//------------------------------// // Royal Relations // Story: Pony Tails // by Bluecatcinema //------------------------------// Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were at the Crystal Empire's train station, waiting for a special guest. They were flanked by a small squad of Crystal Guards, who were all standing to attention. "It's almost time, and there's no sign of him." Shining Armor frowned. "He'll be here." Cadance declared. "He's not exactly taking the train, you know." "I just hope he's able to make it." Shining Armor admitted. "Why wouldn't he?" Cadance asked. "Maybe something came up." Shining Armor suggested. "Suddenly being in charge of an entire kingdom is a tricky thing to get a handle on. We know that better than most." "Boy, do we." Cadance admitted. "But he was the one who suggested this little visit. I can't see him not showing up." "I hope you're- wait, there!" Shining Armor pointed up to the sky. "I think I see him!" In the distance was a small speck, which was gradually getting closer. "That looks like him." Cadance smiled... then noted a few other specks joining the first. "And it looks like he brought some friends." "The more the merrier." Shining Armor smiled. The specks drew nearer, finally coming into focus. They were King Thorax and several of the transformed Changelings from his hive, having come to the Crystal Empire for a goodwill visit; A sign of the improved relations between the newly-transformed Changeling hive and Equestria. One by one, they landed in front of Shining Armor and Cadance. "Welcome back to the Crystal Empire, King Thorax." Shining Armor smiled. "Hello again, Shining Armor." Thorax nodded. "Princess Cadance." He indicated his companions. "These are my... royal advisory council: Mandible, Scuttle, Wallcrawler, Hardshell, Buzzwing, and Clack." "Greetings, your majesties." Mandible smiled, as the group bowed to Shining Armor and Cadance. "Welcome." Cadance declared. "We hope this isn't too much of an imposition." Scuttle said awkwardly. "Of course not." Shining Armor grinned. "Thorax's subjects are as welcome here as he is." "So there's no hard feelings about the whole 'kidnapping you and your baby' thing?" Clack asked nervously. "We prefer not to live in the past." Cadance assured him. "Besides, you did kind of make up for it afterwards. Your mass metamorphosis freed us from the cocoons, and you all stood with the rest of us against Chrysalis." "We'd seen the light by then." Wallcrawler declared. "Chrysalis wasn't the leader for us, and she never was." "We were just too blinded by fear and hunger to ever see it until that moment." Buzzwing admitted. "But now we have a new leader." Hardshell grinned. "A real leader. A leader we're proud to serve." "Oh, come on, guys." Thorax said awkwardly. "I appreciate all the confidence you have in me, but... you're embarassing me." "You get used to it." Shining Armor told him. "The Crystal Ponies gave us a lot of adulation when we first took charge." "Considering their last ruler was a tyrannical shadow pony, you can't really blame them." Cadance joked. "But they eased off over time. They still bow and show respect, but not so much it gets a little... uncomfortable." "Let's hope it works that way for me." Thorax sighed. "Now then, what do you say we make our way to the castle?" Shining Armor suggested. "We can discuss matters more from there." "With pleasure." Thorax nodded. "Come along, everypony." Thorax's council obediently followed, as did the Guards, as the royals headed into the Crystal Empire. As they walked through the glimmering streets, Thorax felt a pang of nostalgia. It felt so good to be back, in the first place where he was accepted for being himself. He had missed his old home greatly during his time ruling over the Changeling kingdom. To once again walk the streets, breathe the air, and see the dazzling architecture, was truly a joy. Of course, the arrival of Thorax and his council had drawn the attention of the Crystal Ponies. Some was astonished, others amazed. One orange-colored Crystal Mare approached Thorax, gazing at him like she couldn't believe her eyes. Her name was Jasper, and not too long ago, she had been Thorax's neighbor. Thorax had always found her to be a pleasant and funny mare. "Thorax?" She asked. "Is that really you?" "If you wouldn't mind giving the King some space, ma'am?" Wallcrawler stepped in. "It's okay, Wallcrawler." Thorax raised a friendly hoof. "She's an old friend." "Oh, uh... of course." Wallcrawler stepped back, worried he had overstepped his boundaries. "Hello, Jasper." Thorax smiled. "Yes, it's me." "Wow." Jasper looked him up and down. "The Prince and Princess told us you'd changed, but... I never imagined this. You're... huge!" "I guess you could say that." Thorax said sheepishly. More Crystal Ponies approached Thorax. "Wow, look at him!" One sapphire colt smiled. "Check out those horns!" An emerald colt added. "Easy kids." Buzzwing chuckled. "Don't crowd the King." "Looks like you've got more members for your fan club." Shining Armor teased Thorax. "I don't blame them." Cadance smiled. "We've all missed you here, Thorax." "I've missed you all too." Thorax beamed. "Well, look who's back." An amethyst-colored stallion frowned as he approached Thorax. "Thought you'd moved on to bigger and better things." "Excuse me?" Thorax asked. "You sure ditched us pretty quick, didn't you?" The stallion sneered. "After we accepted you into our community, you just up and left us to become the King of the Changelings. Some gratitude you've got." "Burgundy!" Jasper scowled. "It's true, isn't it?" Burgundy declared. "He just up and left one day. Now he's come back so he can slum it with the commoners." "I'd watch myself if I were you, pal." Clack growled. "Just because we Changelings don't want to take over Equestria any more doesn't mean we'll let you ponies walk all over us... or insult our King." "Clack." Thorax said firmly. Clack stepped back, chastised. "I'm sorry if any of you feel like I abandoned you." Thorax apologized. "You shouldn't be." Shining Armor declared. "Everypony here knows you helped to save us, Celestia, Luna, and Twilight and her friends." "But he decided to stay in the Changeling Kingdom, didn't he?" Burgundy snorted. "I had no choice." Thorax declared. "The Changelings needed a new leader, and that responsibility fell to me. I hadn't meant for things to turn out this way, but that's just how they went." "We don't hold it against you, Thorax." Jasper smiled... before glaring at Burgundy. "Well, most of us." "I think it's kinda cool." The sapphire colt smiled. "We knew the King before he was a King!" The rest of the crowd added in the affirmative, while Burgundy simply scowled and turned away. "Thank you all." Thorax smiled. "You've all been so good to me. I've really missed living among you. But while I need to stay and lead my new subjects, the Crystal Empire, and all of the Crystal Ponies, will always hold a special place in my heart." The Crystal Ponies smiled, touched. "Aw, jeez..." Hardshell wiped a tear from his eye. "Are you crying?" Scuttle smirked. "No, just got some... crystal dust in my eye." Hardshell fibbed. "While this is a really lovely moment, I'm afraid King Thorax needs to join us at the castle." Cadance declared. "Hopefully, I'll see you all again soon." Thorax declared. "I sure hope so." Jasper grinned. "You rule, Thorax... literally!" The emerald colt chuckled. With the cheers of the Crystal Ponies following them, the group made their way to the castle. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself." Wallcrawler mused. "They really do like Thorax. No wonder he decided to live here after leaving the hive..." "Well, it didn't go exactly like that." The Captain of the Guard admitted. "We weren't too welcoming of him at first, but after a little convincing, we decided to give him a chance." "Still pretty hard to believe, though." Buzzwing admitted. "Few Changelings have managed to fit in with non-Changelings like that." "I remember this one guy... Kevin, I think his name was." Hardshell shrugged. "He was friends with a donkey. Or maybe it was a mule..." "Remember how we used to think Changelings like him were crazy?" Clack snorted. "Doesn't seem so crazy now, huh?" As they reached the palace, Sunburst was waiting for them, carrying Flurry Heart in one hoof. "Sunburst." Thorax smiled. "It's been a while." "It's good to see you again, old friend." Sunburst smiled. "Even if I wasn't expecting to see you looking quite so... different. I've heard descriptions, but they don't quite measure up to the real deal." "Well, at least one of us looks the same as ever." Thorax chuckled. "There's somepony else who wants to say hello." Sunburst held up Flurry Heart. "Hello, Flurry Heart." Thorax smiled. "I'm not sure if you recognize me. I don't look quite the same as I did when we first met..." "'Rax!" Flurry Heart placed a hoof on Thorax's nose. "I'd say she recognizes you." Sunburst grinned. "'Rax! 'Rax!" Flurry Heart giggled. "It's good to see you too." Thorax lightly tapped Flurry Heart's nose, making her giggle."Shall we go inside?" "Of course." Cadance nodded. The group made their way into the throne room. Food had been provided for the guests. Now that they no longer needed to feast on love, the Changelings were more than happy to eat regular food. "So, has there been any sign of Chrysalis lately?" Thorax asked. "Not just yet." Sunburst admitted. "As for the Changelings posing as the royal family, they fled before we could apprehend them." "They did?" Clack frowned. "Poor guys." "'Poor guys'?" The Captain frowned. "They're totally clueless as to what happened." Mandible explained. "They don't know that they can finally free themselves from their hunger, like we did." "If that's the case, then they're probably still loyal to Chrysalis." The Captain frowned. "That could be a problem." "From what we've heard, the Changelings posing as Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Princess Twilight and her friends also managed to evade capture." Another Guard noted. "And there's been no sign of any of them since?" Thorax inquired. "As far as we know, Chrysalis and her remaining loyalists seem to have gone underground for now." Shining Armor declared. "We're keeping an eye out for them, though. And if they do show themselves again, we'll be ready." "I don't think Chrysalis will try anything just yet." Thorax surmised. "Not with so few under her control." "Agreed, sire." Hardshell nodded. "She'll most likely be biding her time, waiting for what she thinks is the perfect moment to strike." "If she ever decides the time is right, you can count on the assistance of myself and my subjects." Thorax told Shining Armor and Cadance. "The Crystal Empire may not be my home any more, but I am more than willing to help defend it." "Thank you, Thorax." Cadance smiled. "And know that you and your subjects will always be welcome here." "Funny, that sort of thing didn't really matter to us before." Wallcrawler mused. "Now it feels kind of nice to know we have friends in Equestria." "We've been feeling a lot of new things since the big change." Scuttle admitted. "New, but... good. Guess it's just another benefit of our new way of life." "And we owe it all to our new King." Buzzwing smiled. "It's funny." Shining Armor declared. "Not so long ago, I didn't think there was such a thing as a nice Changeling. But boy, I was wrong. And now look at us." "When I first came to the Crystal Empire, I never imagined things would turn out this way." Thorax admitted. "Even in my wildest dreams, I never imagined myself becoming a King." "Well, we never imagined we'd come to rule over an Empire that had been lost for a thousand years." Cadance, grinning, indicated herself and Shining Armor. "Fate works in mysterious ways, Thorax. But it's usually for the better." "No argument here." Thorax grinned. "Or here." Clack smirked. "But it was only because of the love I gained while living here that I was able to transform the way I did." Thorax declared. "I can never thank you enough for accepting me, and letting me be part of your kingdom." "And we can never thank you enough for saving us." Cadance retorted. "So I guess that makes us even." "And if you and your subjects ever need help, you only have to ask." Shining Armor smiled. "And the same to you, my friends." Thorax grinned. "Speaking of asking, you wouldn't happen to have more of those juicy beryl berries, would you?" Scuttle held up an empty plate. "Of course." Cadance chuckled. "Those berries are Flurry Heart's favorite. We always have a plentiful supply at hoof." "You've got good taste, kid." Scuttle told Flurry Heart. "Mmm!" Flurry Heart rubbed her tummy, having had some pureed beryl berries herself, and licked her juice-stained lips. Not long after, Thorax and his advisors made to depart, the cheers of the Crystal Ponies following them. "Come back soon!" Jasper called. "Sooner!" The sapphire colt added. "I'll certainly try." Thorax threw a smile back at them. Together, Thorax and his advisors took off into the sky, bound for their own kingdom. "That wasn't half bad." Buzzwing admitted. "No kidding." Clack nodded. "Those ponies are pretty nice, once you get to know them." Hardshell mused. "Really get to know them, not just learn their habits so you can impersonate them." "Well, that goes without saying..." Mandible shrugged. "I'm beginning to see why you decided to live there, my King." Wallcrawler told Thorax. "Those ponies really are a great bunch." "They are." Thorax nodded. "And now that we're at peace with them, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of each other." "You'll get no complaints from me." Scuttle grinned. "Especially if the rest of their food is that good..." Thorax smiled happily. It had felt good to return to the Crystal Empire, the first place that had ever felt like home to him. Though that chapter of his life was now over, he would never forget the good times he'd had there, and he would keep those memories in his heart as he continued down his new path in life.