//------------------------------//
// Chapter 22: A... Weird God 
// Story: The Side Character is a Deer 
// by Deergenerate 
//------------------------------//

"So let me get this straight?" The squeaky voice of Thorax said as he rubbed a hoof up and down his forehead. "You three just found him, in a cave?" 

Standing in front of him were Ocellus, Axilia, and Lumbar. Behind them were Pharynx, and Ka'Rel, who was currently kneeling at Thorax, a position he had been in for the past several minutes while Ocellus and Pharynx explained what happened while the king was away. They were all at the top of the hive, just in front of the King's wooden throne.

The three nymphs all nodded at once to Thorax's claim. Instantly the king let out a rather high-pitched whimper, which made Ka'rel raise his head and cock his head to the side. 

The lime-colored ling started to pace back and forth in front of them. "Oh what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do!" He said, as he hobbled around on three legs. He was nervously chewing on his fourth. "Everyling were already so suspicious of me back in Canterlot... it'd only get worse if I brought him to them. Oh, but keeping him hidden would only make things even worse!" 

"Hey, Thorax, what's wrong?" Pharynx said frowning as he approached. 

"Oh n-nothing much, don't worry about me!" Thorax said quickly turning around and facing his brother with a very obviously fake smile. "It's just that, oh, armored changelings that look exactly like him just attacked Equestria and a statue presumably piloted by one almost just leveled Canterlot Castle. And now one just showed up at the hive, right after almost every other leader on the planet accused me of having some sort of secret army of... him that I am using to try to conquer the world." 

Ocellus and the Nymph's eyes all widened at once as Thorax started to hyperventilate. Pharynx slowly started to frown as sweat started pouring off Thorax's brow like a waterfall.

"And now I have to somehow go back to them with him and tell them 'Oh yeah, three little nymphs just found him in a cave just outside of the hive! I totally wasn't hiding him from you all!' Oh my stars, is it hot in here, or is it just me?!"

In a second, Pharynx slapped his brother across the face. "Hey! Calm down Thorax!" The prince said. No sooner did the words leave his mouth than did he suddenly have a blade against his throat. A halberd blade to be specific.

"You dare to lay your hoof upon the face of your god!" Ka'Rel suddenly roared beneath his helmet. "I know not whether to behead or behoof you for your nullfidianism!" 

Everyone was quiet for a second before they all spoke out at once. "His god?" Everyone instantly asked. Ka'Rel blinked under his helmet for a second, confusedly lowing his halberd. 

"Y-yes, his god. His Kes. Antlered Lord. What have you." Ka'Rel said looking at the nymphs, then to Pharynx and Thorax.

"I'm not any of those things," Thorax said, nervously approaching and slowly reaching for the Armored Ling's halberd, who didn't reject when he took it from him, handing it to Pharynx. "I am just their leader... not by choice, but everyling wanted me to be king." 

"I didn't." Pharynx rolled his eyes. 

"But, you stand tall. You have antlers," Ka'Rel said, looking Thorax up and down. "You are thus of the Kes, not of the Shahs." 

Thorax was quiet for a second before he frowned slowly. "How old are you?"

"37," Ka'Rel responded without a second of deliberation. "But I was sealed in magical stasis, and thus have lost all track of time. I believe I am now several centuries older." 

Thorax gulped. "I think it might have been over a thousand years." He said, turning his gaze to Pharynx, who merely gazed back, pity written on his face. 

"B-but that cannot be," Ka'Rel said looking down at his hooves. "My sentence was only supposed to be a couple of centuries at most." 

"Wait wait wait." Pharynx interrupted stepping forwards and igniting his horn. "Sentence? As in something you get when you commit a crime?"

"Yes," Ka'Rel replied, not even wasting a second. "I did a most heinous act in our society and thus had many of my memories wiped as punishment. Then they sealed me into magical stasis. Unfortunately for me, they left very little of my original mind intact. I believe all that's left is my name, my role as a Vurion, the crime I committed, my linguistic skills... and useless trivia about fauna and flora around the Empire, apparently, I was quite fond of that." 

The casual manner in which he spoke about his mind being so thoroughly scrambled did nothing but unnerve the other changeling.

"A-and what crime did you commit?" Thorax asked, gritting his teeth.

"The same act dear Pharynx just committed," Ka'Rel said, looking the other ling up and down. "I raised arms against my Kes. I, unfortunately, do not remember why." 

Pharynx's jaw dropped. Thorax in the meanwhile couldn't help but feel the slightest bit hopeful... though that was tempered by fear and shock. This whole thing seemed... unbelievably cruel to him. 

"You do seem the forgiving sort, so I assume that Pharynx here will not be receiving the same punishment as I received," Ka'Rel said, suddenly bowing to Thorax. "I do thank you my Kes. I will admit that the prospect of having another Vurion around fills me with great comfort." 

"P-please stop calling me that!" Thorax suddenly squeaked through grit teeth. "Especially if they did... that to you! I'm not a god, or a Kes or whatever! " The king pointed at Ka'Rel's head when he said that.

"I don't understand," Ka'Rel said cocking his head to the side. "So you would rather me treat you as a Shah instead of a Kes? That seems disrespectful to your status."

"N-no! I want you to treat me as a regular changeling!" Thorax squeaked again, his voice getting progressively higher pitched as he cried out. "How are you so calm about... everything!" 

"Simple, I have no idea who I was before my sentence," Ka'Rel said, straightening up. "For all I know, I was a horrible creature who caused untold suffering, and this is an excuse to start over. Of course, there is also the chance that I was a hero of legend who has been cursed to forget my deeds, in which case I would be very distressed. However, as I am only 37, I doubt that is the case."

Thorax took a deep inhale, looking around. Eventually, he exhaled with a sigh. "This might actually be a good thing..." 

"What?" Pharynx responded, a frown coming to his face. "How is anything about that good?"

"Well, obviously him having his memories erased is bad," Thorax said, steeling his jaw. "But that means that he has no idea about the new threat to Equestria. If Equestria believes him that means that they might not attack us..."

Thorax was silent for a second before he gradually became paler and paler. "They are never going to believe this." 

Ka'Rel cocked his head to the side, slowly furrowing his brows under his helmet. 

"Worry not, My Ke-" he paused and cleared his throat. "Thorax, you are an obviously honest and respectable Shah. No doubt you will be trusted by the rest of these... Equestrians I believe you called them."

Thorax shook his head. "I don't know... oh why did this new threat have to be changelings. I think people were just starting to trust us again." He whimpered, sitting down. 

Ka'Rel spoke up quickly after that. "You remind me of my previous master, U'val. Like you, he was kind, generous, and sensitive. Worry not, I have faith things will turn out well again for us changelings."

Thorax instantly paused, turning to Ka'Rel, eyes wide. 

"What did you just say?" He said, a sudden shift in his tone becoming apparent.

Ka'Rel was still for a second. "What? Oh!" he suddenly sat down and clapped his hooves. "I remembered my previous Kes! Perhaps there is more up there than I gave credit for! Huzzah."

Thorax was quiet for a second before he turned to Pharynx who looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "C-call in the guards," Thorax said in a weak voice, which certainly didn't match his order. Pharynx was silent for a second before he let out a whistle, shaking his head to the side. 

Suddenly almost a dozen changelings wearing dark blue armor, the same kind they wore under chrysalis, just with more intimidating features sheered off, came rushing into the throne room. Though, considering the Throne was sitting on a flat open balcony at the top of the hive, it wasn't really a room. 

They quickly rushed to their king and prince's sides, armed with spears. Ka'Rel shifted his gaze from them to Pharynx, who was currently holding his halberd. He noticeably started to get tense. 

"I am s-sorry for this Ka'Rel," Thorax spoke, standing up straight towering over the former platinum guard... as best he could really. He was still a very unintimidating creature. "But for the time being, I am going to have to confine you to the dungeon, at least until we figure out how connected you are to this U'val character."

Ocellus quickly rushed forwards, stepping in between the two. "Thorax! You can't! He helped save us from the Maulwurf!" She cried. "T-tell him Pharynx!"

"Sorry Ocellus." Pharynx said, gazing down at her. "If Thorax of all changelings thinks this guy might be a security risk, I can't let this slide."

The guards quickly started to converge. Ka'Rel merely remained static as they approached, before presenting his forehooves to them. "Far be it from me to deny the will of my superiors," he said after he cleared his throat. "Might I recommend a cell with steel bars and restraints rather than iron ones? Much harder to escape from."

Thorax sighed as he sat on his throne. "Thank you for cooperating Ka'Rel. We will make sure you are well fed and given as many comforts as you need until we figure something out." He meekly exclaimed as the guards started to lead the armored ling out. 

Thorax put his head back in his hooves and whimpered once more as he stared at the floor. Pharynx quickly accompanied after the guards, giving a couple of idle practice swings with Ka'Rel's halberd as he went. Ocellus, Axilia, and Lumbar only stared on as their savior was led deeper into the hive, looks of confusion and betrayal written on their faces.

Thorax merely tensed up as he heard a distant door slam shut as the guards went deeper into the hive. "Why did this have to happen now of all times..." He quietly repeated to himself.