Now!
“I’m terrified,” Thorax admitted, his heart beating like a drum and his wings buzzing in agitation. “Like, I’m seriously terrified here. Think I might fall over. I’m so not up for this.”
“Relax, okay?” Smolder said. “You got this, you seriously got this. Isn’t the first speech you’ve given in front of a crowd is it? Imagine them with bags over their heads or something.”
“I’d probably break down laughing, and that’s not exactly the first impression I want to give to anyone is it?”
Smolder chuckled. “Probably not, no…” she admitted.
Then!
Lava flowed and bubbled up to the surface in great gasps of magma, the earth cracking beneath the party’s every step. Fissures hissed out smoke and steam, Gallus looking nervous at the sights and sounds of the Badlands.
“...you used to live here?” Spike asked.
“Oh, it’s not so bad,” Thorax said, trying to downplay it. “I mean, a few throw rugs here and there and it’ll be rather homely. Maybe a ficus or two.”
“Amazing,” Spike muttered as he looked back up at the massive Changeling hive, partially hidden by a tall cliffside. “...that’s gotta be draining the life out of this whole place, she’s sucking it dry just because she’s hoarding all of that life energy for herself. Shoving it into her throne just to power her anti-magic runes.”
As a Beast Maker, who carved and crafted the world from the very life essence of the planet, Spike was nothing less than absolutely disgusted.
“Throne’s covered with them,” Thorax agreed. “We’ve always known about them of course, who in the Hive hasn’t. Chrysalis freely bragged about them, never thinking any changeling would betray her. And why would they? They’re terrified, or head over heels for her. But yeah, the throne? She always called it her own personal form of insurance.”
“And she was your mother?” Gallus said with no small amount of disgust.
“Well, that’s what she liked to think of herself as, the Hivemother but… but looking back now, I wonder would any true Hivemother do this to her kingdom?”
“No,” Spike breathed, putting a claw on his friend’s shoulder. “No, they wouldn’t.”
Thorax smiled weakly. “Throughout my whole life I’ve been surrounded by enemies. If we die doing this, let it be a death amongst friends.”
“You honestly thought you were going to die?” Smolder asked. “Like, seriously, honestly?”
“It’s Chrysalis,” Thorax said. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if she didn’t take my rotting corpse and display it on a pike for all to see outside the hive. A warning to future traitors. But obviously, not dead so uh, all’s fine and dandy.”
“How’d you even get out of there alive?” Ember asked, the pink dragoness finagling with Thorax’s robes. Her glasses rested on her face, with a collection of sewing needles in one claw, and a spool of emergency thread in another.
“Oh, I’m getting to that…” Thorax continued. “You see, what we didn't expect or even conceive of was to gain an unexpected ally…”
Together, under cover of darkness the group eventually made it into the caves deep beneath the hive, and hopefully swiftly and silently they could find their way up into the main hive itself.
“...I’d hoped I’d never have to return here,” Thorax said as they climbed, his head lowering in fear. His wings buzzed nervously, so many chances at getting caught… “I still have the nightmares you know. The buzzing… I don’t think I’ll ever truly forget it. Of a hive on the march.”
“When, not if, when we win and free our friends, you’ll never have to come back here again, Thor,” Spike said, keeping a careful eye on the darkened tunnels in case of ambush. “You shouldn’t have to suffer anymore.”
“But what about… them? My brothers and sisters?” Thorax asked. “We’re seeking to depose a tyrant, and when -not if- we do? What then? They’ll be directionless, and seeking a new purpose in life. Some will likely go mad in the first few days without someone to connect them to the hive. Someone has to be the Queen… or the King.”
Gallus, Kevin, and Spike all looked at Thorax in wide-eyed shock.
“...No, you’re not seriously saying that…” Kevin whispered.
“Oh, if I have to, I will,” Thorax decided, eyes narrowed in determination. “I can’t just leave my family behind.”
“They were all too happy to leave you behind, stab you in the back!” Gallus shouted before quickly being shushed as his voice reverberated throughout the caverns.
“They don’t know any better, and they’re under orders,” Thorax replied. “Besides, what would you have me do? Let someone possibly even worse than Chrysalis take over? It’s either let the hive fall to chaos and have it’s members disperse, or maybe have someone take advantage of the insanity and become even a worse ruler than Chrysalis? Or… or take over myself and lead this hive to a new dawn.”
“You’ve… You’ve really thought about this haven’t you?” Kevin asked.
“I have, actually,” Thorax said softly. “When you’re lying around in a castle with very little to do but recover, you tend to think back to your own upbringing. About how you wished some things could have been better. I can’t change the past, but I can change the future. I realized now that I have a chance to make that change? It would be foolish, no it would be criminal to not take that chance! I have a duty to my brothers and sisters to see that the next generation of grubs don’t grow up the way I did. The way we did.”
His voice was firm, unwavering. None of that previous fear present in it at all. Gone was the poor sickly grub Spike had found out in the cold, scared for his own life. Now… now in front of him was a possible future king. No, more than that. A savior for his entire race. He smiled proudly, wiping away a tear from his eye.
“And they say kindness doesn’t pay off.” Spike thought.
“Well, glad to see you’ve finally made up your mind,” came a voice from above and everyone looked up. A changeling with a spear, and aggressive looking eyes. Gallus readied his blade. “...oh, don’t bother, griffon. I’d have you on the floor before you even knew what hit you. Remember, this is my hive.”
“Don’t suppose we can convince you that we’re filly scouts here to sell cookies?” Gallus asked weakly.
“...or that you should let us on by?” Spike added, before Thorax rushed by and embraced the larger changeling in a hug.
“Pharynx!” he cried, sobbing into his brother’s shoulder.
“...Oh, let go of me you nymph,” Pharynx grumbled, gently shoving him away. “See, see, this is why I don’t like you. You’re way too emotional. Nice to see you’ve got some spine, though coming back here? I do wonder if you got hit over the head one too many times. If Chrysalis finds you…”
The lack of her title didn’t go unnoticed by anyone present.
“W-Wait, sorry, have I missed something?” Gallus asked, scratching his head. “I’m confused. Who the Hell is this? Like, what in Enlil’s name is going on here?”
“Oh, so you’re my future brother in law?” Pharynx asked. “...huh, I could have sworn it was going to be the dragon!”
“Gallus, meet my brother Pharynx. Pharynx, meet Gallus.”
“...he’s too skinny,” Pharynx decided after a few minutes. “Needs some meat on those bones. No way in hell is he going to be able to protect you.”
“Hey, I like skinny. Plus, I’m long and lean. I’m like a panther!” Gallus said.
“Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that,” Pharynx said, making a little mocking motion with his hoof. “Oh, by the way? All this blabber? It’s going to bring the guards down on top of you within a few minutes. So if you’re going to get moving, better get moving.”
“...your brother huh?” Gallus said to his friend. “...was he always this rude?”
“I heard that!” Pharynx grumbled. “...Oh, there’s no way in hell this little coup is going to work with your brand of idiocy. You’re lucky I’m the guard that found you, and not one of the others.”
“Pharynx, when did you…”
“Betray the Queen?” Pharynx said, finishing Kevin’s thought for him. “...Mhmm, turns out that there are some things thicker than the loyalty to your kingdom. Ugh, great. Starting to go off all sappy on you. Bleagh.”
“He loves me,” Thorax said to Kevin with an aside glance.
“Don’t even joke,” Pharynx said, shoving the foursome onwards with his spear. “I’m only doing this just because Chrysalis is going to get us all killed because of her hate-boner for dragonkind.”
Nobody present actually believed him.
“Now, please tell me if any one of you have an acting degree?” Pharynx asked with a tilt of his head. “If you’re going to be my prisoners to present to Chrysalis, you gotta make it at least half-way believable…”
“Wait wait, I know I was cocooned for most of this, but… really?” Smolder asked. “You actually trusted your brother that much? I know how this sounds but…”
“Then if you know how it sounds, don’t say it,” Thorax growled, surprising even himself with his boldness. Smolder actually looked proud of him for that. “If there’s one creature who I would trust with my life beside Spike, it’s my brother. He was there for me when nobody else was, so I at least owe him that. He got me out of that nightmare, remember?”
“If you say so…” Ember murmured. “I’m just half expecting for you to suddenly wind up in Chrysalis’ throne room, and in chains!”
“Well, you’d be half right then!” Thorax continued to explain…
“My Queen!” Pharynx buzzed as he lead his four prisoners inside the truly massive throne room. Thorax gulped as a series of memories hit him like a tidal wave. There she was, laying on her throne. Chrysalis, queen of the hive. Queen of all that was.
“Well, good to see you know how to follow orders, drone 3756,” Chrysalis said, slinking towards him like some large cat. Thorax knew that she knew his name, she just cared not to mention it. “Now perhaps you can follow these. Attend to me…”
She leered at him with a predatory grin, and pounced.
As soon as Queen Chrysalis spied her favorite drone, her predatory grin returned. Above her was a truly massive selection of green cocoons. Thorax let out a small whimper, both at who he was in the presence of and the fact that directly above him were Cadence and Princess Celestia herself captured and helpless.
“Well, well. Drone 3756, or… Thorax is it? Nice name, interesting name. No, boring name. A bit cliche. It’s like you happened to choose the least interesting name possible for a drone,” Chrysalis babbled as she strode around the group like some massive cat, her horn glowing with a faint light. “Of course, that’s probably the genius of it. At least to you. You’re like everyone else, you thought I wouldn’t take notice when you left the hive. You were right, I didn’t take notice. At least for a while. But then I got bored, and a mare has needs you know? So I went looking for you, given you were the best time of my life…”
“Stay away from him…” Spike rumbled baring his teeth before green changeling slime pinned him to the floor. Gallus’ sword was ripped from his claws with a similar substance, and stuck to a wall.
“Stay… stay away from him? Oh could you get any more cliche?” Chrysalis said. “Honestly! You’re like a pack of storybook characters. Sadly, this isn’t a fairy tale. The good guys don’t come out on top, and the dragon isn’t slayed. Hell, there won’t be any dragons slain at all. Why deprive myself of a perfectly good food source?”
She stroked a hoof along Spike’s jaw.
“I mean, hello! You’re a nice strong drake, and troublesome as you are you’ll fall into line pretty quickly. I can sense the love for your wife,” Chrysalis shifting shape and becoming a proper copy of Smolder. “Easy to use.”
“We’ll see,” Spike snarled defiantly. “That throne of yours? It’s getting shattered.”
“Oh, so you do know about what it can do? Well, you do know then you can say goodbye to your firepower. Your flames have been… snuffed,” Chrysalis said. “So ends the tale of Spike the Brave and Glorious. Oh, don’t even bother trying to escape or perform some daring feat of heroics. Strong as you are, you’re still surrounded.”
Sure enough, from all sides came at least a hundred changeling drones.
“This… yeah, Spike?” Gallus said. “I don’t like these odds.”
Kevin buzzed about nervously. Chrysalis spied him and grinned madly.
“Oh right, I've heard about you. You wanted to live a normal life as a wife and have a couple kids rights? Well, here to tell you boy that I can’t let that happen,” Chrysalis said as Kevin felt themself begin to grow weaker and weaker, a mist of pink energy being sucked away from them by Chrysalis. “Have to make an example of you, show that treachery and ideals above your station is not how I roll. Remember, you belong to me boy.”
“Leave them alone!” Thorax said before Chrysalis returned to him.
“Them? Oh please, you can be one gender or... well, you can be one gender. It’s what you were assigned with, and end of story,” Chrysalis said. “It’s… perverted to think otherwise. He is a perversion of the natural order!”
With one mighty swing of her hoof, Chrysalis slapped Kevin sending them tumbling to the floor. They gasped for breath, Gallus pulling them close with a wing. If looks could kill, Chrysalis would be six feet under.
Ignoring this, she returned to Pharynx stroking his head with a hoof.
“Well, at least there’s someone I can count on around here,” she remarked. “Loyal as always, maybe a promotion is in order? How’d you like it, Captain of the Guard? My royal guard? It’s an aspiration to reach isn’t it? I know it is, I’ve heard you. Let it be said I’m not a rewarding Queen!”
“Sorry…” Pharynx said, bringing out twin knives and stabbing upwards, Chrysalis letting out a howl of pain. As she staggered backwards, bleeding and attempting to pry the knives out, Pharynx got to work on freeing his ‘captives. “But… Well, as I said before. Some things run thicker than loyalty to one’s Queen.”
Soon Spike was free, and sent changeling drones flying with a swing of his tail.
“HOW DARE YOU!?!” Chrysalis snarled, finally prying the blades out of her body. “You could have had it all!”
“I already do,” Pharynx said, tackling her to the floor even as Spike went for the throne. Guards dressed in armor blocked his path. “And frankly, you haven’t been my Queen in a long time. Not since you touched my brother.”
“He should have been honored!” Chrysalis said changing to a black dragon, with a purple underbelly and blasting Pharynx away with green flame. Pharynx slid back, and changed to the form of Princess Cadence, slashing at Chrysalis’ belly with Gallus’ sword.
“Oh, is that what you call it? Honored?” Pharynx said, slashing at her again. Rage filled his veins, his blood pumping. “Rape is rape! No honor about it!”
“At one point, you would have submitted to me like he did!” Chrysalis said slamming Pharynx into the wall with her massive tail. Spider-web style cracks ruptured out from where Pharynx impacted.
Groaning, Pharynx fell to the floor with a flash of green fire, resuming his original state. He was soon surrounded by guards pointing pikes at him.
“Run, brother!” he said. “Save yourself.”
Thorax shared a nod with his brother, and looked back at the throne. And so he ran.
“Wise choice!”
But not towards the exit. Towards the drones, and he leaped atop a rock. “Look at yourselves, is this what you really want? Are you happy serving this madmare? She willingly sends you to your deaths, orders you to suicide bomb a city protected by the most powerful of love magic. Is that life?”
Chrysalis snarled, firing a magic blast at him. But Thorax leaped to another rock.
“Think about it. Is it really living? She steals half of the love we take for herself. Look outside! Is that where you really want to live? It wasn’t always like this, I know. It used to be so beautiful. But this madmare sucked all the life energy dry just to feed her own hunger for power!”
“Go Thorax…” Spike said as he stepped in front of several drones, almost daring them to try anything.
Chrysalis fired a magic blast at him, but the blast simply bounced off his now hardened adult scales. So she tried to kill Thorax but he flew to a higher ledge.
“I’ve been living amongst creatures of all sizes, ones great and small. Sharing in their love, not taking it. Turns out, it’s good for you. See these wings? Doesn’t this shine look right to you? We’re not supposed to be this way, I think,” he continued and was pleased to note a few murmurs of agreement and nods amongst the drones. “Think of our cousins the ponies. Each and every one of them is unique, so why aren’t we? Why aren’t we allowed to be unique? We all have names, not just numbers. We have identities! So why aren’t we allowed to reflect that?”
Noticing a distinctive change in the mood around her, and in her hive Chrysalis let out a: “SHUT UP!”
Again, she fired a magic blast at Thorax but he simply flew atop her own throne. And to her indignation, actually grinned cockily at her. “So, how about it Chrysalis, would you really risk destroying your own throne? Ask yourself, is it really worth it?”
Spike laughed as soon as he realized what Thorax had just done. Turn the hive against Chrysalis, and get her in such a position that if she had to kill him, she’d have to destroy the source of her own power to do it.
Chrysalis let out a shriek, consumed by her own rage and began ripping Thorax’s own love energy from him. “DIE!”
But as she was doing this, what she failed to notice was Spike’s tail swinging right at her. Chrysalis went flying, and was smashed into her own throne reducing it to rubble.
Chrysalis’ eyes narrowed, before she let out a squeak of terror as both Cadence and Celestia fell to face her, their horns crackling with magical energy...
Thorax took a deep breath and stepped out to greet the nobility of Canterlot.
Silence rang out as the crowd took in his new appearance. He looked truly regal. Turns out, sharing a lot of love did wonders for your appearance. He looked spectacularly regal, in a magnificent green, purple gems around his neck and twin truly striking pincher horns. His brother was by his side, in a similar appearance but in darker shades.
“I… I know you don’t have much reason to trust us,” Thorax started looking around the room, seeing very little support tossed his way. Most of the Canterlot nobles regarded him with at best outright skepticism. Others, it was outright hatred. They all remembered what his race had done a few years prior. So, it was his job -Thorax knew- to win them over. “I mean, why should you? To you, I’m a shapeshifting monster, the horror from under your bed. The creature from your nightmares, a warning from your parents! I accept that. We, as a people have done nothing to earn your praise and everything to earn your scorn.”
“...he does know how to start a speech,” Spike murmured to his wife from near the door, the two of them towering over the Royal Guards presiding over everything. The only creatures larger than them were the Royal Sisters.
“...I think he got it from you, Mate of Mine…” Smolder remarked with a gentle nudge.
“But, but! The time for fear is over. It is now the time of wisdom and understanding. We will work to be an example of how we as brothers and sisters on this planet should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers,” Thorax spoke. “What are we? The wise… or the foolish? We are cousins to each other, we’re all equine in a way. And what are equines but not sociable creatures? Loving creatures, understanding creatures? Friendly creatures? Isn’t that what you say? Friendship is magic? Seems to be the main rule of law ‘round here doesn’t it? Well, we’re just new creatures for you to make friends with right?”
He was watching the room, and watching some trust began to build in the eyes of his audience. Others were still more skeptic, but Roam wasn’t built in a day.
“And what of your Queen?” Chancellor Fancy Pants called out from his side of the room. “We’ve heard nothing about her. Forgive me for this King Thorax, but how do we know you’re not hiding her from us? How do we know she doesn’t still rule from the shadows, and you are only a puppet king? A simple shapeshift is a changeling’s speciality after all…”
Thorax knew he meant no offence. It probably would have been the first question he asked if he was in Fancy’s place.
“Chrysalis is dead,” Thorax said flashing back as the room went into an uproar.
“This isn’t the end of things you know,” Chrysalis snarled. “Drive me from this hive, I’ll build another. As long as there is hate and fear and prejudice and love to be stolen, well… I can thrive.”
“Then thrive no longer,” Celestia said, launching a magic blast at Chrysalis smashing her through a wall, and onto a rocky crag. “I made the mistake of not chasing after you once, and killing you while you were weak. I shall not make that same mistake ever again.”
“Doesn’t seem very friendly of you, Celly…” Chrysalis said, throwing up a shield to protect herself, but then the very ground began to melt out from under her. It began to turn into boiling magma, hissing with steam.
Chrysalis flew to another location, and threw up another shield as Celestia tossed fireballs at her.
“Yes, well, I’m no fool. Despite what ponies say about me, about how loving and tolerating I am? Even I have limits with my patience,” Celestia said, her next fireball shattering Chrysalis’ shield entirely. Her wings were burnt to a crisp, reduced to ashes in the wind. “You have repeatedly shown no remorse for your actions, and threatened my little ponies more than once. You have kidnapped my family, my sister. My student! You have put my kingdom, my ponies in harm's way in your mad quest for power. Now tell me Chrysalis, why should I forgive you?”
“Um, maybe w-we should consider this? Just a little?” Chrysalis backing up against a rock in fear. “Listen, listen! I can repent, become a perfectly functioning normal member of society!”
“Doubtful,” Celestia said before advancing. Chrysalis’s eyes widened in fear, before she flung a piece of mud into the Solar Regent’s eye, blinding her. She struck without mercy, a blast of magic forcing Celestia off of her hooves, and making her tumble to the earth.
Chrysalis charged, her horn ready to impale her archenemy before she was blasted into a rock face by Spyro.
“We have a stake in this too, remember?” he remarked as he helped the Princess to her hooves. “So don’t leave us out.”
“So shall we kill her together then?” Celestia asked as they advanced on Chrysalis. Celestia’s horn glowed gold while Spyro’s throat ignited with flame.
“Gladly, I want to see her get roasted!” Spyro snarled. “Nobody threatens my kid!”
Chrysalis was terrified, and she ran for it. But she forgot to watch which direction she was running towards, and with a scream over the cliff she went. Spyro looked over the edge, and immediately regretted it, wincing.
“...so falls Queen Chrysalis the Great,” Pharynx ruminated sadly.
“I can vouch for King Thorax’s statement,” Celestia said stepping forwards. “I was there to see Chrysalis’ death myself. It has been confirmed as her. No tricks, no more illusions. She is dead.”
“Her death, loathe as I am to admit it, was a tragedy. Maybe it’s a victim sticking up for their abuser, I dunno. But I believe Chrysalis could have been a truly great leader,” Thorax said. “Had her own lust for power and her pride not blinded her, it could be her speaking to you today. It could have been here speaking to you years earlier in fact, dragging the changelings out of the shadows far sooner than they sadly have been.”
“So you defend her?” an angry voice rose up, from Jet Set. “She was a monster! She tried to take over Canterlot!”
“No, I do not say her actions were just. They never were,” Thorax said. “I only ruminate on the great leader she could have been had her own greed not consumed her so. I’m too young, I admit. I’m not wise in the ways of leading. I only have… examples to go by, both good and bad. You’d have every reason not to trust me, Hivemother only knows what I could screw up in my inexperience! But… I think a wise leader admits when they are at fault, when they need help. Nobody’s perfect, even as much as we’d like to be. So, yeah, I’ll probably screw up a few things along the way. But I think everyone does. I don’t think anyone was born to lead. Not even Celestia or her sister.”
“Again, why should we trust you?” Upper Crust asked, and Thorax knew by the hate in her eyes she’d be impossible to win over. “You said it yourself, you’re one of the monsters from under our beds! You could be having your men secretly replace us one by one even as we speak! This could only be a front for your true intentions!”
“It could, yes,” Thorax admitted as he watched Celestia step up to defend him. He shook his head no, this was something he had to do himself. “But be careful, otherwise you expose yourself as a hypocrite!”
“How dare you!?!” Upper Crust shouted with Jet Set narrowing his eyes in rage. “Where do you get off saying…”
“One of your rulers was a monster once yes?” Thorax said, noting the look of shame in Upper’s eyes. “And yet you trust her. And you have apparently made nice with the very spirit of Chaos himself. So ask yourself, is it really so hard to make friends with a simple changeling king?”
Scattered applause met his words, some nobles nodding in approval.
“Oh… um, oh dear. I seem to be running out of things to say,” Thorax laughed nervously. “I guess I didn’t intend for this to go for this long I suppose! But what I’m trying to say, I guess, am I allowed to extend the hoof of friendship from my nation to your own?”
And then the applause grew to a thunder, the whole room stamping their hooves in approval. Shouts breached the air.
“Thorax! Thorax! All hail King Thorax!”
“Look at that,” Pharynx grinned. “I think you’ve actually beaten the odds again brother. I was half-expecting for you to get chased out of here with torches and pitchforks!”
“You had the guard standing by, didn’t you?” Thorax said disapprovingly. “Have a little faith in me, brother of mine!”
“Fine, fine, see if I come to help you at the next Royal Summit,” Pharynx rumbled before looking at his new appearance via a mirror. “...ugh, still not sure about any of this. I think I liked the old look better, looks less like someone puked crayons all over us.”
“Edgebug,” Thorax teased. “You probably would have done yourself all up in red and black if you could have. Am I right?”
“...Oh shut up,” Pharynx grumbled his facial flush confirming his brother’s suspicions. “So, all hail the king? Should we start bowing to you regularly, your highness? I know some of the younger grubs are already starting to do that, like Ocellus…”
“Ah, yes, well, that’s a habit I think we’ll have to break,” Thorax mumbled blushing a beet red. “I don’t intend to be worshipped as a god. I just want to be another changeling to them…”
“Hate to break it to you, but no simple changeling breaks Chrysalis’ centuries-long hold,” Pharynx said.
“...was that a compliment I heard?” Thorax asked. “I didn’t realize you gave those!”
“Don’t expect another, I still think you’re an idiot by the way,” Pharynx groused. “So, you expect to love your enemies into submission? Sing Kumbaya and all that? Cause, I’m going to tell you right now, I won’t support you next time you try something stupid like that again.”
“Again?” Thorax blinked. “...I wasn’t aware I did something stupid for a first time!”
“Yes, well, most people wouldn’t consider taking a throne and staging a coup a ‘smart move’. I’m so lucky you were dropped on your head when you were just an egg,” Pharynx drawled before smiling. “...but for the record, I’m so glad you were. I’ve never been more proud of you in all of my life.”
“Aww, so you do care!” Thorax said giving his brother a little noogie much to Pharynx’s great annoyance. The older, and now smaller actually changeling gave a small harumph.
“Yes, well, don’t let it get out. I still do have a reputation to keep up!”