked him up. "Hey Thorax, how are you doing?" Cadance asked. "You gave us quiet the fright yesterday." Thorax raised an 'eyebrow' yet again. "I did? Wait... Yesterday? I must have blacked out for longer than I thought." Thorax rubbed the back of his head. "What even happened?" He asked Cadance. "How did I get from the outskirts to my bed and why does my mouth taste like lightning?" "Erm…" Cadance started, sweating a little. "You should really get ready for Spikes visit he is getting here in about an hour." Thorax smiled. "You're right, I have so much stuff to do. I have to polish my fangs and my carapace, clean my room and make sure my head fin stays in place!" He excitedly shouted. Thorax quickly rushed into his room and closed to door behind him. Cadance happily sighed. 'Thorax sure can be trouble sometimes but, atleast he means well.' She thought as she walked away. Spike smiled as he walked through the streets of the Crystal Empire with a huge spring in his step. Whenever Spike was having a particularly bad time, he could always remember that the Crystal Ponies completely adored him. And if it somehow got worse then that? Well, let's just say that the Empire was a train ride away. He also got free train tickets because of Twilight, so that was always fun. Spike made a pair of finger guns at a group of mares who were walking by. The Mares practically fainted in response, which only made the drake smile more. A row of Stallions and Mares formed to the right of him holding up photos. Photos of him in fact. He pulled out his trusted quill, and with several wrist motions he signed all of them. The group of Crystal Ponies cheered in response. "Careful Spike." Twilight said with a smile. "If you smile any more you might reach your ear fins." Spike made a playful frown back. Then he looked back to his path and kept walking. "I am so excited to be back in the empire. I love this place." "Me too." Twilight said with a smile. "Its gonna be great to See Cadance and Shining armor again." "And I can't wait to see Thorax again!" Spike practically shouted as he walked forwards. Twilight pulled up next to him and lowered her head. She started to whisper into his ear. "Speaking of Thorax, have you heard that he has been having trouble recently?" Spikes eyes widened in response to Twilights word. "He has!" He shouted but he quickly shushed himself. "What's wrong with him?" He quietly whispered back. "Apparently the guy has hurt himself a couple times recently." Twilight replied. "Cadance and Shining said in their letters that they are really worried about him." "What do they mean by hurt himself?" Spike asked as they neared the palace. "Apparently he recently ran face first into a bug zapper. That is part of the reason we are here. He might need some cheering up." Twilight said as the two walked up to the Crystal Heart. One of the castle doors opened up and Cadance and Shining Armor walked out with some guards. "Hey Twily, hey Spike, thanks for coming." Shining said as he walked up. He quickly embraced his sister in a hug. "Is Thorax doing ok?" Spike asked as he walked over to them. "Actually yes," Cadance said. "Weirdly he doesn't even remember the Bug Zapper thing." Spike grabbed the sides of his head in fright. "Does that mean he has amnesia!" He screamed. "No. I think he just plain doesn't remember it." Cadance said with a shrug. "He seems to remember everything else." Shining then set his sister down. "We have decided to not tell him about it. To save him from the embarrassment." Spike gulped. "OK." he said rubbing the back of his head. "Now then," Cadance said. "Chin up, the Crystal Ponies have a party planned to celebrate your arrival." Spike smiled in response. "I really love the Crystal Ponies. They are just so great!" No one managed to notice the chitinous black form of a Changeling sneak outside, and stalk towards the group. It barred it's fangs in a mischievous smile as he clung to the shadows. "Yeah, we have the party set up to start when the moon comes up." Cadance said as she started to lead them towards the Castle, accidently leading them past a shadow which contained a very sneaky Changeling. Spike smiled as he walked by, but then he was suddenly thrown aside by a flash of black tackling him. He landed on his back with the form of Thorax looming over him with a playful smile on his face. "Hey Spike! Thanks for visiting!" The changeling excitedly said. "Nice to see you too Thorax." Spike said with a hearty smile. It was night time, therefore, about time for the party. Half of the entire Crystal Empire had flooded into the main Plaza of the Crystal Empire in hopes of getting a glimpse of Spike. There was basket weaving, punch, treats, and even a jousting tourney. Cadance and Twilight were currently playing with Flurry Heart near the punch bowls, while Thorax and Spike were off in the distance chatting while Spike was absent mindedly signing autographs of a long line of ponies. "So," Twilight started. "How are things here in the empire?" Twilight took a sip of her punch after she said that. "Really great. Me and Shining are doing great, Flurry is happy as can be and despite all the occasional mishaps, Thorax is doing well too." Cadance replied. Emerald walked up to them as the continued to absent mindedly chat. In her hoof, she held a remote. "We are ready to set off the Fireworks ma'am." Emerald said as she held up the remote. "All anyone has to do now to set them off now is press this button." She pointed at the remotes only button, a very large a red one. "Fireworks?" Cadance asked. She turned and set Flurry down on the table as Emerald walked up and stood directly in front of her. "As in the really sparkly loud things?" "Yes ma'am." Emerald replied as she held the remote out to her. "Would you like to do the honors?" Cadance inhaled through gritted teeth. "Maybe we shouldn't set off fireworks." She said, still through gritted teeth. Emerald and Twilight cocked their eyebrows in response. "Why?" They both asked in unison. "Well remember how Thorax ran head first into a bug zapper yesterday?" Cadance said as she took the remote. "Well I think he might also run into a fire work if we set these off." "Oh." The other two mares responded in unison. "Yeah that is a good point." "So let's just keep the party as it is and not do anything unnecessarily." Cadance said as she put the remote on the table. That was when Flurry, who saw the big shiny red button, and as a baby did the only thing she could think to do. The second her mother's levitation let go of it, she slammed her little hoof directly on the button with all her might. "FLURRY HEART!" Cadance shouted in shock. She definitely did not expect her daughter to do that. In fact, she forgot she had even put her on the table. A second or two later there was a whistling sound and the first of many Fireworks exploded in the sky, forming the face of Spike out of sparkles. The crowd of Crystal Ponies, Dragon, Alicorns and Changeling looked up in awe at the fireworks. "Oooooh Ahhhh" Came the mesmerized voices of the Ponies below, baring Cadance and Twilight. "SOMEONE GRAB THORAX!!" Cadance shouted at Thorax's general direction. Spike had heard her, but he was confused. Why was Cadance telling him to grab his best friend? He turned to his friend who was staring at the Fireworks completely out of it. The Changeling was drooling and didn't take his eyes off the fireworks. "Pretty..." The Changeling muttered. "Thorax?" Spike asked. Thorax didn't even hear him instead he spread his wings and started to fly towards the fireworks. "Woah Thorax!" Spike shouted as he reached out to grab his friend, but he was too late and the changeling was already well on his way into the air. The Crystal Pones all turned their gaze to the Changeling who was now flying towards the explosions of light in the air. They all immediately shielded their eyes as the sky was soon covered in an explosion of red. "Ooh!" They all grimaced at once with a flinch. A somewhat flaming Changeling was sent rocketing to the ground. He landed next to Spike in a crumpled up mess, smoking rising off his carapace. Spike, Cadance and Twilight all looked down at him as he twitched. "Worth it." Thorax wheezed with a loud cough. Author's Note Dang guys. I never expected this story to do this well. A whole hearted thank you to everyone who read the story, and commented, it means alot to me :)
Hearth's WarmingThorax's little stint with the fireworks had gotten him a pretty long talk from Cadance and Shining Armor, alongside a rather lengthy stay in the Crystal Empire's Hospital, but it would be best to glance over that. He did get visited by Spike, Flurry Heart, and the others a lot while he was there though, so that was a major plus. He had just been let out today, and he was excited to get back to the palace. He smiled as he walked through the streets, free of casts bandages or any other wounds. Changelings were very quick to heal. He jaunted down the street with great joy until he arrived at the Crystal Palace. He turned his head to the Crystal Heart for a second as he walked. It was looking much brighter then usual, causing him to drool a little. Then he shook his head. He thought back to what Shining Armor and Cadance had tried to drill into his head while he was in the hospital. "Stop getting distracted by shiny things!" They had said to him over and over, although they used different words and different intonations. Thorax shook a bit and whimpered. "It is just so shiny!" He shouted to himself as he fought with himself. The closed his eyes and rushed into the palace without looking. He ran straight into a Crystal Guard and fell on his back. "Hey Thorax, good to see that your finally up and at em. You should probably go to the Crystal Throne Room. Cadance and Shining Armor might want to talk to you." The guard said as he helped Thorax up. "Why would they want to talk to me about?" Thorax asked as he turned to go walk to the Thone Room. "Its either princess business, or to welcome you back from the hospital." The guard said. "Umm... Ok.." Thorax said as he walked past the guard. Thorax started shaking in fright. What would Cadance and Shining Armor want to talk to him about? Was he in trouble? Thorax couldn't help but hyperventilate as he dragged himself through the palace halls. Thorax couldn't help but hesitate when he arrived at the throne room doors. He gulped before he pushed the doors open and walked in. Upon entering he found himself in a sparkly room of wonders. Shiny ornaments covered every wall, and in the center if it all was a massive tree coated top to bottom in tiny balls of silver, gold and blue. Thorax started drooling. "Shiny..." He said as he started walking towards it. He almost touched his nose to one, before he found himself grabbed in levitation and yanked away. "NO!" Cried the voice of Sunburst. "Uh uh. Not a chance. I was told to keep you from becoming overwhelmed by shiny things. I am not letting you even look at them!" "But Sunburst-!" Thorax whined. He could see, out of the corner of his eyes, Shining Armor and Cadance giggling on their thrones. "No buts!" Sunburst said before he dropped Thorax onto his haunches in front of Shining Armor and Cadance. Thorax pouted a little before he turned his attention back to Shining Armor and Cadance. His anxiety immediately came back and he gulped rubbing his elbow with his hoof, he almost started hyperventilating. "W-w-why do you n-need me?" He nervously asked. Shining Armor looked at him with concern on his face and Cadance shook her head. This unfortunately only caused him to tremble in fear. "Thorax." Cadance said. "Calm down Thorax, you are not in trouble." Thorax nodded and gulped before he looked up at the two. "R-r-really?" He asked frightfully. "Yeah, we just wanted to ask a couple questions is all." Shining armor said. "Like for instance, do you know anything about Hearths warming eve?" Thorax, surprisingly, nodded. "It's that pony holiday where everyling dresses up as a person who lived 1,000 years ago and puts on a play right? I remember Chysalis made me an infiltrator and had me hide in the crowd during one of those." Cadance and Shining Armor stared at him for a second. "That happened a couple times yes..." Shining said. "Were you there for the time I played Clover the Clever?" Thorax shook his head. "No." He said as Cadance took a sip of some tea and Shining sighed in relief. "But I was there for the one where Cadance was Princess Platinum." Cadance's eyes widened as she spurted all of her hot tea all over the ground. Sunburst's eyes widened in response, but Shining just glanced over at her. "It sucked for you too huh?" He asked and Cadance coughed. She nodded in response. "For some reason Twilight was the only one to have it go right for her." Cadance said crossing her hooves over her chest. Thorax cocked he head to the side and raised an eyebrow in response, then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Anyway, Thorax," Cadance said as she closed her eyes. "It's not all about plays. Hearth's warming is about love, companionship, friendship, it's about being a pony." "Cadance." Shining said. "And I know you aren't a pony but I think this holiday is for you as well. Because being a companion, being a friend, being family. And you know Thorax, I have come to consider you apart of our family." She continued, unaware of Shining Armor. "Cadance!" Shining said once again. "I see you as a son, is a way of putting it. A son who I love dearly. When you first came to the Crystal Empire, I was unsure of you. I thought you might be an invader, or somepony who would steal my daughter and take her to your queen. I thought you would be evil, but now I see how wrong I was. You Thorax have touched my heart in the same way a child touches their mother's heart, and so I am going to say this. Thorax, I would be proud to officially call you a member of the Mi Amore family!" She said holding out a hoof for Thorax to take, smiling and with her eyes still closed. "CADANCE!" Shining shouted. "What?" Cadance said turning to Shining armor. Shining Armor pointed at Thorax who had flown up to the star that was atop the Hearth's Warming tree, not paying any attention to her, while marveling at it's pure shine and luster. Thorax giggled while Sunburst tried to get him down. "Pretty light..." Thorax droned. Cadance sighed and put a hoof to her head. "We really need to do something about him..." Shining put a hoof over her shoulders. "Well if it's any consolation, I think that speech of yours was amazing." "You helped write it you silly colt." She said with a happy smile. Author's Note Sorry about the wait guys. I had kinda forgotten this story existed for a while lol
