Ever since finding his place in the Crystal Empire, Thorax had dreamed of changing his people, and following the failed attempt of Chrysalis to once more conquer Equestria, he succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.
After the accidental coup d'etat that changed his kind forever, Thorax finds himself the new prince of the changelings. His new kingdom remains confused about what to do with their now changed lives and are dealing with a whole slew of emotions they never had to worry about before.
Thrust in a position of power and responsibility he neither asked for nor wants, Thorax reaches out to his friends to help him understand what it means to rule a kingdom.
Special thanks go to Carapace and his story The Village Called Respite that inspired me to write this story.
nice hook , you get a fave and a up vote
Not bad. Nat a bad story at all.
Interesting story, I like that we get the perspective of the other changelings.
Looking forward to more!
Good story. And I like the twist - it makes perfect sense the transformation didn't go quite that deep, and it sets the stage for a very good plot. I'll be watching eagerly!
Vespid x Thorax anyone?
7859564
*snrk* Shipping the OC's already? I'm flattered.
7859779 I'm good at it. Also it's pretty obvious that Thorax needs to find a harem of at least 15 changeling mares to keep the population going in the next generation. (Unless one has a reproductive potencial of Chrysalis, what is magicly impossible) Unless they find out that now common lings can reproduce which would be boring.
Vespid is a logical choice. Hot pink, the fittest/healthiest of them all as a military leader in a meritocracy (those first two for the hive to enforce this ship), possible tsundere, common goals (for friction) and opposite personality traits. She might also teach Thorax some self-confidence and acting like a ruler, what might lead to some gravity. The poor moose sure does need it.
7859794
One teeeny tiny problem with that plan though: Vespid is a guy. There is a reason the pink eyes and jewels upset him and his poor fragile male ego so.
Of course, being a changeling such problems are rather academic and more of the heart than the body, so who knows?
Also, yay! Thorax tags were added! Adding now.
7859812 Aw, damn. I must've not notice that. Well, some bugs can indeed change gender. There is still hope.
Batpony tag arrived too! *squee!*
7859874
Don't you mean *Skreee!*?
But no problem. If you were confused that'd mean I wasn't really clear on who was what. Something to work on improving for future chapters.
Come to think of it, genderswapping might be an interesting part of changeling culture to explore. Would probably mean I'd beef the rating a bit though. And how to bring it into the plot, if it even fits at all... No promises yet, but-
*scribbling ensues*
7859881 Depends but yez.
Well, there wasn't any "he" or "she" put in there to indicate, I think. Or I overlooked it.
I am actually planning a story where two of straight protagonists would end up in a br0mance. And one happened to be a changeling. Hope no future reader will ever discover this comment...
7860006
Well, I've got my own romance subplots planned, so don't worry about me poaching yours.
7860176 Oh, you already set something up? Nice!
Off-topic, but where did you get the picture? I'm definitely digging the title image...especially as it seems Thorax is slowly adapting to the fact that he's now a king (or maybe a Prince, since King/Queen kinda implies evil ruler--damn you Disney for that
)
And I'm pretty sure if the comments already kinda hint at it, there are some changelings that could actually have some feeling for Thorax other than a fellow changeling or the de-facto leader of their swarm. After all, he can't do it alone; a good ruler has his advisors to help him rule fairly, effectively and justly.
Come to think of it, it's a good thing that Thorax probably could have Cadence and Shining Armor to help him--the two of them have gone though something similar when Sombra was permanently vanquished and Cadence took her rightful place of Crystal Princess.
7860252
Cobbled together in photoshop from screencaps of the season finale. I'll probably do a proper vector of it somewhere down the line, but the chapter was almost finished by the time I finalized the idea for the cover and I really wanted to get it out with cover art in place.
Oh they can, yes. In various ways. What's important to remember though, and what will become more apparent soon, is that almost all the changelings in his hive are completely blindsided by these new emotions. They aren't used to things like joy, empathy and love. Eating it, yes. Experiencing it? Not so much.
Yay, more reformed changeling stories.
And hurrah for both having characters named Tarsus. Yay limited bug body parts that sound good as names!
Actually a very interesting contrast to my own, far more serious, and definitely an interesting take. :) Might consider a Drama tag, a cornerstone here seems to be the search for finding themselves, and the mixture of emotions they have with their new leader, their new lives, etc as you've mentioned. Drama definitely covers that all perfectly.
Will keep an eye out. Definite up vote!
7863783
Hah, yeah I saw your story pop up literally the day after I got mine approved and I went *thunk* "Really!?" Then I noticed our stories have a similar base, but different approaches. Whew.
Good point on the drama tag, I'll add the tag right away. Thanks for the feedback!
7864227
Yours is an action/drama with an ongoing plot from the looks, mine is slice of life with a subgenre of comedy. 
Hah, yes very different in fact.
Besides, more reformed changeling stories the better. Up until I published my first chapter a few weeks ago, there were little to none around.
Now that there's a Thorax tag everyone is jumping on board! 
Glad to see different takes and styles c:
Wow, this was really enjoyable! I'm excited to see where this goes!
I haven't read this (yet) but it's so easy to mistake the title for CHANGELING a kingdom, considering the subject matter...
8066416
Hah! Yeah, I suppose it is. Still, both titles fit, no?
Not bad
pretty good, even
character interaction is still your forte
I think you mistaken some names here.
At first I was honestly beliving that they didn't brought equestrian currency with them. Like, the chapter would be around them getting money.
Changelings in deep infiltration don't come back? I'd bet they all just found a place in the wide world for themselves, maybe even had children. How many ponies live their lives not knowing they're hybryd changelings that are on auto-disguise?
8067628
Blar, more like a grammatical bungle. I meant 'apart from', since those two have travelled by train before. Fixed, thanks for catching that.
Oh god, Changeling love overdose imminent.
Glad to see more out from you. :) Honestly the similar minds continue to unfold, though.
Transportation via the train and Dodge Junction were both themes in my tale as well, though mentioning Dodge Junction didn't end up making the final cut for me.
May we all enjoy more inspiration from S7.
8097346
Well, when you have changelings travel to the Crystal Empire, Dodge Junction and trains are hard to avoid.
And yeah, we do have this weird 'parallels despite being different stories' thing going on, don't we?
8098574 I think it's entertaining if nothing else. :) Have you seen the premiere yet?
8098579
Eyup. Surprised at the down to earth nature of the episode, usually season openers are tad more dramatic.
But Celestia laughing sold the entire episode, so I'm good.
8098592 It's also the first premiere that wasn't a two-parter, clearly they were going for the Slice of Life approach for a premiere, like how Best Night Ever was for S1's finale. I was just happy to see Celestia get character development and screen-time after six seasons. I know some found it cringey but I found the 'Compromise' scene in Twilight's headcanon illusion to be adorable and hilarious.
'Attack! Winner gets the choice! *stoic grin*'
Oh you adorable, roughhousing bug ponies.
Hmm.
There's a bunch of places where you have a period inside quotation marks, but should have a comma. I didn't notice right away, so I'm not calling out all of them like I normally would.
Comma after Tarsus.
There can be only one!
fend *off
*off
Hmm ... this fic needs more Occupant. Occupant is best changeling.
8125403
Oooh, thanks for catching those. Fixed. I'll try and pay more attention to the comma's and periods too, though I might still fudge there at times since English is a second language. What are the grammar rules for periods and comma's inside quotation marks?
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Occupant, though. There are so many fics I still have to read, what with a six year backlog and all.
Grammar Nazi mode, engage! ... Who am I kidding, that's almost always on.
Comma, not period.
I think you have a different idea of what constitutes a "low" number.
What, you were planning to unicycle all the way there?
Period.
Capital
Comma
Period after which, capital where.
Comma
Comma
Admittedly I haven't finished watching season 6 yet (it wasn't on Netflix), but if Thorax was living openly in the Crystal Empire as a changeling, why don't they just walk into town and buy tickets regularly? I mean, aside from giving Vespid an immediate heart attack.
Only ponies with x-ray vision?
Comma
Comma
Capitalize the town name
Comma
Comma
Comma after should
Comma
Closing quotation marks
Nah, I'm sure Shining Armor could make a quick 2d20 random name generator table for the changelings to use instead.
Comma
Comma
Capital She
Capital Vespid
Capital
This isn't a crossover with the Dark Tower, and this train isn't Blaine.
Comma after know
Comma
Capital, and *gave
Comma
*off
I do look forward to the shock and surprise when they realize that all those missing 'lings have "gone native" as it were.
Capital A
Capital right, and comma not period
1) *latter 2) Miridae gave Miridae a nuzzle?
Comma, no capital
It's a regular Donner Party.
This would be the effects of the Princess of
FoodLove.Crystals are growing next to the bushes?
*spent
No capital he
Comma
Comma
Comma
Period
where *we perfected
Comma after Hungry
Nom nom nom.
Ooh, I think you missed it, but just wanted to say congratz on the hour or so feature, today.
Definitely nice to see this story starting to get a little more attention.
I think you mean Tarsus here.
damn, for a first story this is really good.
8125443
When writing dialog, if you stop the dialog for an action, you use a period, but if you stop for a said-verb, you use a comma. Those are mainly what I called out in chapter two. Like so:
"Darling," Blueblood said, "this whole situation is out of hand."
"You really have no idea, do you." Rarity tossed her mane to the side with an irritated flick of the head. "You caused it."
I know there are a variety of primers and how-to pages on the internet, if you want to search for one. And for a second language, your English is actually pretty damn good.
Almost like zombiez...
8125520
I'm going to take this as motivation to write more.
Yeah, I noticed.
8125478
Thanks a lot, I'll go fix those right away.
Minerals in Equestria seem to grow naturally. Many creatures eat gems, which would be hard way to survive if they form our way, they can be found in great quantities ready to harvest, the Pie family runs a rock farm and even Spike talked about how he'd been 'ageing' his fire ruby in Secret of my Excess. So I kind of figured that a land devoid of everything but changeling magic for a long time would see mineral growth return as well.
For most changelings, out of habit. For Thorax, because he doesn't want to scare ponies that don't know him. The Crystal Empire is comfortable with him, but that doesn't mean all of Equestria knows him. The end of season 6 actually adresses this concern, in a way.
8125813
Gah! I was hoping I didn't make that mistake. Fixed.
8126354
Thanks, I'll be sure to remember it and put it into practice.
And now I learned a new thing.
8126221
Well, it's not the first time I've ever written a story, but it is my first MLP story, so thanks for the compliment!
8126373
Sort of. It's more like a return to primal instincts. Being love-starved is a terrible thing for changelings, and even more so for modern ones. There's a reason the changeling hive was the way it was for so long.
8128323
No, I get that, but the way the sentence was structured, my mind first went, "the crystals are growing on the bushes and he used the wrong word." Then again, I'm not sure I want to deal with the kind of botany needed to grow crystals on bushes.
8128434
Oh that! Yeah, kind of. The Crystal Empire has crystals growing in the field, and sometimes even in the bushes. The stuff just seems to pop up everywhere.
Someling
Well, guess that answers changeling evolution and devolution for us. Though why would Scuttler not want to eat in the first place?
The changelings better figure out "love farming" soon, though I got a feeling something like the crystal heart will be the solution. The heart absorbs and magnifies love, almost like it was created by the Crystal Ponies to feed the changelings. Huh maybe the changelings used to live symbiotically with the Crystal Ponies and only became "evil" after the Empire vanished taking the changeling food source with them. Would explain why Thorax was never hungry in the Empire, even when he wasn't interacting with ponies the heart continuously fed him.
One of the things I love the most on this site is seeing authors creating compelling stories from the curve balls thrown by the show!
Just because they're even more technicolor than their pony companions with cute, nasaly voices, doesn't mean everything is sunshine and rainbows. Heck, I bet there's more than a few that weren't even at the hive when all this went down, leaving them untransformed. Maybe even in regards to loyalty.
Miridae channeling Idol Hooves without even knowing.
Prepare for unforeseen consequences.