Two and a half months have passed since Thorax the changeling approached Princess Cadance and Captain Shining Armor, the two rulers of the Crystal Empire, and pleaded for them to allow him to live under their rule and become friends with them and their subjects.

Now, Princess Cadance has a surprise for Thorax: She's invited Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, the very ponies who inspired his decision to leave his hive and live a more peaceful life, to meet him and hear his story.

This is a "mid-quel" to my story Pleading His Case, and takes place two weeks before the events of the second chapter.