• Published 10th Jan 2017
  • 2,094 Views, 54 Comments

Changing a kingdom - keroko



Thorax has taken on the role of leader of the changelings, but while Celestia promised they would leave the changeling kingdom to the changelings, the inexperienced Thorax finds he may need the help of his friends sooner than expected.

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2. Journey to the Empire

"But your highness-"

"No."

"But it is our duty-"

"No."

"But your safety is of paramount importance-"

"Vespid." Thorax glared down at his warrior commander. "No."

Vespid did not glare back. A warrior commander does not glare at his liege. It was unbecoming, undisciplined, and usually very, very dangerous.

Even when his prince was being incredibly stubborn in regards to his own safety.

"At least permit me to bring the Throne Guard. While they will not be able to halt an army, they should be able to adequately shield you should a hasty retreat prove necessary."

"The Throne guard still means forty well armed and armoured changelings, Vespid," Thorax said evenly.

"I am aware of the low number your Highness, but these forty are the best our hive has to offer. They will make up for their numbers with their training." Vespid returned resolutely. Perhaps he had gone down a bit too much in the number, but given that his previous suggestion of half a battalion was rejected outright, he had thought the number sufficiently low. If this was too low, then perhaps the prince could see reason.

The sigh and accompanying facehoof dashed those hopes before they took flight. "That's not the point Vespid." Thorax groaned. "Look, imagine for a moment that an armed force of highly trained ponies arrives on our doorstep, what do you do?"

The reply came without hesitation. "I would rally our forces and prepare for an imminent invasion, call the war council, recommend infiltration of the enemy force to the keeper of se-"

"That's my point!" Thorax interrupted. Loudly. "You'd see it as a threat, why wouldn't they?"

Vespid shrunk in on himself as Thorax raised his voice. Yes, they ponies would see the prince's force as a threat. But that was the point, wasn't it? All negotiations start from a place of power, so Prince Thorax would have to show that theirs was not inferior. Plus... "But what about the dangers, my Prince? The journey to the Crystal Kingdoms is long and arduous, with many great beasts in between."

Thorax blinked "Huh? Well, the nearest train station isn't exactly close, but I would hardly call the journey there 'arduous'."

Now it was Vespid's turn to blink. "Your highness, are you... saying you wish to use the pony transportation system?"

"Well, yes," Thorax nodded. "I've used it to travel Equestria before, it's really comfortable and fast. We'd be in the Crystal Empire in no time."

Vespid worked his jaw, unsure of how to point out to his prince the inherent dangers of using the roads of their opponent (political opponents, but opponents nonetheless). He was about to carefully word an alternative, but the far too cheerful voice of Chatter interrupted him before he could voice it.

"Just think of it as an infiltration, Vespid. Small team goes in, small team gets out, nopony is any the wiser."

"Something like that, yes." Thorax nodded. "And again, a lot faster too."

"As you wish, my Prince," Vespid said, a sigh in his voice betraying a lingering disapproval of the whole idea. "I do humbly insist at the very least on two of the Throne Guard as well as myself accompanying you."

"Of course." Thorax smiled.

"Counting Miridea, that would make six total. Not unusual for pony travelling parties, we shouldn't draw too much attention." Chatter nodded.

"Speaking of which," Thorax glanced around. "Where is she?"

"Over there, talking with Tarsus," Vespid said, pointing down a hallway as Tarsus and Miridae approached the group. Vespid tried to catch a snippet of their conversation, but they stopped to bow before prince Thorax before he could catch anything.

"Everything alright?" Thorax asked.

"Yes, your highness," Miridae answered. "Tarsus and I were just going over what we've learned about the changes to our biology, and how to move forward. We've found several volunteers who are willing to help the caretakers in their research."

Thorax let one ear drop in hesitation. "Volunteers for research? I'm... not sure I like the sound of that."

"We need to figure out how our bodies work, my Prince. All changelings involved agreed on this, and are prepared for the risks."

Hesitation still marred Thorax's face, but he relented with a stiff nod and turned to give Tarsus a firm stare. "Keep them safe, Tarsus. And if you find anything that may help us through this problem, let me know at once."

The red changeling bowed. "I swear on my eggshell, Prince Thorax, I will do whatever I can to find a solution."

Thorax smiled and put a hoof to his shoulder. "I know you will."

Spreading his wings, the Prince of the changelings took to the sky. The two throne guard immediately taking up formation just behind him, while Miridae and Chatter buzzed to his sides. Vespid decided to make up the rear, flying slightly higher than the rest to keep a good view of the travelling party. Even as his prince gave the order to go -a cheery "let's go guys!" counts if it comes from a prince- Vespid continued to feel ill at ease with the party. Prince Thorax was the single most unorthodox changeling ruler he had ever heard off, but he had not imagined his new prince to be so careless of his own safety. New rulers usually surrounded themselves with as many guards as they could, both to show off their power to the Hive and the outside and to safeguard themselves from any would be usurpers before they had come fully into power. Prince Thorax had done none of that, and while the faith he had obviously placed in him did feel good, there was a slight nagging thought somewhere. Something that protested against this open display of trust.

Shaking his head, he buzzed along with the group. If he felt nervous, he would just have to pay twice as much attention.


It took the better part of a day for the group to reach the nearest train station in Dodge Junction and as they reached the outer edges of the town the changelings switched to their disguises. The two Throne Guard changed into two unassuming brown pegasi, Chatter held true to her new colour pattern and changed into a unicorn mare with blue eye, coat and mane, Miridae a pegasus with a green coat and mane and blue eyes. Vespid, on the other hoof, took on a black coat and silver mane which drew a few chuckles from the other changelings.

"Compensating for something, warrior commander?" Chatter teased, a grin on her face.

Vespid did not reply, but merely send a glare to the Keeper of Secrets, and an angry flick of his new tail to the Throne Guard behind him, who were doing a poor job of hiding their snickering.

Thorax put a hoof on Vespid's shoulder. "Don't worry Vespid, I think your normal colouring looks great." he said with a smile, which only led to the group to falling over in peels of laughter as Vespid groaned and repeatedly thumped his head against a nearby rock.

"Your Highness?" Miridae said after stifling another giggle. "Your turn."

Thorax let the last chuckle die down before he lifted his head. It had been a while since he had used his changeling magic. Not since his transformation into a changeling king, he flicked his ear as he idly wondered if it would work the way he wanted to... the form he wanted to take was considerably different from his current one. Though then again, none of the Queens ever had any trouble shapeshifting. Quite the contrary, few in known changeling history had ever been able to see through Chrysallis's disguises.

Thorax channelled his magic through his horns. All three horns. It felt weird to channel magic through three horns at once, as if he had suddenly grown an extra limb to help move around. And more powerful too. It was as if he had shaken of a dead weight that had been stuck to his leg and suddenly felt like he could run twice as fast.

Familiar green flames burst around his body, and he could feel it begin to change. Shrinking down until it stood slightly shorter than an average pony, wings melding into a crystalline coat, horns shrinking before being covered by a shimmering mane, in a flash the majestic form of Prince Thorax had been replaced with the small, fragile form of Crystal Hooves. He stretched his legs first, then his neck. Wow, it felt weird to suddenly be shorter than everyling -or everypony at the moment, really- again.

"Well, let's go then guys!" Thorax said enthusiastically, raising his head as his eyes brimmed with excitement.

Only to notice that all the others were staring at him with expressions varying from stunned amazement to complete horror. The two guards were just staring at him with their jaws dropped. Miridae's mouth was opening and closing like a fish. Chatter managed an expression that was somewhere between amusement and... nervousness? While Vespid looked like he was about to scamper on top of that rock he'd been banging his head against.

"Guys? What's wrong? Did I mess up my transformation somewhere?" Thorax asked nervously as he turned around to study his disguise. Legs? Check. Tail? Check. Cutie mark? Check. Maybe... "Is it something on my face?"

"No! No! It looks like a regular crystal pony face." Chatter quickly waved her hooves in reassurance, though the nervous flicking of her ears ruined any reassuring effect it had. "It's, er, very... unassuming?"

"Oh, heh, yeah." Thorax rubbed the back of his head. "I did kind of want this face to blend in. I just wanted to make friends at the time so I tried to make it look as non-threatening as possible."

"Well he's done a good job there," one of the guards muttered to his companion, before wilting under a toxic glare from Vespid.

Miridae raised her voice before Vespid could start his own objections. "We know, your majesty. And were it not for your desire to have friends, we would not have gotten this far. It's just... should your form not be a bit more... regal?"

Thorax tilted his head, one ear flopping down and confusion evident on his face. "Why?"

"Well, I can't claim to be an expert on diplomacy, but we are going to be negotiating with the heads of state. These affairs to my knowledge require a lot of regal posturing, which is perhaps why Vespid was so insistent on taking the guard," she said, nodding to the pink-eyed changeling who nodded vigorously from his spot next to his rock.

Flicking out his tongue for just a second, Thorax scrunched his nose as the fizzling taste of confusion filled his mouth. But why would they be confused? They were just going to- "Oh. Oh!" Thorax said, his eyes widening in realization. "You guys thought this was going to be a massive diplomatic excursion?"

All the changelings turned to stare at one another, various degrees of confusion on their faces before they turned back to Thorax.

"... What else could we call this?" Miridae asked, her head tilting.

"A friendly visit?" Thorax returned. "Cadance and Shining Armour are good friends of mine, so I'm going to ask them for help. Or probably Sunburst, he always has answers to tricky questions." His ears perked up as he remembered his bookish friend, always ready to look up an answer for whatever silly question he could come up with.

The other changelings, on the other hoof, were still gaping at Thorax.

"Look, just trust me on this one guys." Thorax sighed. It was still hard to explain concepts like trust and friendship to other changelings. Thorax knew how hard it was to understand them, if it hadn't been for Spike he never would have found the answers himself either.

Vespid sighed, but nodded. "As you say, my Prince." Thorax could still taste a hint of uncertainty in the air, but the resolution in the eyes of him and his fellow changelings made it clear that they would follow him regardless. They might not have understood it yet, but they had already found their trust in him.

It warmed his heart.

"Well then, let's go!" Thorax pumped a hoof in the air and turned to continue into Dodge Junction. He missed the amused stares and choked laughter of his subjects.


Dodge Junction, a small frontier town right on the edge of pony-kept lands. While still a ways from the Badlands, it had been the closest settlement to the changeling borders since its founding just a few years ago. The changelings had been keeping a close eye on this town as a result, always wary for intrusions into their realm. Small as it was, the town never had never made it a good spot for love to harvest, but its small number of citizens had made it a prime spot for changelings to practice impersonations. Almost every changeling that had gone out on missions had been in Dodge Junction at one point or another.

Almost all changelings. While most of the group walked through the small town with a confident stride, Miridae was gaping at every little thing like a young nymph exploring the hive.

"What's that?" she asked for what seemed like the dozenth time.

"The ponies call it 'their local watering hole.' It's a place where they all get together and share salt and drinks," one of the Throne Guard answered.

"Salt?"

"Yeah, never really got that either. Seems to have to do something with their biology, ponies sweat a lot."

"Really, sweating? So that's what this water on my coat is. Do you think-"

"Ahem," Chatter coughed to get the curious caretaker's attention. "Perhaps we should save the discussion of the biology of our fellow ponies for later?"

Miridae's eyes widened in realization before her green pony ears fell flat against her head. "Oh, er, right. Sorry."

Chatter sighed and moved closer, lowering her voice. "Look, I get that you're excited. You caretakers rarely leave the hive after all, but you have to be careful with what you say outside the hive. Even if you're not talking directly to a pony."

If it were possible, Miridae's eyes flattened even further as she lowered her head. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're a caretaker, you were never trained for infiltration." Chatter raised her head to glare at the Throne Guard. "He should know better though."

"Yes. He should," Vespid spoke up, his eyes drilling into the Throne Guard who seemed to wilt under his glare. The unspoken 'we will have words about this' was visible to anyone.

A panging sensation flared in Miridae's chest. Getting the Guard in trouble because of her own curiosity did not sit well with her for some reason. "My Prince, how much further will we go?" Miridae asked, trying to shift the subject.

"Crystal Hooves."

Miridae blinked. "I'm... sorry?"

"My name," Thorax said as he turned around. "As long as I'm in this form, call me Crystal Hooves."

"That is..." Chatter had to fumble for the words. "quite possibly the most generic crystal pony name I've heard. I'm impressed."

"Thank Spike, he came up with it."

Chatter raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Spike? As in your draconic friend?"

Thorax nodded. "To be fair to him, he had to come up with it in the spur of the moment."

"..."

"No, you may not recruit him to help create codenames for your infiltrators."

"I didn't even say anything!" Chatter grumbled, letting loose an indignant snort.

"Chatter, I could taste your mischief without even trying," Thorax replied back with a grin.

"Will we meet him?" Miridae asked. "I've never seen a dragon up close before."

Thorax's ears drooped and his head fell. "I doubt it. He lives in Ponyville, which is a long ways from the Crystal Empire." He missed his friend, he really did. They barely had gotten any time to talk after the whole 'depose Chrysalis and become the new king' debacle.

Maybe he should just go pay him a visit. After he was done. Just for the buzz of it.

"Pri- Sir Crystal Hooves." The voice and a prod of Chatter made Thorax's head snap up. She nudged her head down the road, where a brown coated stallion with a stetson with a sheriff's badge on it was approaching the group.

The reactions of their group were varried. Miridae sucked in her breath and nervously shuffled backwards. Vespid remained where he was, right next to Thorax, while the two guards took up position to either side of the group. Thorax himself just shifted from hoof to hoof, eyes darting as he tried to come up with a story. Chatter just smiled. "May I?" She asked Thorax.

"Please. I was never really good at this bit," Thorax replied, gratitude rolling of his voice.

Chatter nodded in response, the smile still on her muzzle. The sheriff had stopped in front of their group and tipped his hat. "Well howdy, strangers, and welcome to Dodge Junction. I'm Road Spurs, the sheriff of this here settlement. If ye don't mind me askin', what brings you to our little town? We usually get our visitors by train, not walkin' in from the direction of the Badlands."

Chatter lifted a hoof to her muzzle and cleared her throat politely, but from his own angle Thorax noticed that at the same time the hoof was hiding the small flick of her tongue as she took a taste of the emotions surrounding the sheriff. With the sheriff's attention on Chatter, Thorax risked the same.

Caution, a small hint of suspicion, but mixed in with a lot of worry, especially directed towards him. Well, he did look a bit on the young side for a pony. Glancing back and the now blue-coated mare, he saw Chatter had noticed too.

"We're a touring and exploration company. I'm Far Away, explorer and part-time tourist guide. We just returned from the edge of the Badlands with young sir Crystal Hooves here, who had been extremely curious about what he could find all the corners of Equestria." The on-the-spot lie of a cover story flew from the leader of the changeling infiltrators muzzle as natural as breathing.

"Touring and exploration? That don't sound like a grand combination of jobs to me." the sheriff questioned. The suspicion thickened.

Chatter didn't let the suspicion get to her, waggling her ears with a huge grin on her muzzle she continued. "Well, exploration costs a lot of bits, so I figured 'why not combine the two?' The customer gets to see more of Equestria, and I get to get to explore it while getting paid for it."

"And that led you to the Badlands?"

Chatter nodded, then gestured towards Thorax. "The young sir here is financing my latest expedition slash tour. Poor dear had been cooped up in his Crystal Empire for a thousand years, he was practically begging to see more of the world." The blue mare put a hoof to her chin. "Actually begging, now that I think of it." A low rumble of a growl from Vespid drew everyone's attention to the stallion, who was sending a withering glare in Chatter's direction. Chatter almost jovially waved him off. "Right, right, respect for the young sir. I get it." She turned back to the sheriff. "The young sir's guards. Bit uptight, but good folk. Don't really like me being casual with the young sir though."

To any pony observing, the exchange would have looked like how Chatter presented it. But the changelings knew better. Chatter was 'spinning the web', an game changelings always played as nymphs. Chatter was spinning a story and inviting everyone to make up their own role in it. Chatter the young vibrant explorer, Vespid and his guards the bodyguards of their charge. Thorax had never been really good at it, as normally each changeling was expected to find their own strands, but right now he saw the opening Chatter had given him. Smiling timidly he drew his own strand into the web of lies.

"I don't really mind though. Miss Away is fun to talk to."

A myriad of emotion ranging from surprise, to frustration to resignation flew across Vespid's face, though behind them Thorax could only taste his dry amusement. Vespid was getting into the spirit of the game. With a soft sigh, he seemingly relented. "As you say, young master."

Sheriff Road Spurs had been observing the exchange while it had gone on, and the changelings could taste most of the suspicion fading. Just one more push, it seemed. Then he turned to Miridae.

"And what about you, miss? You don't look like no crystal pony, you part of the team?"

Miridae blinked and her ears flattened at the sudden attention. "No, I, uhm, I joined up later. Recently. I heard they were going to the Crystal Empire next to bring back the, uhm, young sir and I- IreallywantoseetheCrystalEmpire!"

The Sheriff stood stock still as he observed the changeling-turned-mare. For a moment, each changeling held its breath, but then the sheriff smiled. "Don't we all, lass. Well, don't let me stop you. Mighty shame y'all are just passin' through our town, but safe journeys to you. If ya ever find yerself in Dodge Junction again, drop by and say hello." And with a final tip of his hat, the sheriff wandered off.

The group politely waved after the sheriff for a moment before continuing on. This time with a bit more silence, for which Thorax was grateful. He never really liked infiltration, it always made him nervous to lie to other ponies, always scared they'd see through his disguise. He couldn't wait to be in the Crystal Empire again, where ponies knew and loved him for who he was.

The station wasn't too far. Dodge Junction was only a small frontier town after all. Thorax insisted on paying for the tickets, much to Vespid's protests, cheekily reminding the group that 'he was their employer, after all.'

The moment the train arrived was something of a shock to most of the assembled changelings. Many had seen a train before, but aside from Thorax and Chatter, none had ever really travelled with one. Poor Miridae hadn't even had the luxury of seeing one, and the big, metal beast huffing and puffing as it pulled into the station send her scampering behind Vespid.

"What- what is that!?"

Thorax tried to keep his voice calm as he explained. "It's a train, ponies invented it to travel quickly and easily through their land. It uses steam to pull the cars and it's really quick and comfortable."

"Is it safe?" the caretaker squeeked.

Thorax smiled. "Perfectly safe, come on." He calmly trotted through the doors of the cart, Chatter following close behind him. As their prince stepped on board without fear, Vespid and the guards swallowed their nerves and followed. Miridae carefully, very carefully, followed last.

Inside was not what she expected. She'd half expected some sort of great metal digestion tract, but instead it was like... like a room. A room with many colours. It didn't change the way a changeling room would, which felt weird to her. Rooms should change, why even bother having them if they just stayed the same? Might as well sleep in a cave.

Though on the other hoof, she hadn't ever seen a room like this either. So many colours, so many shapes she had never seen before in the hive.

"You can sit on these couches, you know," Thorax said from one of the couches.

The voice of her monarch brought Miridae back to the present. "Oh, I'm sorry your highness, I was just.. distracted." She hurriedly made her way to one of the couches and climbed up to sit next to Chatter. As she looked around again, she noticed that the changelings seemed to have the entire car for themselves. She and Chatter were sat opposite to Prince Thorax, the two Throne Guards on the couch next to them and Vespid opposite of the guards.

The blue-coated keeper of secrets sighed dramatically as she settled down. "Ahh, your first time out of the hive. I remember mine, a whole alien world to explore."

"That sheriff seems to be catching on to things, though. He never used to look out towards strangers so keenly," Vespid noted.

"Yes, it might be time to move our training grounds to a different location." Chatter sighed. "Pity, I like the place, and it's so conveniently close." She then turned to Miridae, a coy grin spreading across her muzzle. "Speaking of the sheriff though, well done on with that bit of improvisation, that bit of panic really sold the story of the bright-eyed tourist to him."

"Well, I really do want to see the Crystal Empire." Miridae admitted, feeling her cheeks wash with a blush. "Back in the hive, when we played I always mixed in the truth with the lies. That always seems to sell the lie better."

Chatter cackled and threw a hoof around the caretaker's neck. "Miridae, we'll make a proper infiltrator out of you yet."

"Was that... infiltration? It looked like you were just playing spinning the web."

Vespid laughed. "A lot of infiltration is spinning webs. There are times we do have very elaborate backgrounds and cover stories, which would be her department." He nodded at Chatter, who gave a proud grin in return. "More often than that though, we simply replace ponies or spin the web. Ponies are less likely to question friends or the story of a group."

"Deep cover is really only important during long term missions," Chatter added. "And we rarely send changelings on those. They tended to have a high casualty rate."

"Casualties?" The caretaker's eyes widened at that, ears flicking nervously. "What happened?"

Chatter shook her head. "We don't know. All we know is that after a long period of time, an infiltrator would drop off the grid entirely. There was never a set time, or a clear event, nor did this happen to every changeling. It was a statistically low amount, really, but big enough that combined with not knowing what caused it, the hive dared not risk too many changelings on it."

"Do you think they were discovered?" Miridae asked, shifting nervously in her seat as her head swivelled around the car to look for an invisible intruder.

"It's possible." Chatter admitted. "But if so, they were discovered by a something that could hide even from a changeling until the moment it strikes."

That was a sobering thought, and none of the changelings liked it. The idea that there was something that could hunt changelings was an alien thought to the predators. Vespid caught Chatter's eyes and wordlessly asked a question, but Chatter gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Whatever had caused her infiltrators to drop of the grid en-masse following Thorax's rise, it wasn't this.

As the mood in the car dropped, all changelings wrinkled their noses at the tastes of the now sour moods, which soured them even further. It started to feel far too much like the old hive, Miridae realized. Something had to be done to steer the conversation away from this sour-spiral. "So Prince Thorax, how is this thing going to take us to the Crystal Empire?"

Thorax looked up, blinking as his ears twitched at the sudden question. "Oh, the train should be stocked up by now and we should be leaving-" A sharp whistle made Miridae jump in her seat. "Right about now," Thorax finished sheepishly.

The cart jolted as the train jerked into motion. The changelings tensed at the motion, apart from Thorax and Chatter who had travelled by train before. The latter gave Miridae a reassuring nuzzle while Thorax smiled from the other couch. "You'll get used to it. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. You'll know we're at the Crystal Empire when we get there."

"It'll take a few days, even by train. How about some games to last the day?" Chatter asked.

"I saw a poker set for passengers near the entrance," one of the guards piped up. "Anyone up for a game?"

Vespid grunted his approval. "As long as you're ready to lose again."

"What's poker?" Miridae questioned.

"A card game about bluffing and trying to read your opponent. Good training, and fun too." Vespid grinned. "I'd almost believe it was designed by changelings."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Bring out the set!" Thorax said.

The game lasted till well into the night, much of it at the expense of poor Thorax who was ever so easy to read to his fellow changelings. He didn't mind though, his changelings gave no quarter, even to their prince. And that was just the way he wanted it.

The journey lasted several days, during much of which Miridae was practically glued to the window trying to soak in the sights of the world beyond their hive. Other passengers came and went, providing the opportunistic changelings with the occasional snack to last them on their journey.

After several days, they arrived. Thorax had told them they'd know if they were there. And they did. It was hard to miss.

It was as if they passed an invisible wall, the heads of all the changelings in the car jerked up, eyes wide as their tongues instinctively lapped the air. The taste was everywhere, as if they were suddenly surrounded by an aura of pure, unfiltered love.

"What-" Chatter croaked, her voice cracking as her head turned left and right, trying to find the source of the love. "What is this?"

Thorax grinned broadly and nodded his head to the window. When they had last looked out, there was nothing but snow and the mountains of the North. Now the snow of the Northern mountains had vanished, replaced with lush green fields, crystals growing alongside the bushes. And in the distance, a gleaming crystal spire.

"That was the edge of the great barrier that protects this realm, both from the fierce northern weather and those that mean it harm. Out there is the Crystal Palace, seat of government to Princes Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armour, and also the place where the Crystal Heart is kept." Thorax's grin turned to a longing smile. "Welcome to the Crystal Empire."

Author's Note:

Bler, that took way longer than I intended. I could blame life for it, but really all blame goes to me. Well, me and this blasted site. So many good fics, and with almost six years worth of backlog there's just so much to read. I get started on another fic and before I know it the day whooshes by.

I'll try not to get distracted so easily (or at least not so long) from now on.