Peace at Last Side Stories: the Trials and Tribulations of King Thorax

by Prince_Staghorn

Prologue: The History of Thorax, Pre-Metamorphosis

Queen Sylph Thorax Roachanov had 5 daughters: Vespa, Chrysalis, Danauria, Sarissa, and Amanita.

The result of a one-night stand between Sylph and a Doppelganger stallion, Vespa was the oldest, being older than her sister Chrysalis by one year. She set off to start her own kingdom in Equus prior to Chrysalis' coronation, wishing to work for her right to rule as opposed to having it handed to her.

200-odd years passed, and 18 years before the Canterlot Invasion, Vespa found a spy in her kingdom- a Worker Caste Parasitic Beebra^ mare by the name of Infiltrator F00198.

Vespa imprisoned her, but over the course of a few weeks, she and the mare (Who dubbed herself "Tulip") formed a strange relationship which later turned into some kind of love... And after several successive matings, Tulip made the transition into a "Pseudo-Queen" and laid several hundred heavily fertilized eggs.

The resulting young, naturally, would be hybrids, part Beebra and part Changeling. Of course, since Tulip was the one impregnated, they would hatch from eggs and go through a "grubling" stage.

This is where Thorax came from.

It was by sheer luck that Thorax and his siblings looked like pure changelings after their initial molts, and also luck that they gained their grandfather's ability to mimic inanimate objects.

However, it was unlucky that both of his moms shared similar personalities, and from Tulip's culture he picked up the habit of only ever referring to either of them as "queen" instead of "mom".

When he was 18, he and a few of his siblings were sent to aid in Chrysalis' attempt to invade Canterlot.

Following this failed invasion attempt, fearing the punishment he imagined he would receive upon returning a failure- as well as simply tiring of both of his mothers' usual "stealing love" method- he fled.

He had a minor idea of the things which his cousin Staghorn did following the invasion, but rather than return home, he sought a life of solitude in the north, as his hybrid nature left him with a constant hunger for love, which he only ever managed to curb instead of satisfy, gleaning what he could off of the Crystal Pygmy Sheep tribes and the changelings of the Crystal Kingdom, lying under where the Crystal Empire once stood and now stands again.

He saw as the Crystal Empire appeared again, and kept an eye on this new wonder which glittered in the sunlight.

Then came the Crystalling. He saw Chrysalis arriving and hid, still harboring some fear of the irrational, maniac queen she had been during the Invasion, even if she was supposedly better now... and afterwards, he felt a small buzzing in his skull.

Tulip was attempting to call him back. Chrysalis' family had been threatened, and Vespa was gathering her soldiers and sending those who could not fight away, as Chrysalis had commanded.

In a few days, Vespa's kingdom was abandoned and empty, as was the outpost of Changeling Keep near Ponyville.

From the view of the ponies, it was all very suspicious, and as their absence continued, the Equestrians and Crystal Ponies became more restless.

This admittedly well-founded paranoia was only increased when Princess Twilight Sparkle, while looking through her reference section, found a scroll she had never seen before- a scroll which detailed the Fall of the country of Timbucktu^^, until then something which had been unknown to practically everyone.

After reading the secret Chrysalis had kept for 200 years and telling it to the princesses, her friends, and her brother, paranoia only increased, though Shining Armor felt like he was proven right concerning his thoughts on the queen.

Thorax, meanwhile, had let his guard slip at the wrong time. Soon, the Crystal Empire was on full alert, fearing another invasion attempt. Thorax hid as best he could, now unable to come out and feed... and that was when he met Spike.

Thorax became a member of the Crystal Empire. Word of this passed from the Crystal Kingdom's Queen to various other changeling kingdoms throughout Equestria by both Message Raptor and Telebeetle, and eventually word reached Vespa and Chrysalis- Vespa's believed to be dead son was alive and well.

However, all was not well in Chrysalis' mind. Some hex had been placed upon her, and following the short-lived war campaign that had kept her away from Equestria, she was filled with thoughts of conquest once again.

She captured and replaced not only the Princesses, but also the Element Bearers and Spike for good measure. Many of her subjects were discreetly called back to Neighpon by both her sister Danauria and her son Staghorn, but the hybrid brood of Vespa remained, refusing to disobey their current queen.

Chrysalis set her base of operations in the magic fortress of Thromnambular's Hold, in the Badlands. Protected by a throne carved of pure Thromnambulite (named after its discoverer) which drained all non-changeling magic, she was safe from retaliation, even that of the Spirit of Chaos, Discord.

However, a small band consisting of Starlight Glimmer, Bellatrix Lulamoon, Discord Q. Mytzlplik the Nyarlathotep, and Thorax himself set out to defeat Chrysalis, entering the shifting stone fortress and advancing to its very heart... which was located at the top of the tallest spire, confusingly enough.

That was when the event now called "the Metamorphosis" occurred.

Thorax's demented aunt held him in her magic, draining his love, but with encouragement from Starlight, he gave it all to Chrysalis of his own free will... and that was the catalyst that set off an unseen reaction.

Thorax stood as tall as an alicorn, his fur vibrant hues of green, gold, azure, and violet. His holes were gone, and his head graced with two branching antlers in addition to his single curved horn.

His siblings saw this and attempted the same. They did not change in size, and lacked the antlers of their brother, but now shone in many vibrant hues, their legs whole.

Chrysalis fled, and Thorax established himself as king of his siblings... a new race with untold potential...

Author's Note:

^Explained in detail here.

^^See Tales of Old: the Sacking of Timbucktu