"We were, of course, fully aware of your presence in the Crystal Empire."
Cricket, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle, and Celestia were now sitting around a table, having tea in the royal gardens. Well, Cricket wasn't. When offered, he had declined, instead requesting a glass of water. He had just been taking a drink when Princess Celestia decided to drop that little bombshell on him.
Cricket had never performed what is classically known as a spit take. He'd seen a few, and had even caused a few by dropping his disguise with perfect comedic timing. However, his lack of experience with the phenomenon did not hinder him from performing one perfectly... with enough force that it soaked Celestia, who had been sitting across from him.
Several apologies later, both from him (after he'd caught his breath, and Celestia's reassuring smile indicated that she'd taken it in good humor), and the princess (admitting that yes, she could have timed that revelation a little better), Cricket asked the most relevant question he could think of in this situation: "If you knew I was in the Crystal Empire, why...?" He left it open ended, because there were so many 'why's' to choose from, he couldn't pick just one.
"Why?" the princess began, still wringing out her mane, "Why didn't we arrest you? Why didn't we eject you from the empire? Why did we leave you in peace for as long as we have? Well, initially, if was simply because you were badly injured at the time of your discovery, and it seemed terribly cruel to do anything to you at a time when you'd be completely unable to take care of yourself. Besides... according to the doctors and nursing staff, the, ah, youngsters currently in residence at the hospital had gotten rather attached to you. It would have broken their hearts if you had been taken away."
Cricket could feel himself starting to blush again, and it only got worse when Fluttershy asked the obvious question. "Youngsters?"
Celestia sighed sadly, saying, "King Sombra was in no way a kind ruler, and he'd practically made it his goal in life to become the enemy of every nation in the world. Had he not taken rather cruel steps to ensure he would remain unharmed, the combined might of every sovereign state of that era would have marched upon the Crystal Empire, long before my sister and I rose up against him. The cruelest of the steps he took was to abduct the heirs of every ruler of those nations, and hold them hostage. And when the city vanished for a thousand years..."
Fluttershy gasped as she realized where this was leading, but it was Twilight who finished the sentence, "...they were separated from their families... forever."
Celestia shook her head, then looked directly at Cricket, smiling, "Thankfully, no. I'm not the only, ah, long-lived ruler in the world. Their parents were all still present, and incredibly happy to have their beloved children returned to them, after such a long and terrible separation. This fine fellow, without knowing it, spent the majority of his hospital stay reading stories aloud to the heirs to some of the most powerful kings and queens in the world."
Cricket's cheeks, he knew, were probably cerulean from blushing at this point. He couldn't help it, for some reason. Now that he was out of disguise, his emotions, normally completely under control due to years of rigorous training, and even more rigorous practice, were running rampant, and somehow... he kind of liked it. "Well," he said,embarrassed, "I was in traction, and I only had one foreleg free. I really couldn't do anything else to pass the time, and the book was just sitting there, so..."
"So," Celestia interrupted, a very warm smile on her face, "When those future kings and queens returned home, the first thing they did was write all sorts of letters to let me and my sister know how much they thought of you. Over the course of three months, we've received: twelve royal pardons; fifteen notifications that you were going to be knighted; eight letters requesting that you be allowed to serve as a general, admiral, and/or supreme commander of various branches of the armed forces, both here and abroad; and one letter, being my personal favorite, proclaiming that you are, by imperial decree, the, and I quote, "Bestest Best Friend 4-Ever" of her Imperial Majesty, Princess Alexandrianna Rosanna Belinda Magnifica. It's the first imperial decree I've ever received written in crayon. I dare say you made an impression on them." With an impish smile, she continued, saying, "I should also add that you are now a duke, baron, count, earl, and a thane, as well as the mayor of "Awesome Town", which may or may not actually exist, but if it does, it's population consists solely of yourself and Prince Phillip of Minotoria."
By this point, Cricket was certain that there was no possible way he could blush harder without sprouting extra cheeks. Alex was a princess? Sweet little griffin, "thor" years old? Thought Miss Bunny Wunny Cuddlewumpus was the best possible name for the pet rabbit of an adult male of any species, and threatened to cry when he'd tried to suggest otherwise? And Phil was a prince? The same Phil who put ketchup on everything, even cotton candy? That can't be right...
Celestia continued, her smile still radiant with good cheer, saying, "In addition to all of that, we received an impressive number of medals, awards, trophies, and, also a favorite of mine, a macaroni drawing of yourself, as a pegasus, hugging a group of small children. There was also a sizable amount of money sent over, asking to be held onto until such time as you needed it. They seemed to believe that, you being a humble sort, would have sent it back if it had been delivered to you directly."
After allowing a moment for all of this to sink in, Celestia continued, "While their parents were more... restrained with their praise and gratitude, I can assure you that they were no less appreciative of your efforts. Many of them would be more than happy to shake your hoof, should they have the opportunity to meet you face to face, and have offered you amnesty in their kingdoms, should there be a need for you to leave Equestria. They did indicate that they were aware of your, ah, "unique" dietary restrictions, and would gladly make allowances for them. Long story short, good sir, you are probably the most popular changeling in the world right now."
Cricket tried to think of something witty he could say, some snappy response to all of that. Sadly, there was only one word running through his head, over and over again, preventing any other thought from entering his brain. For lack of anything else to say, he said that word aloud.
"Wow."
Fluttershy and Princess Twilight Sparkle, who had been listening to all of this, first with slowly increasing surprise, then with rapidly increasing amusement, both burst out laughing. The two of them fell on the ground, rolling about and holding their sides. Mole couldn't help but join in, and Celestia, while more restrained, let out a good bit of laughter herself. When finally, everypony and everybuggy regained their composure, Princess Celestia spoke once again.
"Twilight Sparkle explained to me that she had promised that you'd be given an opportunity to earn citizenship in Equestria." The princess made a gesture, and two guards entered the room, carrying something very heavy between them. "Now, there are precedents for such a thing, but normally, that right is restricted in cases of members of an enemy state or species. However, an exception can be made if the individual is found to be of outstanding character and has been given endorsement by one or more individuals of note."
The two guards, straining with effort, deposited their burden upon the small table around which the four sat. It was a massive stack of stuff: letters, documents, certificates, medals, trophies, awards, bags of bits, and, yes, a rather adorably made macaroni picture of himself, as a pegasus, hugging a group of small children. The stack was taller than Celestia was, and probably weighed five times more, but the table, in a feat of strength and determination that would be sung of by tables (well, if they could sing, but you get the idea) for generations to come, stood tall and steady, with only a little bit of creaking.
"Given the evidence," Princess Celestia said, that impish smile once again on her face, "I dare say you've met that requirement. So, all that remains is an official hearing, and you will be on your way to full citizenship."
This officially gives him what must be the title of the changeling to receive the most distinctions in all of changeling history.
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Which is a distinction in and of itself .
Now, I'm a fan of cute stories and changeling redemption stories and basically everything going on here, but don't forget to give our little buggy some sort of dilemma to deal with, aside from how to spend his riches.
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Just remember, he has to get approval from all four princesses. Two may be down (Celestia And Twilight Sparkle), but Luna will be a hard sell, and Cadance... well, Cadance is gonna be a really, really hard sell. After all, if there's any pony in all of Equestria who'd have a reason to bear a grudge against changelings...
Oh, I probably should have said *SPOILERS*
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And on top of that, assuming Cadenza doesn't just outright forgive him because she's like that, any attempts on his life are going to be met with a cadre of small children looking pitifully up at the attackers and asking, mournfully, 'Why would you do such a terrible thing?' and cause the poor villain's heart and pancreas to explode from diabeetus overload.
On another topic, I sincerely hope to see more of this particular story line out of you soon.
It's an excellent bit of work, but remember that trading things like riches into a relatively simple economy like Ponyville's is going to be hard; He'll have to work hard to ruin the economy with his spendings.
This chapter is SO FREAKING ADORABLE.
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First off, I promise you, we won't see the adorable children... in THIS story, anyways. Second, the, ah, unique nature of the interview is going to reveal a few things about Cricket's past that may make a final ruling... difficult, even for the ones who LIKE him. This is the guy that was responsible for commanding the invasion force, after all...
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I'm just saying Cricket has the most effective armor ever: Adorable Children Looking Sad.
But I think Cricket's going to be fine in a general sense, if only because we've seen the 'after'. What concerns me are the Nobility's potential reactions to him, since I'm guessing that all four princesses and probably some of the higher Nobles will be involved int he overall process, along with being able to make life difficult for him indirectly once he's settled. After all, the nobles are all well-connected and rich, and they still take potshots at one another whenever possible.
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In regards to the first part, yes, if you've read Your Fangs Are Showing, his success is a foregone conclusion. However, his route to that success is not going to be smooth one, adorable children or no.
Second, yes, he'll have to deal with a lot of flak from those in high places who won't be so keen on the idea of a love eating bug monster becoming a citizen. But that's for the sequel, not this story.
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Also In regard to the nobility he is a duke, baron, count, earl, and a thane, as well as the mayor of "Awesome Town" I'm pretty sure he out ranks them all.
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Maybe he outranks all of them.
And remember that rank doesn't mean you're safe, as anyone with a particularly fancy hat on a battlefield can tell you.
Fancy hat = higher rank = more likely to get shot or stabbed repeatedly
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Indeed. The destination is known, the road is not. I look forward to seeing the journey itself.
3719491 The only pony who'd really be an asshole though is probably blueblood and who gives a shit about him?
This...is the best story I have ever read. Well done.
It is rather common in a changeling fic for the changeling to gain easy citizenship or admittance to Equestria. However, in this fic it feels that the reasons for said ease are quite justified. It feels good to see that in this fanfic.
3722519 or shining. considering his wife was kidnapped by chrysalis and he tricked by her as well
I remember when I was little I used to eat green beans in ketchup... granted, I was doing it so that I wouldn't have to taste the green beans
When I was young, I used to put ketchup in my Mac 'n Cheese. The creamy tartness was well loved. I had gotten the idea from a book about a ballerina mouse named Chrysanthemum, whose favorite dish was Mac 'n Cheese with ketchup.
I can see where the young, ketchup-loving price was coming from.
Not even through the story and I've found my newest favorite line of any story of all time:
...
Just yes. I mean, seriously, that has to be _the_ single most awesome reason for ennoblement ever.
Also I've got this scene stuck in my head - "You're a noble, are you? Funny, so am I. In fact, I have so many titles, it takes a specially trained Royal Canterlot Herald to say them all without passing out. I think one of them was 'Duke' something or other..."
The self-absorbed minor noble quickly makes his excuses and leaves.
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Well, he's a duke - he outranks pretty much everything else. According to some methods of ranking, he might even outrank non-inheriting princes. So, as a rule of thumb, Royalty and other dukes would still outrank him, except, due to the vast number of titles he possesses, he may also outrank other dukes.
Also, lacking a 'big hat' carries its own disadvantages, as Louis Napoleon, Prince Imperial found to his cost.
Hmm... too weird a coincidence. Breaks my suspension of disbelief
All I could think was: "and a partridge in a pear tree"
3759320 Don't we all miss our youth?
3761304 At first I wondered if it was a decree from the kingdom (chancellordom?) of Chancellor Puddinghead / Pinkie Pie. Now that would be funny.
Someone PLEASE draw that for me
Oh, wow
All the d'aww
This explains soooo much
"wow." indeed
Best. Chapter. Ever.
Would that count as Inverted Laser Guided Karma, or would it still be normal Laser Guided Karma? I'm not sure.
7776882 I think "reflected" Laser Guided Karma would be more accurate.
This is insanely adorable.
Copngrats. I can't stop laughing.
In nobility terms Cricket is a viscount of “Awesome Town”
OK that decree sounds Bucking ADORABLE.
Awww, that's cute