Fitting In Is Hard To Do

by origami

Part I, Chapter 11 - The Royal Sisters - Part 1

The Eclipse was the pride of Equestria's railway line, and had the distinction of being the official engine of the royal sisters. It was decorated in colors to match the two; white and gold for Celestia, and black and midnight blue for Luna. It carried three cars; Celestia's sleeping car, Luna's sleeping car, and a dining car with a fully staffed kitchen. On this morning, both sisters were in the dining car having a breakfast.

"Sister", the sun diarch asked,"Are you certain this changeling was telling you the truth?"

"We have no doubt", replied her lunar counterpart,"When we found him, he was in the throws of a night terror. We rescued him from it and conversed, and I placed an enchantment upon him that would have told us of his intentions to deceive."

"I have no doubts of your knowledge or skills as a dreamwalker", Celestia assured,"but neither of us has had any experience with these creatures before in our past. How do we know that they don't have counter-spells to all of our magics?"

"He was unfamiliar with thou being a dreamwalker", Luna replied,"Thus, I have a great deal of confidence that he was not capable of countering any of our spells."

"That does not mean he couldn't have figured something out", Celestia countered.

"Tis true, sister", Luna conceded,"but there comes a point in the process of establishing relationships in which one must give a certain amount of trust in the other individual that they won't try to hurt them, emotionally or otherwise. I simply feel that in order for anything to move forward, trust must be given, even if it may be felt that that trust is undeserved."

Celestia sat there for a moment to digest what her sister said, then smiled. It wasn't long ago that Luna had been shown that same level of trust when she was cleansed of the nightmare. It made her feel good deep down inside to see the lunar princess paying it forward in a manner of speaking.

---

Shining Armor was storming through the halls of the Crsytal Palace on his way to the main dining hall. Minutes earlier, he'd been informed by Custos that his own sister had threatened him and rendered his spear useless, as he'd presented the item for the prince to examine. Undoing her transformation spell and giving the spear back to the guard, Shining made it a point to reprimand his sister for her actions.

Meanwhile in the dining hall, Twilight and Cadance sat waiting for the breakfast to be brought in. Twilight was trying to start a conversation, but Cadance seemed to want to avoid any talking whatsoever. The lavender unicorn was about to try again when the door to the hallway flew open so violently, they nearly came off of their hinges.

"TWILIGHT!", came the booming voice of Shining Armor,"What were you thinking!?"

Twilight flinched at his voice. She knew he would not take kindly to her actions from last night. It seemed she would now have to chew the food from last night now.

"Your guard was going to attack Thorax unprovoked" Twilight replied flatly.

"Really?" Shining shot back with sarcasm in his voice.

"Yes, really!", Twilight shot back,"All Thorax was trying to do was to get our attention to add to the conversation going on, and the guard had him against a wall with a spear at his throat!"

"And how do you know that that's exactly what he was doing?" Shining shot back at his sister.

"Because", she began calmly, then glared with daggers in her eyes shouted,"IF I TRULY BELIEVED HE WAS GOING TO HARM US, THEN HE WOULD BE A BUG STAIN BEING CLEANED OFF THE FLOOR AS WE SPEAK!"

"BOTH OF YOU, ENOUGH!"

Twilight and Shining Armor both flinched as Cadance raised her own voice. "You both can be glad that Flurry isn't here to hear this right now", she commented,"I'd hate to think of the trauma that both of you could be putting her through if she was."

Twilight and Shining didn't say anything for a few moments. Cadance simply rubbed her temples, trying to alleviate the headache suddenly brought on by her husband and sister in law's bickering. "Perhaps I should've just sent the changeling to the dungeons immediately" she thinks aloud to herself.

"NO!", Twilight shouts a little louder than intended, then continues in a softer voice,"No, you don't need to do that. Thorax isn't going to cause anypony harm. He's had plenty of chances since yesterday."

"That doesn't mean he couldn't be playing a long game!", retorted Shining Armor,"They need to feed on our love to survive! Trying to make friends so you can backstab them later and drain them of all their love sounds like the kind of tactic that thing would use!"

"Shining!", Twilight responded incredulously,"This changeling IS different from his kind. He wants to be on peaceful terms with ponies, even become friends with those that are willing."

"Friends with changelings", Shining scoffed,"Twilight, you're making a huge mistake. This thing has somehow tricked you into wanting to help it, but I won't let that keep going on. Now, once the princesses get here, I'm going to convince them of the threat and have a squad take him to be placed in the Canterlot dungeons."

"They won't agree to that, Shining", Twilight told her brother very sternly,"I've known Princess Celestia since before you were a recruit in the royal guard. While I have no doubt that she would exercise caution, she's very much not the 'lock them up and throw away the key' type."

"Think what you wish", Shining said as he brought the conversation to a close,"I know what I'm going to tell the princesses, and I will make sure that this changeling, or any other changeling I find, is no longer a threat."

Twilight let out a huff of frustration as she turned and went to exit the dining hall. Before she got to the doors, she turned to address the princess.

"Cadance", she began,"I hope you remember what you told me last night, about being as unbiased as possible in making important decisions?" Twilight let the thought hang in the air as she exited the room. Cadance looked towards the door for a moment before letting out her own sigh as she continued eating the bowl of fruits that had been presented to her as breakfast.

---

The Eclipse pulled into the Crystal Empire station at around 10am. The princesses disembarked the train and were met by a detachment of crystal pony guards, as well as an opulent chariot that appeared to be carved out of gemstones. The lead guard approached and bowed to the two of them.

"I have been instructed to escort you to the palace at once" he told them. Both nodded as they stepped inside and were led to the palace. As they rode, Celestia and Luna admired the scenery that had been uncovered by the Crystal Heart's powerful magic. Lush green fields with wildflowers, with the snow capped mountains behind them. The scene was beautiful. As they went, the two sisters held a conversation.

"You still have reservations" Luna observed of her sister.

"I do", Celestia admitted,"Of all the creatures I've ever faced, that monster was the first to best me magic for magic."

"You mean that so called queen that tried to steal the place of our dear Cadance?" Luna inferred.

Celestia gave a nod and looked to the floor of the carriage.

"I can understand your trepidation", Luna replied,"but this changeling is not the same as his queen. He carries no malice in his heart. I would've sensed it even in the dreamscape."

Celestia hummed in agreement, but did not bring her eyes to meet her sister.

Luna thought for a moment before coming up with a solution.

"Perhaps... We could arrange for something to help alleviate thy fears?"

Celestia looked at her sister with a questioning eyebrow. "What do you propose?" she asked.

---

Standing in front of the Crystal Palace were Twilight, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, and a small guard detail. Twilight and Cadance both had nervous looks, but Shining Armor maintained a stoic expression. Inside, however, he was just as nervous as his wife and sister. All three were unsure of how either of the two princesses would react to the current situation.

"They should be here soon", Twilight told Cadance and Shining Armor,"The messenger from the train station said they got there about ten minutes ago."

"I'm sure it's nothing more than our subjects trying to get a glimpse of the princesses", Cadance offered,"They're probably just going slow so as to give everypony a chance to see them."

"Perhaps", Shining interrupted,"but if they take too much longer, I'll send a patrol to look for them."

Before anypony else could say anything, a familiar gilded carriage came into view. While some nerves had been alleviated, most would remain until after the princesses had made their decision on the current situation. The carriage approached the group and came to a stop. Stepping out were Celestia and Luna, both in their regalia.

"We apologize for our slight lateness", Celestia offered,"A fair amount of your subjects were quite excited to see my sister and myself on our way here."

"It's no trouble at all, Aunt Celestia", Cadance responded,"We were only waiting here for a few minutes."

"All the same", Luna interjected,"We offer our apologies even for a slight wait."

"You are looking well since the birth of your child", Celestia continued,"I trust she isn't too much of a hoofful."

"There are times that she can become one", Shining took his turn to speak,"but nothing more than Cadance and myself have been able to manage."

Celestia smiled and then turned to her student. "And Twilight, you are looking in good shape as well. I trust Spike has been helping to keep you from getting too carried away with your books?"

"Oh, no", Twilight replied,"I've been managing just fine. In fact, I have been keeping myself busy. You remember my letter about Starlight?"

"Of course", Celestia answered,"I trust you have been teaching her well?"

"Indeed", Twilight responded,"I've been showing her all of the friendship lessons my friends and I have learned since coming together, and I've been encouraging her to reach out and make her own friends as well, even if some of them I'm not particularly fond of."

"It is important to remember Twilight, that your friends will sometimes have friends that you don't see eye to eye with. It's in those times that you must remember to stay civil and treat them at the very least with respect."

"I'll definitely try to keep that in mind" Twilight responded.

"Now", Celestia said to the group as a whole,"as fun as catching up with you has been, there is some rather serious business ahoof. Where is the changeling currently?"

"He's being held in Twilight's guest chambers", answered Shining,"Cadance was comfortable with allowing her to keep watch of him."

"Ah, yes", Luna spoke up,"We heard in your letter that Twilight was on the side of this changeling."

"Only after I made sure that he was indeed trustworthy" Twilight added.

"Trustworthy?", Celestia questioned,"These are creatures that have used deception in their efforts to obtain what they desire. Are you truly certain that this changeling can be trusted."

Twilight hesitated for a moment to form her response. "I know it's a lot to ask anypony here to trust a changeling, but really I'm just hoping you'll all at least allow him to speak with you and to approach with an unbiased viewpoint."

Celestia gave a nod, then turned to Shining. "I wish to use the throne room to speak with the changeling. Please have a guard escort him to us. Also, please ask the palace staff to prepare a pot of tea, and some tea cakes would also be appreciated."

"Anything you desire, Auntie" came Shining's reply, and the stallion turned and headed back into the palace. Everypony else followed him inside.

---

Thorax was sitting in the guest suite waiting patiently. He wasn't sure what to expect, other than at some point today, he'd be speaking with the two ponies that were charged with taking care of Equestria. The thought made him shake in his chitin; They could do anything from banish him, to cast him into Tartarus, or worse. There was also the slim chance that he could somehow persuade them to grant his asylum, but he didn't hold on to much hope for that.

Spike, his dragon friend, and Twilight's student, Starlight, were both waiting with him. Starlight was reading a book, but Thorax could tell from the emotions she was giving that she was worried for him, which he appreciated greatly. Spike, on the other hoof, was doing his best to help his friend prepare.

"I really don't think you have that much to worry about", the dragon tried to reassure him,"Celestia won't blast you where you stand. She's had tons of experience in diplomacy to know 'Cast your spell first, then ask questions later' is a really dumb idea."

"I know, but that doesn't make what's about to happen easier for me" Thorax replied.

"Just do like you've been doing", Spike suggested,"You've been honest with everypony so far. Just keep doing that, even if you think the truth might be unpleasant. The princesses will hold it against you if you start hiding things now."

"That's not what I'm worried about", Thorax replied,"I fully intend to tell the truth. The question is will they believe that I'm telling the truth."

"Well, Luna seems to think you are" Spike pointed out. That thought had escaped Thorax's mind. He had already spoken to one princess in his dreams, a feat he was surprised that any of the ponies here could do. She had even shown a great deal of trust in him when she freely gave him love. He doubted that she would've done such a thing if she had no trust in him whatsoever.

"You know, you're right Spike", Thorax told his friend with a smile,"I just have to be honest with them and they'll see for themselves what kind of creature I am inside."

A knocking on the door was followed by a guard entering the room. The guard, a mare this time, glared at Thorax. "The princesses wish to speak with you now! Follow!" she barked at him. Thorax stood up and followed her out of the room.

"Good luck!" Spike shouted after him.

Thorax gave a nod and walked out to find a squad of guards surrounding him. He looked at them all nervously before one gestured to follow, which he did. They walked in silence for a good bit until they approached the hallway to the throne room. The guards then broke formation and made two lines on either side of the hallway, with the lead gesturing for Thorax to move ahead. The changeling walked forward into the throne room, where he saw the large white unicorn princess he knew only as Celestia, sitting with a stoic look on her face, and a plain chair in front of her.

"Oh crumbs", thought Thorax as he took a gulp of air and stepped forward.

Author's Note:

This one took me a while longer because I was unsure of exactly how I wanted events to progress. I know where I want things to end up, just unsure of how to get them there, sorta like building two cities but unsure of how to make the highway to connect them. Now that the metaphorical road has been built, the next chapter should be quicker and out sooner.

Also, Thorax's last remark is a nod to one of my current favorite animated shows called Helluva Boss. If you don't have youngins nearby, check it out on YouTube on Vivziepop's channel. She has lots of other cool stuff on there too.

Comments

[Velvet-Fresh]

Moxxie: Oh you say that too?

in all seriousness. This is looking good, and as expected Shining is a freaking moron

[Melody Song]

Clever Celestia! She said that to Twilight so that Shining would hear it too!

I hope this goes well for Thorax, and where exactly has Luna got to if only Celestia is in the room?

[theOwtcast]

Don't worry Thorax, you'll convince them! I hope...

[origami]

10805231
You mean the trustworthy comment I believe?

[Melody Song]

10805348
Yeah, I mean, Twilight didn't mention anything related to being friends with someone who had another friend she didn't "see eye-to-eye" with, so...

Celestia is the true master of minds

[Starlight Glimmer1]

10805208
He’s not being a moron so much as he is making the mistake of letting anger and hatred control him.

[Velvet-Fresh]

10805556
still a moron, hate him

[Starlight Glimmer1]

10806615
Fair.