//------------------------------// // The Right To Rule // Story: Pony Tails // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// A new day had dawned upon the Changeling kingdom. Their tyrannical former Queen, Chrysalis, had been overthrown, and forced to flee, following the rest of the Changelings being transformed into new forms. These new forms were bereft of the endless hunger for love within their former bodies. They were free of the eternal gnawing of their stomachs, all due to giving love rather than stealing it. The reborn Changelings were currently in the business of rebuilding, as the top of their hive had been blown apart when they had all transformed. Thorax, the new Changeling King, was overseeing the work, while still coming to terms with all the changes that had occurred in such a short amount of time. And it wasn't just the changes to the hive and his entire species that concerned him. After all, he was the first to transform, with the sheer amount of love within him (garnered during his time in the Crystal Empire) bringing about a far more drastic transformation. As the rebuilding went apace, Thorax observed his subjects' work. At one point, he saw a glimpse of himself in a reflective piece of rock. 'It's still hard to believe that this is me now...' He mused, studying his reflection. Of course, Thorax had had little trouble physically adjusting to his new form. By their very nature, Changelings were conditioned to easily adjust to new bodies. And it didn't hurt that Thorax's new body was so tall and statuesque... a far cry from the little Changeling he once was. 'I'm not complaining, though.' He chuckled to himself. 'But if I were, that'd be the least of my worries...' It was more his new position that Thorax was having trouble getting to grips with. Before he'd left the hive, he was but a lowly drone. After leaving, his name was hated and reviled by all his fellow Changelings. But now, they respected and revered him. Though Thorax was grateful for their change in attitude, it unnerved him in a strange way. To have so many look upon him to take charge and lead the way was something he was unprepared for. Not too long ago, the very idea of returning to the hive struck fear into Thorax's heart. Despite his deeply held hope of one day teaching his kind to feel friendship and subsist on their own love, a part of him had always been afraid of coming back. But he had returned, sooner than he had thought, and through circumstances he could never have imagined, he had become the Changelings' King. He now had to lead and watch over the new Changeling race, a task he had never expected. 'Maybe this is what it feels like when a pony finds their destiny... and it's more than they imagined.' He thought. Thorax made his way deeper into the hive, continuing his observations. Having been away for so long, he had forgotten how efficient his kind could be when they put their minds to things. "King Thorax." A dark green, hornless Changeling bowed as Thorax neared. "The west wing expansion is nearing completion." "Good to hear, Mandible." Thorax said awkwardly. "Oh, and... you don't have to bow every time I come near, you know." "Of course, your highness." Mandible stood up. Thorax cringed slightly at the term. "So... how are you?" He asked awkwardly. "I figure since I'm King now, I should get to know my subjects a little better." "Truth be told, I'm still getting used to this new body of mine." Mandible admitted. "Aren't we all?" Thorax grinned. "Though it's the changes on the inside that are most surprising." Mandible added. "It's... odd, no longer feeling the endless, ravenous hunger for love within me any more. I've felt that hunger for as long as I can remember, and now, it's gone. Like a weight off my mind and body. For the first time in my life, I feel... whole." "It feels good, doesn't?" Thorax smiled. "It certainly does." Mandible nodded. "And I have you to thank for that, my King. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to serve you as best I can." He bowed once more. "Well, uh... keep up the good work." Thorax said weakly. "The expansion is really looking good." "Thank you, my King." Mandible smiled. "King Thorax!" A dark yellow Changeling with a jagged horn called. "Yes, Scuttle?" Thorax turned. "We, ah... have a surprise for you, you highness." Scuttle smiled. "If you'd deem to follow me..." "Oh, okay..." Thorax followed Scuttle. Scuttle led Thorax into one of the larger side chambers. There, Thorax was surprised to see that a new throne had been made, sculpted from a large piece of stone found near the hive. It wasn't as large or imposing as Chrysalis's former throne, but it had its own regal style. Several other Changelings surrounded it, smiling expectantly at Thorax. "Is that...?" Thorax gaped. "Your new throne." Scuttle smiled. "A true ruler deserves no less. Do you like it, my King?" "I, er..." Throax mumbled. "...I do. Great job, all of you." "Your praise humbles us, my King." Scuttle smiled. The other Changelings all bowed. "Well, I'd say you've earned a break." Thorax declared. "You all go and rest up. There's still a lot of work to be done, and I'd hate for you to exhaust yourselves." "As you wish, sire." Scuttle bowed. Thorax cringed again as Scuttle and the others left the chamber, bowing again as they did. "I am never gonna get used to that..." He mumbled to himself. As Thorax looked upon the throne, he noted that it was vaguely similar to Princess Cadance's throne. That notion led to thoughts of the Crystal Empire, and he felt a pang of regret. Now that he was the Changelings' King, he had been left with no choice but to stay in the hive, and leave behind the life he had built in the Empire. He glumly reflected on the friends he had made there, and the fact that he didn't even get to say goodbye to any of them. 'I wonder what everypony's up to back in the Empire...' He thought. 'I'm sure Shining Armor and Princess Cadance will let them know what's happened. I just hope they don't hold it against me... They took me in, accepted me, then I just up and left for a new life as some royal wannabe.' The throne Thorax's subjects had made proved to drive his new position even further home. 'I don't even know if I have what it takes to be a King.' He frowned. 'I never really wanted this. I can't be a leader, can I?' Thorax thought back to the time, mere days ago, when he had been part of the mission to rescue Equestria's most beloved ponies from his kind's clutches. He, Trixie and even Discord had looked to Starlight Glimmer for leadership. Though Starlight was as terrified of braving the hive as they were, she had stepped up to the task, coming up with strategy after strategy to help them to close in on the throne room. And it was Starlight's idea for Thorax to willingly share the love within him, bringing on his transformation. They wouldn't have succeeded without her. 'But Starlight was a good leader.' Thorax told himself. 'Spike even told me that she used to run an entire village. Me, I don't have any kind of experience in taking charge.' Thorax glanced worriedly at the throne. 'What if I can't handle it?' He thought. 'Or worse, what if I end up being as tyrannical as Chrysalis? Being ruler of the Changelings really went to her head. What if the power does the same to me?' Thorax shuddered in distaste. The idea of becoming anything like Chrysalis was repugnant to him. More than ever, he wished he was still back in the Crystal Empire, without the burden of leadership upon him. 'But it's not like I can just turn around and abandon the hive.' He reflected. 'With Chrysalis gone, they need a leader to guide them. And like it or not, that leader is me. They followed my lead, they turned on Chrysalis, all because of me. Because they followed my example. For better or for worse, I'm in charge now. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be for worse...' Taking a deep breath, Thorax left the new throne room, and checked on the rest of his subjects. "Ah, my King." Wallcrawler, one of a number of Changelings who shared Thorax's new color scheme (but not his stature) nodded respectfully. "Some of us were thinking of moving some of the eggs from the upper nursery to the lower one. We fear our, er... ascension may have damaged the structure integrity of the levels above, which may result in a collapse. The eggs may need to be moved for their own safety. What do you think?" "Well, I... suppose it's best to err on the side of caution." Thorax declared. "Don't want those poor eggs being harmed." "A wise decision, sire." Wallcrawler smiled. "Well, it wasn't exactly my idea..." Thorax muttered, as Wallcrawler moved to fulfill his wishes. As Thorax continued through the hive, he found himself beset with more requests for his input and royal suggestions. He couldn't exactly blame them; Chrysalis's rule had little tolerance for free thinking. But having his new subjects look to him to solve all these problems weren't exactly easing his fears about the burdens of leadership. "Who knew being a ruler was so hard?" He sighed, as he took a quick rest in a side chamber. "Chrysalis made it look so easy. Then again, she was an overly-controlling tyrant..." Moments later, a trio of Changelings entered the chamber. "There you are, your highness." Hardshell, a light green Changeling with a jagged horn, declared. "We need your opinion on something, sire." Buzzwing, a dark yellow Changeling, stated. "Of course you do." Thorax sighed. "With Chrysalis gone, we thought perhaps that some of her private chambers could be given over to make more nests for our soon-to-be born hatchlings." Clack, a blue Changeling, suggested. "Unless of course, you have need of those chambers?" He asked awkwardly. "Believe me, I would prefer those chambers be put to good use." Thorax declared. "You can build those nests with my blessings." "Thank you, your highness." Buzzwing smiled. "Truly, you are a wise and noble King." "I'm glad you think so..." Thorax sighed. "Your highness?" Clack frowned. "Pardon my impertinence, but is everything alright?" "Sure, why would anything be wrong?" Thorax said sarcastically. "A few days ago, I was just a drone who had abandoned this hive. And now, I'm your King. It's not like that's a gigantic leap forward. And the fact that I was never prepared for this at all sure doesn't matter. Not in the least!" He shook his head. "Actually, it does. I barely know what I'm doing half the time! What kind of King can say that? Not the kind of King who should be in charge of anything, that's for sure..." Thorax took a few breaths, feeling a little better after his outburst. But only for a moment. He awkwardly realized he had just blurted out his uncertainties in front of three of his subjects. "We, er... didn't know you felt that way, sire." Clack admitted. "You've been doing so well. Guiding us, encouraging us..." "Well, I guess I'm just good at hiding it." Thorax shrugged. "The truth is, I don't know the first thing about ruling the hive, or about being a leader. I have no business being King..." The Changelings glanced worriedly at each other. "...With respect, your highness, that is utter nonsense." Hardshell said boldly. "Excuse me?" Thorax frowned, surprised by both the statement and Hardshell's audacity. "Hardshell is right, sire." Clack added. "You have every business being our King." "I do?" Thorax asked, even more surprised. "Of course. You were the only one of us who thought there might be another way of life for our kind." Hardshell declared. "The only one of us who even considered that a Changeling could be more than what Chrysalis made us out to be." "And while you did desert the hive, you also came back." Buzzwing smiled. "And you brought with you our salvation. A new way to do things. A way to free ourselves from our never-ending hunger. A way for us to evolve beyond the sneaking, deceitful parasites we once were." "Well, when you put it like that, I guess it does sound pretty good..." Thorax mumbled, still unsure. "But that doesn't necessarily mean I can be a good leader for all of you." "For the longest time, we believed Chrysalis was the greatest leader we could hope for." Hardshell scowled. "But now we know she never really cared about us, just herself. We were just tools to further her own agenda, to bring her stolen love so she could tyrannize all of Equestria. But you're not like her. You dared to reach out to the ponies the rest of us fed upon. To earn their love instead of taking it. And then you did something the rest of us would never have thought of: You willingly gave out that love. And in doing so, you showed us all what a Changeling can truly be. You led us all into a new age." "I guess I did, didn't I?" Thorax smiled humbly. "As far as we're concerned, you have earned the right to rule over us." Clack smiled. "We will gladly follow your lead. Whatever decisions you may make, we know they will be made with our best interests in mind... which is more than could be said about Chrysalis." "...You really believe in me that much?" Thorax asked, touched. "We do." Buzzwing nodded. "And not just us. All the Changelings in this hive believe in you, Thorax. All you have to do now is believe in yourself." Spurred on by their heartfelt words, Thorax felt the doubts within him shrinking, the burden on his shoulders lessening. "Thank you all." He smiled. "I needed to hear that. Now, can you do your King a favor? Have every Changeling gather in the throne room. I have an announcement to make." "As you wish... my King." Hardshell smiled. Thorax returned to the throne room, standing beside his throne. Before long, every mature Changeling in the hive had gathered before him. "Thank you all for coming." Thorax declared. "I think we're all well aware of the changes that have gone on in these few past few days. It's been quite hectic, to say the least. And I am humbled by the support and loyalty you have given to me. I'll admit, taking on the role of your new leader hasn't been easy, and I was... unsure of myself. But I know now that it is the role I am meant to play in this world." The Changelings bowed deeply. "But you should know, I don't need you to constantly bow to me, or take my every word as law." Thorax instructed them. "You shouldn't be afraid to speak up if you think I'm doing something wrong, because I'm not going to take offense, or force you to think otherwise. That was what Chrysalis did. To paraphrase a very wise pony, a true leader listens to his subjects when one of them finds a better way. And rest assured, I'm ready to listen. I may be your King, but we're all heading into this new life together, meaning you should have as much say as I do about where we're going." "Now those sound like the words of a true King." Hardshell said quietly. "I promise you all, I will do everything in my power to make my rule a benevolent one." Thorax said solemnly. "And I will do everything in my power to ensure the prosperty and survival of this hive. You have my word as your King." "Long live King Thorax!" Mandible cheered. "Long live the King!" The gathered Changelings chanted. Thorax smiled humbly, the support of his new subjects quashing most of his lingering doubts. Though there would always be a part of himself that would question his ability to rule, there was now a larger part that assured him he could do it. Bolstered by his subject's belief in him, Thorax tentatively took his place on the throne. 'Okay, this isn't so bad.' He mused. He looked upon his subjects, who were looking at him with a mix of reverence and encouragement. 'Maybe being King won't be so tough after all...'