Peace at Last Side Stories: the Trials and Tribulations of King Thorax

by Prince_Staghorn

Absolvement

7 Weeks After Metamorphosis

It had been seven weeks, and the newly dubbed Aos Sí had settled into a more or less normal routine. All of them, Thorax included, took shifts to repair the top of the castle. Some were also working on attempting to set up basic farms, seeing what the poor soil could possibly produce.

Thorax smiled as he looked across his new kingdom. Admittedly, the edge of the Badlands was beautiful in its own way. The sun shone down on the plains, illuminating the rock outcroppings in the distance, and birds sung in the bordering forest. He inhaled and let out a contented sigh.

"Nice place."

Thorax turned to look at the speaker.

As tall as Thorax himself, with a short turquoise mane, emerald eyes with slit pupils, covered in dark fur, with holes riddling his legs, stood a royal changeling stallion, a calm smile on his face.

Thorax kept his tone neutral when he spoke.

"Stag. It's good to see you."

The prince scratched behind his head, grinning sheepishly. "I'm glad to hear you say that... It's been a bit... difficult for me lately. You know, what with the whole... you know..."

"The invasion, led by your mother. Listen, Stag, why are you here?"

Stag was silent for a few moments. When he spoke, he was calm and composed.

"Thorax, I don't know the entire reason mom did what she did, but I can tell you she was not in her right mind. She was under some curse or something..."

Thorax rolled his eyes. "How convenient. She invades a country, kidnaps its rulers, and nearly kills one of her own nephews, but it's okay because 'she was cursed', am I right?"

The changeling's eyes narrowed, but then closed. Taking a deep breath, he continued.

"Thorax. You're smart. Think for a second- my mom leaves Equestria under admittedly mysterious and suspicious circumstances. I admit she... sorry, WE, because I should have done it too... should have informed the princesses. If I may continue, though, paranoia naturally happened, right? And a scroll talking about one of mom's biggest secrets in full detail just HAPPENS to appear where a certain alicorn could just stumble across it. Doesn't that seem a little suspicious?"

Thorax thought it over.

"I suppose... but why also go to the trouble of cursing Chrysalis?"

"Because," said Stag, "a scroll and paranoia aren't enough to break an alliance."

Thorax was silent. "You've lost me, Stag."

Stag paced as he spoke. "Think about it. Equestria, and the Crystal Empire by extension, contains a total of four alicorn princesses..."

"Five," Thorax corrected.

"Four ADULT alicorn princesses," Stag continued, "as well as a massive magical artifact in the form of the Elements and that weird 'Rainbow Power' thing. Neighpon, meanwhile, has a massive army and a load of good connections with other countries. If these two became firm, long-standing allies, it could cause a problem for some."

Thorax contemplated this.

"Even if that is true, then Chrysalis..."

"Turned herself in a week after the invasion," said Stag. "after she was fixed, of course, thankfully Pop-pop's^ an expert on those things. She's saying she'll stay in prison for two years. And she wanted me to send an apology on her behalf. The problem being that I won't be able to get close to Canterlot without help from you."

Thorax scrutinized his cousin. Stag wasn't much of a liar, and he tended to have his heart in the right place. The fact he arrived alone without any guards added some believable elements to his story, as did the fact that the invasion was sort of out of behavior for Chrysalis compared to how she had been acting before she left.

Thorax came to a decision.

"I'll send word to the princesses, but you'll stay here until they arrive."

To his surprise, Staghorn smiled.

"Spoken like a good ruler. I understand. I might not be telling the truth. Mom could have sent me to do something more sinister, so rather than fully trusting me, you're keeping me where you can keep a close eye on me rather than sending me away where I could do any harm. You're giving me the benefit of a doubt, but still being properly cautious."

Thorax was quiet. Stag smiled before continuing.

"Thanks for at least giving me that much. If you want, I can help with a few things... I don't know, rebuilding and such? I want to make it up to you all..."

The Aos Sí king allowed a small smile to appear on his lips.

"Well, if you insist. C'mon, I'll show you around."

Stag smiled and followed his cousin into the castle.

"By the way," Stag said suddenly, "it's six."

"Huh?"

"There are six alicorn princesses in Equestria. Everyone just keeps forgetting Twilight's adopted daughter for some reason... oh, you never met her, did you? I'll explain later."

Author's Note:

^Thromnambular

Comments

[The Wandering Wind]

You're actually doing quite well with this. And you brought in my favorite FIMfic story, too! Here's to bright futures!