//------------------------------//
// Three 
// Story: A Change in Perception 
// by Jade Ring 
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Shining Armor's office was his sanctum, his strong-hold against the constant issues and responsibilities that came with his position. Here and there on every wall were pictures and awards for his time as a royal guard. Mounted on the wall above the grand window that looked down on the palace grounds was a ceremonial spear that had been gifted to him by Celestia herself following his retirement. Or had it been a promotion? On his expertly carved marble desk were framed snapshots of his wife and daughter. Yes, here he was safe and secure. Totally sure of himself and his position in the world.

That was how it was most of the time, anyway.

Seated on the other side of the desk, going over a summary of notes Shining Armor had compiled following his meeting with his former queen-mother, sat Thorax, the King of the Changelings. His brows creased as he read, the only sound in the room the inexhaustible and never-ending ticking of the clock on the wall. The multi-colored monarch finally finished and looked up. "So... I just have to choose a mate?"

"I know. It seems a bit unfair to the other mated changelings that they can't produce eggs of their own..."

"Oh no, this all makes it much easier. Believe me." Thorax's face broke into a wide and easy smile. 

"How so?"

"The eggs are fertilized by love, right? And the mated pairs obviously have great love for one another. The new queen can produce the clutches, and those who wish to have grubs of their own can just take one of those and use their own love to hatch it."

Shining Armor thought about it, and then nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Of course, you’d have to find yourself a queen first."

"That, ah, might not be too much of a problem." Thorax's face went a darker shade of green. "I've been talking to... someone...."

Shining Armor grinned. "Somepony special?"

"I think so."

"That's good."

Thorax cleared his throat. "Is this... is this the part when I ask for fatherly advice?"

Shining Armor stiffened, his smile flickering. "Um... I don't..."

"I'm sorry." Thorax offered quickly, "I was just trying to lighten the mood. Make a joke..."

Shining Armor quickly realized how his reaction must have looked, and he held out a protesting hoof. "No, it's alright. It's just..." He sighed, lowering his hoof back to the desk. "This is why you're here, isn't it? To talk about it, I mean."

Thorax nodded, slowly slumping into his chair. 

"Well… let's talk about it then. Stallion to stallion." The unicorn leaned forward and took a deep breath. "What exactly is it that you want?"

"Want?" Thorax looked up quickly. "What do you mean?"

"You obviously had some reason for telling me."

"Well... yeah. I just..." Thorax sighed. "I really just thought you deserved to know. That I exist, I mean. I mean, if I somehow had a child out there that I didn't know about, I think I'd want to know about it."

"You're right. And now I know." Shining Armor held his hooves out in the air. "So… now what?"

"I... I don't know.” Thorax looked lost, like a child in the woods. “I mean, we're still friends, aren’t we? That doesn't have to change at least."

"Of course it doesn't. But..." Shining Armor remembered his wife's words and decided to tread carefully. "I just don't know what you expect to come from this." He saw Thorax's antlers drooping once again and backpedaled. "What I'm trying to say is that I can't lie to you about your... your becoming. You weren't exactly borne from love."

"But I was." Thorax looked away. "It was your love for Cadance that made me happen, remember?"

"That's technically correct..."

"I'm not going to lie to myself, Shining Armor.” Thorax looked up with new conviction. “I know who, and what, my mother was. I know that neither of you meant for me to exist. But even though it was evil and deception that led to my birth... I'm still glad it happened. I’m glad to be alive.” He looked down at the desk’s surface. “And I'm glad that you're my father. You’re the best stallion I’ve ever met. You’re everything I aspire to be. You’re a wise ruler, a brilliant warrior… You take care of your family and friends, and you wouldn’t hesitate at all, even for a moment, to help them or come to their aid. Even before I knew you were my father, I idolized you."

Shining Armor was silent, listening intently.

"And now? Now everything makes so much more sense. I always knew I was different from my brothers and sisters, and now I know why. I'm the first changeling in millennia to have a biological father. Now everything I've done? The metamorphosis? The change in the hive? It has context. It makes sense." Thorax had straightened up in his seat as he continued, and now he sat proud and erect as he looked across the desk at his sire. "All the best parts of me? They came from you."

"Hey, you did all those things way before you knew I was... y'know." Shining Armor hated that he couldn't bring himself to say the words, but he pressed on. "You don't need context. You never did. You're the king you are today because of who you are.” He leaned forward and gestured at the changeling. “Who made you? It doesn't really mean all that much. All I did was give you a start, and then a little help along the way. The rest? That was all you, big guy."

Thorax nodded. "So then... you just did for me what most fathers do. Right? A good start and a nudge here and there?"

"Huh." Shining Armor considered the idea. "You know... I hadn't thought about it like that."

"Can I ask you a question now?" Shining Armor waved him on, and he continued. "Are you... angry that I told you?"

Shining Armor winced. "Angry isn’t the right word. I'm not going to lie; it's a shock. A nasty one. But... there are worse things to be told, I'm sure."

A pause. "Have you told Cadance?"

Shining Armor nodded. "Of course. She's my wife. I tell her everything."

"And how did she take it?"

"She's... fine, I guess. She's mostly worried that somepony could find out about this and use it to their advantage."

Thorax cocked his head in confusion. "Advantage?"

"You're my..." He choked. Again. "You're technically, by your age, the heir to the Crystal Empire."

"But I'm already a king." Thorax laughed slightly. "Or do you really think I'd muster my troops and descend like a great dark wave as we did in the old days?"

Shining Armor had to laugh too. Try as he might, in the light of day he could not see the happy-go-lucky creature before him as any kind of ruthless conqueror. "No, I don't think so."

"I don't want to be your heir. Flurry Heart can have the Crystal Empire. I just want..." Thorax choked up slightly. "I just wanted you to know who, and what, I am. That's all. If no one else ever finds out, then that'll be fine. You're the only one who deserves to know. The only one that really matters."

A thought occurred to the unicorn and he glanced back at the window. Far below, he could see the various dots of his crystal ponies engaging with their changeling visitors. "As it happens, I have a question for you as well.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you told anyone else?"

"Not really. Just Pharynx."

"Ah." The possibility that Thorax's brood mate might somehow also be his offspring suddenly popped unbidden into his mind. "And...?"

"And he's one hundred percent changeling, to his very great personal satisfaction, I should add. Nothing against you, of course, but he's a proud traditionalist. As far as I can tell, I was the one lucky egg in the whole clutch to get something from you that wasn’t your love."

Something in the way his voice strained pulled at Shining Armor's heart. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then simply stood and went around the desk to the king's side. "You've got my love too, kiddo. You had it as my friend. That hasn't changed. Not one bit."

Thorax tried to smile, but it looked false.

Shining Armor exhaled and sat down on his haunches. "This... this isn't going to be easy. For either of us. I know that. But..." He steeled himself and met his progeny's eyes. "But I wouldn't be doing right by you to deny your existence. You... you are my son, Thorax." The changeling's violet eyes widened on hearing the word come from Shining Armor's mouth for the first time. "You are my son, and I won't hide it from anyone or pretend otherwise. Not for anypony or anycreature.” He put out a hoof and laid it on Thorax’s chitinous shoulder. “I'm proud of you, and of everything you've ever done. You've saved your kind, given them a better way of life... you're the best leader they've ever had. A stallion would have to be a fool to not be proud of you." 

"Thank... thank you." Thorax wiped his eyes quickly. "Sorry..."

"Hey, you being that quick to tear up just shows another way you're like your old man."

The two laughed, and Thorax nimbly jumped down from his chair. "Can I ask one more question?"

"Sure."

"Can... can I have a hug?"

Shining Armor didn't hesitate for a second. He pulled his son into the tightest bear-hug he could muster, one that Thorax eagerly returned. Revealed to each other in the light of day at last, father and son shared their first moment as such and relished it.

"I love Flurry Heart, and you can never tell her this, but the truth is that I've always wanted a son." Shining Armor whispered, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

"Glad I could help." Thorax laughed, trying his best not to sniffle.

"Speaking of Flurry." Shining Armor pulled away, coughing to clear his throat. "We should probably head upstairs and tell her the good news."

"Good news?"

"That her Uncle Thorax is actually her big brother. She’s going to be thrilled."

Thorax's broad grin matched his sire's, and the two left the office together, side by side.

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A few days later, Shining Armor's office remained very much the same. Save for one small change, anyway. One of those blink and you'd miss it kind of things.

There was a new photo on his desk of a smiling and decidedly not pony-like kind of creature. Should any visitor in the many years to come ever ask why there was a photograph of the King of the Changelings on the desk of the Prince of the Crystal Empire, right next to pictures of his wife and daughter no less, Shining Armor was always quick and sure with the answer.

"Oh that? That’s Thorax. He's my son. And I’m very proud of him."