The cheers of the welcoming crystal ponies overwhelmed the newly green Thorax. He and his four flanking guards marched down the streets; members of the Crystal Guard encircled them further. The positivity in the air was nearly intoxicating. It’d been a few months since he’d become king and learned to roughly channel this new energy source–kindness, positivity, and such. It was a strange contrast to the last official Changeling visit–under the last monarch.
As he waved about, he strained under the weight of an entire kingdom’s weight of bright auras. Thorax was pushing his limits even with training; his guards helped them all manage together. Glancing over the crowd, he could only vaguely identify the swirling, fuzzy bases of their current moods. Connecting any specific emotion to any particular pony was a work in progress.
The crystal guards knew of the changelings’ strain and weaved them through as best they could.
The walk to the Crystal Castle passed like an eternity. Princess Cadance met him with a friendly nod as the gates opened, before retreating from the balcony. A wooden boom signalized the end of the exhausting trek as Thorax put in a few last waves. Sweet relief filled the guards’ auras.
Through the halls, Thorax was quickly ushered to the second phase of the visit’s first day. Everyone involved turned an unknown number of corners into a large, well-lit room composed of bright white crystal. Therein lay a feast of food. Though not nutritious to changelings, pony food was still edible. Eating it was a courtesy, a sign of politeness to the hosting monarch, if not a unique delicacy to the visitors.
His guards dispersed, each to a corner of the room; having no need of belongings, except his crown, everything proceeded swiftly. Princess Cadance, at the table end opposite the entrance, met him with a friendly whiny as he entered.
“Welcome to The Crystal Empire. We hope you enjoy your week with us, King Thorax of the changelings.”
“And I thank you for the opportunity to establish friendship amongst our nations.”
They mutually dipped their heads, and he sat down opposite her. An assortment of nobles and other important ponies dug in as they were catered to by staff. Whether orange or pink or yellow with parts of green and blue, each pony retained their crystal shimmer. Thorax took mental notes of who was who, listening in with a slightly enlarged ear. It took a minute, but his dish of fried beets, carrot-lettuce stew, and a glass of ale cider arrived.
Piqued by the smell, Thorax modified his right hoof into a ladle shape. Utilizing it, and a fork held in the other hoof, he took a bite. Then another. And another. It tasted surprisingly good. He sensed a buzz of amused curiosity in the room–especially by one near him. Soon enough, he had the last track of time. He could keep going-
“Excuse me, King Thorax, but could you please pass the tomato sauce?”
Looking up from his food, Thorax’s eyes met the unicorn sitting next to his left. That previously sensed positivity reeked. Thorax liked, and in his gut, trusted its strengths. The smiling yellow-orange unicorn, with a starred blue cape and glasses, certainly stood out.
Thorax put the fork on the table and cleared his throat. “I do not believe we have met.”
“Oh, sorry!” he apologized with a light blush. “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Sunburst, Royal Crystaller.”
Thorax felt his limp hoof shake enthusiastically. It was nice to not be the most awkward one.
“Ah, I’ve heard.” Thorax took a little courage to speak a little loudly. “Unofficial babysitter to Princess Flurry Heart?” He hooked and passed the tomato sauce as he spoke.
“Heh, heh, shining right on the crystal,” Sunburst chuckled.
The king smiled to himself. “You are doing a swell job. Glad to have met you.”
“Thanks.” Sunburst scratched his neck. “And nice to meet you, too.”
Thorax felt this deserved a moment of recognition. Partaking in a moment with another so introverted would be a nice breather.
“Cheers to a dandy servant of the princess.”
He raised his glass to be a little bit above the table, halfway to the unicorn. Sunburst copied his actions likewise. With a clink, they each took a swig of the provided fizzy ale.
As they returned to eating, Thorax found himself ever so slightly intrigued by this advisor to Cadance. Additionally, attempting to read emotions truly showed he was lost in the sea of feelings.
Then his stomach growled, requesting more food despite not needing any. Either way, he thought he should listen to his body, so he dropped the thoughts. Soon enough, the feast was over, proper introductions made for all to another, and everyone took refuge for the night in palace activities.
“Heave ho! Heave ho!”
The bright light of the palace pub; the ticking of the crystal grandfather clock; the slurries of smells of liquors, rums, beer, vodkas, and other alcohols; the loud cheering and subtle jabbing of everyone else around in–it all pounded in his aching forehead.
“To slay the sheen, and clam the ring!”
Especially the furious singing of ponies surrounding his mid-floor chair and table. Yellow-orange; purple; cyan. Unicorn; pegasi, earth; all were present, whether noble or peasant.
“Glorious Jack wrought to defeat the divine!”
Thorax and his one non-drunken guard sorely sang a newly learned song with them. One of the unicorns sang more beautifully than the rest.
“Heave ho! Heave ho!”
His head hurt. Why did this new experience have to hurt?
“Over the hills, and through the mines!”
Consuming an enormous quantity of pony alcohol did not feel good. It seemed to raise his senses for detecting magic.
“Heave ho! Heave ho!”
With his nerves open wide, the flood of drunken euphoria absorbed into his bloodstream, furthering his drunken state.
“Through the ravine, the sword at last!”
Changeling tolerance was no better, it turned out. Thorax needed to focus.
Staring around blankly, he noticed the vermilion unicorn from… somewhere… whom he had been drinking with all night.
“Heave ho! Heave ho!”
His throat pained from so much boisterous barded bard bar activity.
“And so fell the shadowed evil fast!”
Suddenly, a new presence, and a feminine voice, joined the last chorus.
“Heave ho! Heave ho!”
A blast of white-pink fireworks and imagery filled his peripheral vision.
“And such is the story of the Sword Of Lavine!”
Voices swirled around Thorax. He felt like he was going to pass out.
“Sunburst, I know this may be an odd request, but could you please escort King Thorax to his room?”
“Yes, my princess.”
Sunburst.
It felt... familiar.
Loud noises erupted as soft hooves handled him.
Soon, Thorax noticed himself, with slurring vision, being guided into the hallway. To his left, he knew was his non-intoxicated guard. The hall grew longer and longer as he walked on. The presence to his right remained a mystery, as he could only muster the energy to stare forward.
Sunburst.
A memory sparked. Now he remembered. Hazily.
“Shurnn…. verust!” He proclaimed.
“Yes, King Thorax?”
“Vahwant… tomjato sjaucene?”
“Um, perhaps next dinner.”
“Heh…. yehaw…. gouud idejuh…”
“I suppose.”
In due time, he entered his assigned quarters. Thorax found himself clinging to this short-maned unicorn. For some reason, he liked his presence. It was an odd sensation. A strange, new tingly thread of positivity.
Perhaps he simply was reallydrunk. No matter. He could cling all night-
“Might you let go, Thorax?”
Now he felt hot all over in sudden realization.
“Voh…. vighttt….”
As soon as he hit the bed, Thorax found himself looking at a handsome silver pair of glasses, with hooves correcting them.
“Fun singing night with you, thanks for that,” Sunburst declared before leaving with a wave.
Thorax groggily nodded.
Darkness hit.
Yawning, Thorax twisted his head to view the fair-sized chamber of the castle’s left wing. Early afternoon light, courtesy of Celestia, shot through the enormous windows. Clean, fresh air floated in the spacious room. Aside from a few knick-knack paintings, the blue walls provided nothing of substance to his still-waking conscience. He hardly remembered anything from last night.
Hmm, good singing though, with all those folk.
The feel of good-feel drunk pony magic still crawled slowly in him. It’d be a while before his liver filtered every last drop out. A council meeting the afternoon after arrival, while inconvenient, did not improve his mood. Glancing back, the shuffle of mourning faces shifted their sight sacks to him.
“King Thorax, how are you this morning?”
An equally bemoaned Cadance beamed with a desperately-looking-awake smile. Though, he suspected, from a certain little princess, unlike his experiment of liquid substance use.
“I am, uh, recovering, but otherwise well and healthy, thank you,” he put out with a chipper tone.
“Thank you as well.”
Thorax internally groaned. Cadance swiveled attention to the lord to her left. This was going to feel far longer than it should.
“You may begin your introductions to the King…”
Accordingly, Thorax permitted his gaze to wander the vast emptiness once more. The lord, reading directly from their pages of inked parchment, would no doubt not notice. Nor would any pony else bother to correct or care–they themselves also ignored the incoming waves of drawl after drawl. Thorax needed something, anything, to settle his tapping lower hooves. Something to think about. Anything at all.
That song escapes me. I’ll have to ask someone later.
Perhaps he could focus on his training. Yes, that would do. His training in the magic was so new to the changelings, despite it being in their nature. Thorax stifled another yawn to a minimal motion of hoof over mouth. Respect still commanded in this room. It’d taken until now to be able to withstand large groups with bright emotions. This was a normal task.
The lord excitedly turned to page two and a half. “Where so, it may concern changeling concerns, concerning concerns of safety…”
On any other afternoon, he would pay closer attention. Protecting his citizens entailed detailed observation. Thorax switched to a new topic–training would be over in due time. How did he feel about his new role as the king? Those such as this dull lord would play a part. It’d take time to adjust, to be proper and fit. All surrounding him would be squabbling nobles, loyal guards, and clumsy yet amusing servants. Humming musicians, magically conducting-
Hey, I know who I can ask!
“Now, as regarding trade and finance, such as imports and exports,” the lord continued from page seven, “We can perhaps arrange beneficial subsidies, subsidiaries…”
Thorax completely drowned the lord out as this Sunburst temporarily occupied his mindscape in full. There was a friendly chap. He’d need good friends as king. Those capable of being trusted at critical times. And those to share fond times with. To create memories with, or just enjoy the company. Faint bouts of last night’s bout of vocal barraging surfaced. That qualified.
“For page thirteen, I introduce the startling prospects of making our laws better…”
An idea came to mind. If Sunburst was a true friend, Thorax could perhaps partake in an activity. It’d also allow for both of them, as those in power, to have a precious moment of private life. Thorax felt a warm, positive feeling from himself. As a bonus, challenge, and competition, generally gave rise to healthy, if stale-tasting, qualities for an emotivore to feast on.
The drowning voice of the lord quieted. Reigning his focus back to the meeting, Thorax put a pin on that idea. The rest of the lords only held a few pages each. Cadance thanked the pleased-appearing first lord and motioned for the next to go. Thorax sighed in relief. The rest of this would be a breeze.
The mood of the group relaxed alongside him. There was one exception. A huge surge of suspicious feeling glee poured from the princess. Daring a glance, Thorax swore he saw a twinkle in her eye as he stared at her, and she stared at him. The contact broke as the second lord began.
I wonder what she’s so happy about.
Shrugging, Thorax tuned in to the lord.
The next afternoon, the monarchs recused themselves from further compromises and negotiations, away from the privy of their guards and councils. Thorax gazed at the distant, snowy mountains. It didn’t take long to sort matters, though. Most of the work amounted to finagling the details. Contrary to the palace fields he was walking, they were cold hells. Strange how positive magic kept an entire populace alive.
Thwack!
Affixing his attention to the game at hoof, he witnessed the pink alicorn smack the club. The ball flew all the way across course number five in one stroke. A non-controversial time of relaxation solved the gaping time slot left until their scheduled evenings. Nor did they need guards. Cadence brought her allowed plus one golf aid, though Thorax declined. Simplicity ran in his blood. He couldn’t have planned better.
Thorax sighed at Cadance’s talent. He had to admit, though the day doubled as a perfect set-up to show off, her skill diminished his will to quite go full in. His left hoof swirled into a whirl of tendrils to grip the metallurgically enhanced, Changeling special club. Thorax began to line up his shot in front of the smug princess. It took a few moments as eyesight honed, flickering between tee and hole. He took the swing.
It landed mere inches away from the hole. Quickly, he walked to it, knocked it in, and came back.
He sighed again and looked at his equal. Meanwhile, a yellow aura returned her ball to her satchel.
“Using such magic ought to be against the rua-ools!” he suggested with a sneeze as a dusty waft of wind winded up.
Cadence held a hoof to barely seal her shaking mouth. “I think your nose might agree with me on the hypocrisy of that statement.”
“Hey, you could use your wings, you know,” Thorax rebuffed, wiping his snout as he put the club into a satchel.
“Hm," the princess uttered while flapping her wings. “Not a bad idea-”
“Princess! Princess!”
A pegasi guard crashed near them. He stopped a few yards from the group before standing up and saluting.
“Yes?” she politely greeted, clearly annoyed.
“Flurry emergency in Noble’s cafeteria!”
“Thank you.” She looked at Thorax. “Sorry.” She then spoke to another. “Sunburst, win this game for me. That’s an order.”
With that, she popped off into nothingness, taking the guard with her. Thorax found teleportation interesting. He garnered a coldness from it, devoid of it all.
“Using your body to overpower a club should be illegal as well.”
A new voice entered the game; its energy buzzing with excitement tickled Thorax’s nerves. Thorax looked to his side as the blue-capped, ex-gold aid to the princes donned a golfing uniform underneath within a few words. The pinned thought dropped back into play.
“I think it’d be fairer to allow magic in that case,” Thorax quipped as they headed to the next hole.
Sunburst followed, step for step. “Ah, changing our minds, now are we?”
“Well,” Thorax half-shrugged, stepping onto gravel, “We have to go ahead to go all out, hm?”
That elicited a smirk from Sunburst, who pushed his glass up. “I’m not usually competitive, but I suppose we can try.”
For some reason, Thorax found himself feeling a bit more than usual. Why was that so? He’d only met this pony three days ago, yet he already considered him a fascinating companion—no, friend. After a day of meeting nobles and greeting citizens, he’d seen him around a lot and chatted some. Of course, he’d thanked him for rescuing him from the pub. It came along naturally. Just as his magical guts indicated.
A minute later, the opponents arrived at the next hole. With a smile on his face, Thorax opted not to use his club. Instead, he morphed his front left leg into an ironwood thick club shape. He made sure to have a smug expression himself. With all the work done, he could play without a care in the world. Sunburst nodded in acknowledgment, just as confident in victory.
The ball was put on the tee. As Sunburst watched, Thorax could feel immense pressure to do well drop from Tartarus. Focus. He had to focus. Ignore the unicorn's nice, overconfident look. Never mind those big beady blue eyes. Sweat poured everywhere as the changeling scowled at the ball. Aim, focus, aim, and–swing.
Thwack!
The ball landed inches from the hole.
“Not bad, that’ll make a hole in two.” Sunburst waved his club with a yellow aura, as if he dared to taunt King Thorax.
“A very nice way to treat your guests,” Thorax countered.
“I usually refrain from such bold remarks.” The unicorn shuffled some.
Thorax rubbed his neck likewise. “As do I, usually. Weird.”
A moment of silence and contemplation passed.
“Perhaps… we bring out the best in each other?” Thorax suggested.
Sunburst gave off an agreeing emotion as he spoke. “Heh, I suppose, so I suppose so….”
Another few seconds passed.
“So….” Thorax resumed. “To the death?” He held up his club-shaped hoof.
“I don’t think Cadance meant, murder, Thorax.”
They burst out in wheezes. It took a few minutes for the hysterics to boil over and down. The feeling of this moment flowed with intense positivity. Thorax decided to feed on it–he might as well eat and enjoy company at the same time. Breathing in, they got up.
Sunburst started up, shifting the mood.
“Oh ho ho, do people like us rarely have moments like these.”
That’s logical.
“So we take them while we can,” Thorax deduced. “I take it you are mostly awkward on duty?”
Sunburst appeared to fluster a little. “Heh, got me…. Good experiences here, then?”
“I do enjoy this, thank you,” Thorax begins, mind gears twirling, “Learning culture is important-”
Then, Sunburst, with eyes of fury, looked at him with fire. This caught him off guard. The unicorn had changed his manner in a full second. He wielded his club menacingly.
“So, shall we vie? You can’t experience it if we talk all day.”
“You’re on!” Thorax exclaimed.
Giving himself a meal, magically boosted by their mutual happiness, the game began.
The vibe of the gathered crowd, in the throne room, edged split between positive and negative. Thorax glanced around. Whispers and wishes murmured. This situation called to his warrior side, to face it with confidence, headstrong, and a clear mind. Inhale, exhale–he could make it through this.
His green hoof slid to the two cards dealt out by a local dealer named Sapphire Joy. They went to the edge, so he could see what he’d gotten. This was quite a fun activity that gave in to the secretive section of his personality. That this was happening felt as fresh as two evenings ago.
Thorax opened his door to a knock later that evening. To his surprise, Sunburst stood there, floating a sealed parchment behind him. A vibrant, excited aura surrounded him.
“Er, hello again.” Thorax nearly stumbled.
“Hello!” Sunburst greeted back, holding a hoof to signal further speaking. “Due to Flurry, among other backlogged projects, Princess Cadance has issued you a two-day recess.”
“Huh, neat.” Thorax accepted. “Business was done as is… now what?”
“That’s the funny part. She told Shining to host a game charity, proceedings to your nation.” Sunburst took a breath.
“Very nice of her. Let me guess, gambling with the wife away?” Thorax said.
“Yep–Canterlot Hold ‘Em.” Sunburst stood there.
“Hm….” Thorax pondered.
“I, uh, could teach you how to play.” Sunburst offered.
“Sure.”
Thorax closed the door behind him, wondering why Sunburst had a rough mix of smooth and bumpy positiveness to him.
And now here he was, an amateur at the final table. As Sunburst and Shining checked their dole outs, Thorax tried to get a read on them. Being the lowest in chips, he needed all the information he could get.
Hard to believe I'd be playing high stakes with my new friends on what was a diplomatic trip.
Thorax shifted in his seat to a more comfortable position. The white lighting stayed focused on the half-circle table centered in the room's middle. Elsewhere, a few spells kept it dim to keep attention on the three remaining players. Still face and steady breathing came naturally. These natural advantages had served Thorax well so far. Even so, he had to not crack at the absurdity of ranking so high.
"So does the King earn another pocket pair of kings?" Sunburst asked from Thorax's left.
"I'd prefer queens, of course," Shining mused to Sunburst's left.
While mulling over what to set the small blind to, Thorax took a moment to practice emotion sensing before rules kicked in. Flushes of possibly temporal love thoughts emanated from Shining. Not even knowing the context of a moment was not enough for a completely precise image. Simple accuracy came with experience. He noted that love commanded shiny smoothness compared to the bumpiness of other emotions; a mental note to save for later.
What a love-struck stallion.
Thorax's mouth struggled not to widen as a wild statement popped to mind that couldn't not be said.
“If Chrysalis were nicer, Shining, you would’ve accepted two queens pronto.”
Shining’s cheeks ran red as he failed to fully compose himself. Thorax took that moment to slide two orange chips into the betting pool.
“Don’t think he’d want two Flurrys, Thorax. Also, call.” Sunburst threw in four orange chips.
The white unicorn took a moment to consider his options. Though he remained stoic in the face of his previous embarrassment, a slight shift in his corneas twitched. Sunburst and Thorax met eyes for a moment. An understanding passed that Shining might be dead in the water in the pre-flop alone. Thorax chose not to sense their emotions now. Besides qualifying as cheating, he could read Sunburst well.
As Shining decided to raise with a brown, another pleasant memory flashed.
“I call.”
The monarch pushed forward practice chips toward his guard, acting as dealer. The yellow chips had a neat lemony smell to them. Strangely, so did Sunburst.
“You sure you want to do that?” Sunburst asked, fiddling with his chip stack.
Thorax intentionally smirked. “Well, your chance to decide that.”
Sunburst’s tail remained on the floor. His breath held steady. The half-combed mane showed no quaking of the facial muscles. Glasses held to the nose bridge for dear life, for the hooves stayed glued to the chips. Only the heartbeat sounded out of rhythm.
“Don’t know, don’t know…” Sunburst mumbled to himself.
“If you must know, your heart's pace is highly erratic, unlike yesterday or the arrival feast.”
The unicorn’s entire composure broke in a manner that Thorax could not place. It felt it’d be rude to ask. Preying on others’ secrets felt not right.
“Is, uh, that so?” Sunburst’s eyes rapidly flicked.
“Just thought I’d let you know, in case.”
Truly, he didn’t want any pony to die of a heart attack detectable by changeling hearing.
Sunburst nodded. “Th-thanks.?
Thorax flipped over a king. “Think I’ll be nice to ya, for that one.”
Sunburst creased the edges to check his handed values once more.
“Huh. I fold.”
Thorax would need his friend out first, unfortunately. Over the game, Shining showed enough skill to be deemed the greatest threat in the king’s book. The dealer rang a bell, signaling the end of open.
Sapphire Joy doled out three cards from the top of the deck into the center of the betting pool. Every player watched in anticipation. First off the press slid an ace of spades. Second, a four of diamonds. Lastly, the Queen of Spades spun into view. Tension bore through Thorax’s thinking brain. This was the worst, but it wasn’t the best either. It depended on how the others played.
“Check.” The crystal table shook a little as he knocked on it.
Two brown chips bounced to the center with a light whistle. “Raise,” Sunburst called.
Immediately, Shining tossed his two cards in. “You two are too good at this.”
Sunburst chuckled. “Or perhaps you’re an old stallion at a young colt’s game.”
“Status of fatherhood is the split.” Thorax threw his jab in for good measure.
Sighing, Shining unseated himself. “I’m off to grab a crystal of water. If it helps either of you, I dropped a black five and a black six.”
As he left, the turn card was dealt–the ace of spades. Quietness settled forth in the crowd. Bets on the victor took place between the hushes.
Doing the mental calculations, running the possibilities through between his hand and Sunburst’s earlier raise, this was fantastic news. The dropped six from Shining meant Sunburst stood no chance. Thorax swiveled chips around in his hooves. How much value he could get out of Sunburst was the true question.
“All in,” Thorax declared.
Gasps emerged as his pile of oranges, dark greens, pinks, and reds journeyed to the pool. It’d ensure he won this pot. There was no doubt about it. He threw down his pocket pair, revealing an ace of diamonds and three of aces to the world. Three of a kind, with practically nothing higher guaranteed.
“Brave move,” Sunburst chuckled. “All in as well,” he announced, tossing forth a six of hearts and six of spades.
“I win, Sunny.” Thorax smiled.
Sapphire Joy proceeded to toss the river onto the table.
Tartarus!
A six of diamonds–the only possible card that could’ve defeated him. Stirred by disbelief, Thorax got up and clopped over to shake hooves.
“Guess that settles the score for golf, hm?” Sunburst greeted.
“Indeed.”
“Cheer me on as I take down another monarch, will ya?
Thorax smiled in affirmation, taking Sunburst’s nice feeling, warm hoof to congratulate him. He took the moment to train his knowledge. The same smooth-rough positivity, but smoother, emitted from Sunburst, and he detected a similar erratic heartbeat. That smoothly translated near the spectrum of Shining’s love thoughts.
Well, it was a stressful hand. Sunburst must be looking forward to spending his earnings on whomever he has a crush on.
The contrast between the castle halls’ silence to the crowd's of last night dawned upon Thorax as he and a guard lumbered in the crystal maze. Interesting how so much could be done with simple crystals. Patience, too. After occasionally getting lost and asking for directions, their quest to find the west wing library concluded.
Per instruction, the guard waited outside the varnished oak doors as the changeling king entered the sacred domain. Seeing Cadance after two days ought to be a nice break from the tiring excitement. The hum of her pink magic, and generally positive spirit, led right to her, standing in an aisle full of poker theory.
He slowly approached to not catch her by surprise. Waving with his hoof, she waved in return a wing, given her hoofs kept themselves occupied with books. Flaky wanderings of frosty air bounced to create a relieving contrast to the lukewarm temperature. The shelf opposite to poker was composed fully of golfing books. Clearing his throat and stopping near, Thorax spoke.
“Really want vengeance on Shining, hm?”
“Absolutely, Thorax,” she answered without looking away from a levitating book.
“I take your work vacation was less entertaining?”
Cadence chuckled. “Indeed, indeed…”
“Flurry acted nice, if you were wondering.”
“Lovely of her, of course, when her mother is away.”
Thorax could feel a twinge of genuine annoyance .“Mmhm mhhm… so, you need me?
“Correct,” Candace confirmed. “Can I ask a question?”
“You called me here,” he pointed at her. “So, laser up.”
“How did the golf game go?” Cadance asked, still reading.
An odd first thing to ask about, but some ponies take pride.
“I won, by a slim margin of two fewer strokes.”
Again, Cadence let out a churring. “I think Sunburst let you win.”
This confused Thorax. “Uh, are you sure? Sunburst, as nice as he is, wouldn’t do that.”
“Oh, sweet, innocent, Thorax.” Cadance shut the book, shelved it, and looked at him with twinkling eyes.
Why does she have that expression for a second time near me?
“If you excuse me, I don’t follow, don’t follow your logic,” he accidentally repeated. “Why would your own advisor rig your game in my favor?”
“I encourage you to think hard about your week so far.” Cadance’s smile graced him with full weight.
“Let’s see,” Thorax recalled, “Good dinner, average royal duties, more boring duties, good lunch, learning poker, playing poker after, a couple of games of golf, karaoke nights, council meetings-”
Cadance questioned. “And who was there most of the time?”
“Obviously, for most are my guards at any time, a few boring nobles, your Royal Crystaller-
“Name being?”
“Sunburst.” Thorax knew on instinct. For some reason, he felt slightly flushed to know.
“As I thought.” Cadance put the books back. “As I channel my energy, read my waves
Hard to tell where this is going.
Preparing to read a literal being of positivity, Thorax’s mind raced. Why would Sunburst have rigged their game for him? On the other hoof, given his skill at Canterlot Hold ‘Em, it was possible. Admittedly, there were a few moments Sunburst had helped him, teaching him how to handle his club leg. Hooves-on. Why was his hearing thumping faster?
Thorax tried to block those thoughts out as he focused all in on Cadance. She stood there, ready; he fired. And she was–a being of pure smoothness, love gleaming as a perfect crystal. A shape of smoothness covered by a thin surface of rough bumpiness. That would mean–no, that couldn’t be it.
“Why, uh, do you need me to do this?” Thorax asked, trying to distract himself.
“I’m the Princess of Love. Take a gander.”
Thorax felt a surge of hot energy rush through his system. This was certainly a very strong positivity. Redness appeared on his green. No, that couldn’t be true. If this was love felt, in its true form, that meant–was it really? He shut himself off to her valve of energy.
“You two have been talking a lot, I noticed.” Cadance’s voice and presence neared overwhelming.
Every detail in memory returned about Sunburst’s behavior.
“That… is true.”
“Don’t have too much fun, hm?”
Thorax coughed. “Most certainly not, Princess!”
“He’s in the kitchen, if you must know.”
Awkwardly nodding, Thorax left the library.
The smell of the bar hit him like a sweet nostalgia. He’d been here for one week already. It was his first visit, and it’d be his last during his tour of the Crystal Empire. Thorax took a deep breath. Braving the open doorway, he rounded the corner. Twitching his eyes around a little, he saw him. Feeling a bit giddy, he approached. He’d given his guards the night off for a reason. Thorax could not tell whether Sunburst noticed him; the unicorn sat still on the bar counter, reading a book.
Thorax attempted to tip-toe into the bar quietly. Immediately, hooves stumbled over one another across the clacking floor. He flailed the entire way before taking a grip on a seat. None of the patrons in the busy evening crowd seemed to care or notice that the king of the changelings failed at being discreet in his approach. He promptly took a seat, mumbling to himself.
Thorax twiddled his hooves, trying to think of a line.
“So, you want to buy me a drink, yes?” Sunburst folded his book and gazed up, aura hot.
Not transforming out of embarrassment took a straining effort. Thorax nodded at Sunburst. “Erm, yes. I rather like the cherry.”
“Two cherry-vanilla shots?”
The king tapped his hoof in agreement.
“And make 'em large,” Sunburst called out in his deep poker voice.
The bartender nodded and went straight to mixing. Thorax felt a wave of heat wash over himself. Seconds later, the drinks slid down the counter. Sunburst caught his drink with magic; Thorax his with an improvised hook of his hoof flesh. Clinking glasses, they each took a swig.
“So, fast week for you?” Sunburst asked.
“Ahem, yes, yes. I’ve enjoyed your kingdom-”
“But you’ve also liked the company of its inhabitants as well?” Sunburst smirked.
Like a blast to the heart, Thorax understood. He liked that smirk. A smirk crept onto his face as well. Another wave of heat. Sunburst’s aura felt far smoother, near Shining’s level. So that was what the burgeoning magic of love felt like.
He hadn’t dared speak the word aloud for fear of jinxing himself. But now, at this moment, it felt right to say. Understanding came.
“Is this… what ponies called a crush?” he asked, point blank.
Sunburst snorted.
Had he done something wrong? Had he-
“Yes, it is.”
Thorax cleared his throat. Nothing was wrong at all!
“Then, um, I’ll miss you.”
“Such is royal life.”
Sunburst took a sip. Thorax followed in fashion.
The unicorn continued. “We might visit ourselves someday, your nation.”
“Mhmmm….or another official visit?”
Sunburst leaned his face onto a hoof in Thorax's direction. “Hm, under what pretenses?”
“More charity poker might do the trick”
“Maybe so, maybe so…” the vermilion pony responded.
Nothing more came to mind for either, so the moments settled down. They seized them to merely ponder each other.
Sip some.
Scooch closer some.
Lightly touching the edges of their hooves together on the counter.
Sip more drink.
Blush a little bit.
Glancing around, Thorax saw the first table he had sat at in here.
Thorax felt an idea from his inner throes swell. The glass in his hoof was too empty. Not enough. He looked at Sunburst with mischievousness. He pointed at his glass, then to the stack of clean, unused stock of them in the sink. Furthermore, he’d be leaving tomorrow, so there was no reason not to.
Sunburst burst into a flaming grin as well. They clinked glasses again. Each took a finishing swig.
‘Until next time, Sunburst.” Thorax farewelled in advance.
“And until then…. drinking contest!” Sunburst announced with a shrill of thrill.
That caught everyone’s attention. Minutes later, the palace pub was a shouting crowd as the challenge, between the Royal Crystaller and the King of the Changelings, to see who would become black-out drunk first, began.
Author's Note
The poker hand was loosely adapted from Peter Eastgate's take-down of Scott Montgomery in the 2008 WSOP. It starts at 12:19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOA2QbIxa9c
