Chapter 2: Ceremonies and Talks
Imperfect
Chapter 2: Ceremonies and Talks
“Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and Harmony, her protégé, bearers of the Elements of Harmony and Spike the Brave and Glorious” echoed through the Ceremonial Hall. Twilight was walking slowly with her head up, back straightened, and wings opened. With a tiara on her head and dignified composure she really looked like a princess. Just behind her were her friends, along with Spike and Starlight. She felt like she was already having her wedding... At the end of the Hall, before the balcony, was Celestia, regally as always.
Next to her was Thorax, something was odd about him, maybe it was the crystal necklaces on his antlers? Maybe his look, serious and not showing any other emotion? In contrast to the sun princess, he was looking regal as ever. On the left side were her parents, they seemed strangely happy and excited, but they were trying to hide it. Maybe Celestia forgot to mention to them that her wedding was only to make an alliance with changelings…
On the right side were Pharynx and three other smaller changelings, everyone serious, standing in line. And next to them… momentarily Twilight felt like she would fly over and hit every pony standing there. The nobles, the most important representatives of Equestria, who could even disobey the princess, who could control her and stand against her. They were almost at the same level of power as the princesses themselves. And it was them… who is responsible for this. For her sacrifice, their sacrifice.
Twilight shivered but managed to calm herself, as she walked up to Celestia and her husband-to-be. She sighed, when she finally stood next to the Changeling King and her friends took their places next to her parents. Now that she was up close, his calm shell looked more fragile, she could see how nervous he was, shoving that thought aside she quickly repeated her lines in her mind. Celestia opened her wings, which only made her look more regal and powerful. How could she not be the strongest creature here? How could she be limited by those wimps over there?
“Mares and gentlecolts, your highnesses” she bowed slightly. Twilight, Thorax, and Pharynx bowed back. “Dear Bearers, nobles, and Changeling legation. We gathered here today to officially tie futures of these two children of royal blood, who will make an oath, having the Sun and the Moon as their witnesses, as well their families and subjects.” Twilight's ears perked up a little. Talking about the Moon, was Luna going to miss the ceremony? And where is Cadence and her brother…? She was pulled from her thoughts when Thorax turned to her and cleared his throat. She gulped silently and looked up at him with expectancy, feeling her heart pounding so fast as if it were a Wonderbolt trying to set a new record.
“I, Thorax the First, the King of Changelings and their Kingdom, ask you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, to marry me. Your life will be tied with mine and our lands will live together with peace and harmony,” he said. Twilight cringed a bit when he said that, but she saw a spark of sadness, and nervousness in his eyes. She gulped one more time, trying to not get nervous herself, not right now!
“I… Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and Harmony… am honored by your proposition, King Thorax”. She began, she could see he was shaking a little. ‘He’s more nervous than me!’ she lamented “and am willing to become your wife for the sake of our subjects…” she said, praying that her voice wasn’t trembling and her hooves weren't shaking. The changeling opened a small box he was holding in his magic. Twilight forced herself not to gasp as she saw a beautiful light-green diamond on the horn ring that was inside.
“Will you marry me, Princess Twilight Sparkle?” he asked. His voice sounded slightly strained. He was having difficulty keeping himself calm and she couldn’t blame him. ‘This is it. Here is where my life will end…’
“I will…” she slowly turned to her parents, who came a bit closer to her and Thorax, whose nervousness seemed to double as they approached. “My fate lies in your hooves, my father,” she said with a small bow to her father. Thorax bowed too, but looked at the dark-blue unicorn, while Twilight’s gaze was focused on the floor. She didn't have the strength to see her parents’ faces, feeling tears gathering in the corners of her eyes and her lips tremor a little. No… she has to stay strong. She’s doing it for the changelings. They deserve better lives than under Equestria’s nobility reign… She exhaled with no sound and managed to calm herself enough to survive the rest of this fatuous ceremony.
“Night Light, dear father of my chosen one, see upon our request. I will take care of your daughter, reign with her fairly and never do any harm to her. We want your blessing.” Thorax’s voice cracked a little. ‘At least I’m not the only one,’ Twilight thought, feeling more sympathy to her future husband, he had to give up on his life too. His future... maybe he already had special somepony...somechangeling?… and he has to marry her for the good of his country. The alicorn had to raise her head now, her mother was standing next to her father with… pride on her face and genuine smile, forcing herself to not cry from happiness. Twilight felt speechless. ‘Why… They really don’t know why I’m doing it… she wouldn’t be so happy if she knew…’ Thank Celestia she had, nothing to say now, her throat was dry as a desert.
“I see your dedication, King Thorax, as well as yours, my daughter.” Twilight’s father recited with a calm voice. “Who am I to stand between you and the good fate of our lands? You have our blessing, our dearest children. “ with the last words, spoken in a serious tone, both Twilight's parents raised one of their hooves and symbolically blessed them.
“Thank you, my father,” said Thorax quietly and Twilight cringed again. ‘Gee, not even announced as my husband and yet have to call my dad like this… what is the point of this ceremony anyway? Couldn’t he just…’ her thoughts were halted, when she and Thorax had to stand up and face Celestia again. The young alicorn would now ask Thorax’s parents for their blessing, but knowing that his family matter was… complicated, Celestia skipped that part. Twilight couldn't stop herself from peeking at the box, which was still hovering near them, enclosed by Thorax’ magic aura. Thorax cleared his throat one more time and looked at the alabaster alicorn. “Celestia, Princess of the Sun Ruler of Equestria, we are asking you for your blessing, so we can seal the alliance between Equestria and Changeling Kingdom.”
“Are you aware of your responsibilities and are you truly willing to do this for both kingdoms?” she asked, looking at them with no shown emotion.
“Yes,” the young princess and the king answered in unison. The Sun Princess turned to the nobility and other changelings.
“Does the Nobility or Changeling legation have any objections?” the ponies and creatures just shook their heads. Celestia sighed deeply and faced the young couple again. “You have my blessing. I hereby pronounce you as betrotheds.” Twilight turned her head to Thorax and he delicately put the ring on her horn. This tension was killing Twilight from the inside. As he placed the ring on her horn she could feel it shake, he was so nervous that he could barely keep his magic stable. She wanted to smile at him to buoy him up a little, but she was so anxious she could barely do anything… “May nothing destroy the union you will make with your marriage.”
Twilight and Thorax bowed for the last time in front of Celestia. The room burst into applause in the form of ponies stomping their hooves on the floor.
“The Nobility, Changeling legation, and I must continue signing the documents to make the alliance official. We will return momentarily, until then the friends and family of the betrothed are free to mingle.” Celestia announced to all the ponies and changelings in the room. She, along with the Nobility and Legation, left the young duo with their friends and family. Once the big double door shut after the Sun Princess and her guests, Twilight turned her attention back to her husband to be, who just let out a sigh of relief, glad that he was no longer under scrutiny. He soon turned to look at his wife-to-be and locked gazes, in an instant it became incredibly awkward again. Twilight was starting to get used to these awkward moments at this point, but that didn’t mean Thorax was, he was now shaking and sweating nervously. ‘Can changelings even sweat?’ She didn’t think about it long before someone broke the silence.
Her father decides it was a good time for an interrogation. He walked up to the Changeling King and began inspecting his head to hoof. This did little to help the young King’s nerves.
“I expect you to keep your word and not harm my daughter. I want to hear it again, this time without all the formalities,” he said, pressing his hoof against the changeling's chest. It was a bit of a strange sight seeing her father intimidate someone almost twice his size. Thorax was clearly miffed by this and could barely speak. Eventually, he found his voice, even if it was a bit shaky.
“Y-y-yes father!” he stammered, causing everypony who stayed in the room to look at him with widely opened eyes. Twilight groaned and put a hoof to her muzzle. Thorax realized what he said when Night Light squinted his eyes and growled quietly.
“It is SIR Night Light, for you. For now…”
“O-of course, sir!” he quickly nodded, blushing from embarrassment. “I-I was memorizing these lines since yesterday evening, I'm sorry, sir…” ‘little’ unicorn continued to stare the Changeling King down.
“Apologies accepted. Do you also promise to protect her at all costs? Even if it costs you your life!?” He leaned at him with a stomp of his hoof. At this question Thorax seemed to gain a bit of confidence, he replied with much more assurance in his voice.
“Of course!” He said with bravado. This response to her father's question took the lavender alicorn by surprise. ‘He would?’ the thought of Thorax protecting her was a strange image that developed in her mind. ‘He hardly knows me and yet is willing to risk his life to keep me safe? Why?’ She asked herself but then calmed down. ‘Nah, he just said that to please my father.’ Looking up she saw Thorax looking at her with a strange look in his eyes, but with a little smile too. His gaze was broken again by Night Light once again giving him a stare down. He was about to ask another question, but Twilight decided she was done hearing her father torturing Thorax. He was going to be her husband and she couldn’t let this be a common thing.
“Okay dad I think you’ve terrified him enough,” she said, standing up and walking up to her father.
“I just want to be sure Twily. I want to make sure you won’t get hurt.”
“I know, but I can take care of myself, remember?” The mare gave her father a reassuring smile, the stallion let out a sigh.
“I guess you are right, you have faced worse before…” he said. Turning back to Thorax, he gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I just want to make sure my little girl is safe.” He said.
“It’s not a problem, I understand,” he said, returning the stallion’s smile with a nervous one of his own.
“Then welcome to the family, Thorax,” the dark blue stallion gave the changeling a pat on the shoulder.
“Thank you, sir.” He replied with a genuine smile. Once the stallion had walked back to his wife, the changeling approached his bride-to-be.”Thank you too, for your help,” he said. Twilight let out a sigh. The mare sat down while turning to her husband-to-be.
“Thorax I’m going, to be honest with you, I don’t have feelings for you... at least not in a romantic way,” she said solemnly.
“I know...” he answered with a sad smile while taking a seat too. “I could say the same thing about you Twilight… Don’t feel offended, you are just a friend to me.”
“I know... But….” she started, but silenced, looking down and observing her hoof as she was making circles on the floor with it. Thorax’ ears perked up and he looked at the alicorn with a raised eyebrow.
“But?” He echoed it as a question.
“That doesn’t mean it has to be that way forever...” the lavender mare said in a hushed tone, blushing a bit.
“What makes you think that?” Thorax asked surprised.
“What you said earlier about saying you would protect me with your life,” she blushed more at the thought of a big strong stallion protecting her… She banished the mental image with a shake of her head and forced herself to look into his eyes. “I want to know, was it true? Or did you just say that because of my dad?” Twilight asked with hope and little smile.
“Why, of course, it was true, Twilight!” he said, which caused Twilight’s heart to speed up. “You already have done so many good things for our kingdom, I owe so much. If I could save you, I would do it.” Twilight felt her cheeks burning, she wasn't used to talking with stallions, she never had time for them, and now…?
“It… made me realize that if I’m going to marry you we need to at least try to make it work…” She trailed off awkwardly as she realized what she was saying. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid! This is a bad idea we should just keep it professional this will never work!’
“You want me to court you?” he asked, blushing a bit.
“I would have said dating, but yes…” She trailed off again, quickly catching herself she spoke, “forget I ever said anything, we’re better just stay friends and we- I-I’ll just go…” she said about to get up, but the Changeling King spoke up.
“I’d actually like that.”
“W-what?” She asked stupidly. She was not expecting this response.
“I said I’d like to get the opportunity to court you properly.”
“Y-you’d be okay with that?”
“Of course. Like you said if we are going to be married, we should at least try to make it work out…. If it doesn’t work out… we will still be friends, right?” He smiled warmly. What he said next made the mare’s cheeks flush with red and her heart warm up a little more. “Besides, it’s the least I could do for a beautiful mare like yourself.”
Twilight’s face turned so red it would make an apple jealous.
“Th-thank you….” She squeaked, making Fluttershy sound loud. She wasn’t used to being complimented, especially by stallions. ‘Get it together Twilight!’ Taking a deep breath followed by an exhale, she calmed her nerves, “thank you Thorax! I hope this works out…” she said with a pleasant smile. This is different, she thought that she needed to keep distance between them. They are friends, but… she could never imagine Thorax as somepon- someling she could fall in love with. She knew she could adapt to any new situation very quickly, but this surprised her. ‘Maybe I don’t have to treat this whole marriage as something bad after all…’ she thought to look up. She wished she could see the ring of her horn, knowing she is actually engaged to Thorax’ made her feel strange, but not in an unpleasant way.
“Me too,” he said. He stood up, Twilight went to do the same, but before she did Thorax stuck out his hoof to help her up. Smiling with a slight blush, she took his hoof and he helped her to her hooves. ‘He is very kind,’ she thought to herself.
“Maybe we should go talk with the others.” He said gesturing to the mare’s friends and family talking amongst themselves. The lavender alicorn nodded and the two began walking towards the group. As they approached Twilight Velvet noticed them.
“Oh, you two are so adorable together! I can't wait to see the grandfoals!” she exclaimed with sparkles in her eyes.
“G-g-grandfoals?!” the alicorn shouted, as her cheeks began to burn brightly. ‘MOM, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO EMBARRASS ME?!’ she screamed in her mind, still in quite a shock, unable to say anything.
“I... uhh… don’t think that’s even possible for us,” Thorax lamented, also blushing and smiling awkwardly. Damn, he isn’t even married to her yet!
“Thorax, shush!” the princess of friendship cried with a pout, while her cheeks still burned. A very dirty image entered Twilight’s mind at the mention of having foals. ‘Bad Twilight, you don’t even love him!’ she mentally screamed at her self. ‘Yet…’ she added quickly, which surprised herself even more.
“You could at least try...” Velvet sang with a smile and little blush. “I would love to have more than one little filly to cuddle when you come for a visit along with Cadence, Shining, and Flurry. What would name your kid, anyway? Maybe something with ‘star’ this time?" She was thinking out loud, Thorax hid his face behind a wing, which didn't help at all, being mostly transparent, his cheeks burning red the same as Twilight's. The lavender alicorn jumped to her mother and slightly pushed her and Night Light towards the exit.
“Ohh, you heard that? I think Princess Celestia was calling you two to sign some veeeery important paperwork!” she said in a too-obviously-lying tone with an embarrassed smile while pushing them away from Thorax and the rest of the guests. She turned back and showed Thorax that he could go and she will deal with their parents… huh… their parents… and she could swear she HEARD some of her friends giggling behind her. She will have to talk with them later…
“Oh? We didn't hear anything” Twilight's dad was surprised. The princess rolled her eyes.
“That's because you were too busy embarrassing me!” she hissed with her ears down and a clearly upset look. Her parents halted and looked at her, the Ceremony Hall was indeed an enormous room, so they were now away from the others, really close to the double doors.
“Twilight, dearie, what's wrong…? It isn't about this whole grandfoal talk, is it? Mom just wanted to relax the atmosphere here,” Night Light stated, defending his wife. Twilight sighed slightly.
“Well, not exactly… I mean, a bit! But not that, I-I uh, maybe.. ugh…!” she put a hoof to her face and breathed deeply, starting to shiver a little.
“Easy there, honey. Inhale and exhale~” her mother instructed her and she obediently followed her words. After few seconds she was able to speak again.
“Sorry… I think I will still be nervous and a bit… touchy for some time…”
“Don’t worry, sweetie, we know how a before-wedding stress can eat you up,” her father added with assuring smile and stroked her shoulder with a hoof. Twilight smiled a bit more, but her happy expression quickly faded away. Dad looked at her with concern, “Twi, please, there’s nothing you should be nervous about,” he added. “Princess Celestia said she will take care of everything for you.”
“Yeah, Princess Celestia…” the lavender alicorn started, hearing in the background that Thorax was talking with their friends. She gulped quietly, “I don’t think she told you the most important thing about my marriage…”
“What is it? Is the date postponed? Will it take place in Ponyville instead of Canterlot? Is it-” Velvet’s words were cut when Twilight quickly interrupted her.
“Nononono, mom, please let me tell, okay?” she was starting to shake a bit, nervousness eating her from the inside. She sighed one more time, “the thing is… this whole marriage is political only. I-... Celestia herself told me yesterday about it, the same thing with Thorax. It is only happening because of the alliance between our lands, you know…” she finally said it. She didn’t know what she was expecting from them. Outbursts of hate towards Thorax or Celestia? Parental hug filled with compassion and tears? Maybe they would try to persuade her to break off the wedding? They would probably be in shock, Twilight was sure of that, but she wasn’t prepared for what she heard after few moments lasting like an eternity.
“Oh...we already know it, honey,” her mother replied with a relief in her tone and joyful smile. “Phew! You scared me, you little filly!” she chuckled a bit.
“I-I didn’t want to agree on this, because I was scared but the changelings- wait, what? Y-you know?!” she was astonished.
“Of course, hon. The Princess wouldn’t keep that for yourself. We were surprised when she told us about you marrying the Changeling King anyway, so it was our first thought that it has something with the last invasion and their new land and we kinda guessed that in the first place,” her father said with a smile, not noticing the broken look of his daughter.
“We are really proud of you, Twily.” added her mother while she hugged her tightly, but the alicorn pushed her away. She was shaking and her voice cracking a bit.
“Th-that’s it?! ‘We knew’? ‘We are proud’?! Is this all you want to say?!” she screamed a bit too loud and the echo of her words went through the room. She heard her friends stop talking and could even feel them looking at them. Although Twilight and her parents were far away from the rest, the hall had some good acoustics. She exhaled, looking at her mom and dad, who were surprised by her outburst. She lowered the volume of her voice. “D-do you not care anymore? You seem so calm… So… Ugh, I just got engaged to a stallion I barely know, for Celestia’s sake!” she hissed, watching her voice so it won't echo through the hall again. She could feel tears forming in her eyes again. “You didn’t even ask how I feel! Why did I agree! How am I trying to keep nerves in check! Do these things means nothing to you?”
“Sweetie... “ Velvet started hesitantly, worried about her only daughter. “...this is hard for us too, but…”
“You don’t look like you’re having bad time, you know?” Twilight sniffed, looking at them with a devastated look.
“...we just wanted to look at the bright side…” the mare came closer to the lavender alicorn and hugged her one more time. “What are you expecting us to do? Do I have to yell at you? ‘How could you?’ Maybe try to persuade you to not do it? Celestia told us it was your decision in the end, and it could help their kingdom… We weren’t so… uhh..” she stopped for a moment, searching for a good word. Twilight raised her head up a bit with concern look and a question on her face. “joyful when we heard that… But we tried to understand you and your decision. If it is what you want to do, then we won’t stop you… Right, Light…? … Right, Light?” both mares turned her faces to a dark-blue unicorn, who was gazing at Thorax at another end of the room with a murderous look. “Light!” Velvet hissed at him.
“Dad!” Twilight whined, cowering a bit within her mother’s hooves. Night Light smiled slightly and came closer.
“Oh, I’m only joking,” he said with a chuckle and hugged his daughter too. Twilight cuddled slightly in their embrace, feeling safer already. “We are really proud of you honey. Willing to give up on your plans to help the creatures, who were used by our enemy with no heart, to have a normal existence... We know it was hard for you…” he was talking in a soft, assuring tone, almost hush.” But we are proud, you are already a great ruler if you can act that mature…” Twilight felt tears running down her cheek. “And if you will ever need our help or support you can count on us… and your friends…”
“We will still love you and support you, dear. No matter what you decide,” said her mother, feeling her own eyes becoming watery.
“Thank you… Thank you… I love you...” the young alicorn whispered with a genuine smile. That was what she needed to hear.
“And no matter what your children look like…” she added with devilish smile, which caused Twilight to choke on her words and laugh, despite the fact she was crying.
“Mo-hooom!” she whined again, this time with true laughter and smile.
“You know hon if this green bug will ever hurt you, just say a word. I will have a nice talk with him” Night Light said with a devilish grin, and Twilight laughed even more
“Daaad, come on!”
“Are you feeling better, Twi-Twi?” Velvet asked when they finally let Twilight free from their parental hug. The alicorn wiped her eyes with a magically summoned tissue and looked at her parents. Despite her mildly tired appearance, she was genuinely happy now, knowing that her family fully supported her… and will love her unconditionally.
“Yes… thank you, mom, dad…” the alicorn said in hushed tone.
“And don’t you ever think that we don’t love you or won’t care for you! Or you will be grounded, missy!” Night Light put in and poke his daughter's chest with a hoof, as he did earlier with her husband-to-be. Twilight chuckled once more.
“Sure, Daddy. I love you two, so much…” she whispered, and then the double door opened with a loud creak. Twilight straightened up, waiting for Celestia and the nobles to enter the room, but she saw a pink alicorn mare and a white-blue unicorn stallion instead. She hesitated a bit at first, but seeing smiles on their faces she smiled too and ran to them with open hooves.
“Cadance, Shining!” she exclaimed and hugged each of them tightly. They were looking a bit exhausted, but a little, exuberant alicorn filly was nowhere to be seen, “and where’s my adorable niece?”
“She just fell asleep in our chamber, one of our maids stayed with her. Don't worry, she was taught how to deal with that little demon…” Shining smirked and Twilight laughed slightly.
“Oh, Twilight! We’re so sorry about missing your Royal Ceremony!” Cadence said as she closed the door behind them with her magic. “The train had to stop just a few kilometers from Canterlot due to some sheep on the tracks!”
“Curse you, SHEEP!” they heard Pinkie Pie’s voice, but when they all looked in her direction, she was with Thorax and the others at the end of the room, talking with them… Twilight blinked a few times and shook her head.
“Don’t worry Cadie, it was boring and kinda dispensable…”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Velvet piped up and greeted her son and daughter-in-law with a big hug, Night Light restrained to smile and shook their hooves. “I think it was beautiful and breathtaking! So regally and-and traditional!” he added with delight and Twilight sighed with a roll in her eyes.
“Too traditional. These Ceremonies were organized many years ago before Celestia and Luna became the rulers. It was common in these time that marriages were arranged and mostly because of political reasons. And we didn't even have an audience, except my friends, parents and the nobility,” she gritted her teeth with the last word and Cadance noticed this.
“Twilight… you can’t blame nobles for this… m-mostly,” she added, quickly seeing Twilight’s murderous gaze. She was too touchy to talk about this now… “it was their right to demand Changeling’s annexation after they lost the war,” the young alicorn groaned loudly.
“Yeah, yeah, I know! And I am not blaming them!” she huffed. “I am still nervous about it and they were the main catalyst of this whole situation…” she then inhaled and exhaled deeply, and put a serious mask on her face. “I will get over it with time. I am an adult and a princess, after all. I cannot be acting resentful my whole life, like a filly.” Cadance smiled lightly and chuckled.
“That’s my sister! The one who can bring down any obstacles and do anything.” Twilight only smiled a little and flicked her hoof on her chest.
“Well, I was fighting monsters, became a magical alicorn pony, and dealt with a time-traveler who wanted to destroy Equestria-”
“I heard that, Twilight!” Starlight shouted and their friends burst into laughter as well the group near the door.
“-marriage? Looks easy compared to another feat I’ve done in my life,” she finished with a lazy smile. Her family laughed slightly at her comment, Shining approached his sister and hugged her a bit too firmly.
“Yeah, about you getting married…” he let her go and looked into her eyes with disappointment and genuine sadness in his. “How could you not tell me about your wedding personally?!” he pouted his lips and flopped his ears down. All Twilight’s good mood just flew away in a second as she remembered the same situation before her brother's wedding
“B-but… I-I wasn’t… C-Celestia, she-” the alicorn felt like she could start to cry again, but she heard:
“Gotcha!” and Shining smiled at her devilishly. She pushed him away with blushes and hissed at him.
“I’ll hurt you someday!”
“Oh, I almost forgot! Speaking of hurting, where’s that oversized green bug…?” he stated with a dead tone and started to move towards Thorax and Twilight’s friends, at the other end of the Hall.
“Go, tell him, son! Ah!” Night Light was pinched by his wife as soon as he shouted after the white unicorn. Twilight groaned.
“I will stop him before he terrorizes my fiancé to death…” she explained and ran after her brother. Her fiancé… she again surprised herself with how quickly she adjusted to the new situation in her life… “Shiney, wait!”
“Hi, Thorax!” the unicorn started as he approached the giggling group. Said changeling turned back and smiled a bit.
“Oh, hello Shining Armor!” he welcomed him with a slight bow of his head, expecting the Prince of the Crystal Empire to do the same, but Shining just pushed him with a hoof. Thorax, surprised, felt on his haunches and girls along with Spike gasped and came closer. Now both stallion's eyes were on the same level.
“Now, listen to me, you bug!” the white unicorn hissed at him with a look which could kill him in a flash. The scared changeling just nodded in silent. “If you EVER hurt my Twilie… Even if just touch her without her permission I will squash you like the worthless insect you are!”
“OKAY, Shining, leave him alone, he already had this talk with Dad…” Twilight tugged his tail with her magic as she reached the group, blushing slightly. “Geez, why do all the male relatives of a bride have to terrorize her groom?!” Shining just snorted and looked at his little sister.
“I have the right to talk with him!”
“Yes, but not in that way!” the alicorn stomped her hoof on the floor. “And stop calling him ‘bug’! That’s racist!”
“I-I don’t mind…” Thorax uttered as he stood up. Rainbow Dash flew closer to him.
“Come oooon, Thorax! Don’t let others push you around like that! You’re a king and he’s a prince! You have more power than him!” she groaned.
“But not here. In the Changeling Kingdom yes, I do. But here and in the Crystal Empire, he’s higher than me,” he looked at Shining’s face which was saying, “Really?” And he quickly corrected, “has a higher position than me.” He smiled apologetically and the girls giggled a bit. Cadance approached the ponies and changeling with her parents-in-law.
“Oh, Cadie, I forgot to ask you, why are you here anyway? It was just an Engagement Ceremony” Twilight turned to her sister-in-law.
“Well, I was asked to help with the wedding preparations,” she answered after a few moments, most of the ponies were surprised.
“Wait a minute! I thought WE were going to organize her wedding! And bachelorette party too!” Pinkie jumped in the air and the other girls nodded in agreement.
“Yes, I asked them for help, I wanted to prepare it myself, I mean with Thorax… Why were you asked? And by whom? Celestia?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. This is getting annoying, did she or Thorax even have any influence over their own marriage?!
Then the double door opened again, out stepped Celestia, the Changeling legation, and the Nobility.
“All proper legislation has been signed, except for one,” Celestia declared as she walked over to Night Light and Twilight Velvet. “We still need the parents of the betrothed to sign this to make the union official,” she said while levitating a piece of parchment to the parents, along with a quill.
“Of course, your highness,” the two said in unison. Taking the quill in his magic, Night Light signed first, then his wife did the same. Seeing this made Twilight feel a great deal of sadness well up in her chest. Her parents were literally signing away her life. ‘It’s like I have no value…’ she thought. She began to quiver as the thought played with her. This did not go unnoticed by Thorax, he could clearly tell what was bothering her, he just had no clue what to do.
‘Crap! What should I do!? What should I do? Should I do anything? Will I even help, or will I just make it worse!?!’ He mentally screamed at himself. ‘We did agree to make this work, so maybe I should do something! But what?’ He bit his lower lip in distress. ‘Ah what the hell!’ he concluded in his mind. Reaching over with a foreleg he draped over the mare’s withers and pulled her against his chest. He immediately regretted his action as the mare’s cheeks became very red at the contact and she stiffened. ‘Good going…’ he mentally chastised himself.
Twilight’s thoughts came to a complete halt when the Changeling King pulled her against his chest. After a few seconds, her mind kicked back into action with a flurry of thoughts. ‘What is he doing!? Why did he do that!? What should I do? Should I be enjoying it!? Should I run!? What do I do!?’ The answer turned out to just do nothing. She just stood there dumbly unable to move, trapped by her chaotic thoughts. The two just stood there awkwardly. It didn’t go unnoticed by the others in the room, however. Though it took a while before anypony did anything about it, waiting for the to-be-wedded “couple” to do something. Eventually, Celestia cleared her throat, breaking the two out of their stopper. Once reality crashed into them, they both took a side step away from each other, both their cheeks looked as if they were on fire. Taking this moment Celestia spoke.
“All the official documents have been signed,” the eldest alicorn declared. “The preparations for the royal wedding will begin first thing in the morning and will be held this Friday. We request the betrotheds remain in Canterlot for measurements and rehearsals. They, along with their family and friends will be guided to their chambers in the east wing of the castle,” she finished, as she did so the nobility along with the Changeling Legation began to leave.
“Wait!” Twilight jumped forward and approached Celestia. “Excuse me, Princess Celestia-” she bowed slightly with her head. “May I ask you a question?” The alabaster alicorn excused her guests and the nobles, and the changelings were escorted outside the door by few Celestial guards. Thorax slowly came closer to the two princesses as they waited for everybody to leave the Ceremonial Hall. Celestia sighed heavily and looked at her former student and her future husband, waiting for a said question. Twilight raised her head up and straightened a bit.
“Yes, Twilight?” Celestia asked with warm, but tired smile, encouraging her to speak.
“Well… about these preparations in the morning…”
“Oh, you don't have to worry about anything!” the older Princess quickly cut in, grinning more. “Both of you. You can spend all the time with each other and your friends. You are only needed for rehearsals and fitting-”
“Wait, I'm sorry Princess, but does it mean we-” Thorax started but Twilight quickly finished the sentence for him.
“-don't have any influence on our wedding?” the young couple exchanged worried looks. Celestia chuckled a bit.
“We will plan everything. Don't worry.”
“But, why? I already asked my friends to help me with organising,” Twilight quickly opposed with disbelief I'm her both eyes and voice.
“Yes, I-I wanted to give some ideas too,” Thorax added quietly. “It is our wedding after all, Princess.”
“I understand dears. But as you know, this is also a political marriage, which is meant to seal the alliance,” Celestia said with concern, her expression becoming more serious, her smile disappearing slowly. “It’s a tradition that representatives of both sides are in charge of organizing the wedding. Their job is to choose the most important customs and mix them to create a nice and warm atmosphere for all guests.” Twilight and Thorax exchanged looks one more time and looked at the Sun Princess.
“Yeah, but we can do this…” Twilight said with raised eyebrows, getting more and more annoyed by the princess’s behavior. “I mean, me, my friends, Thorax, his brother… we know our customs right? We could meet up tomorrow and plan the wedding, then we will present our ideas to you, the nobles and the rest of Changelings. I am sure we can make it work and you will love it!” she said with a smile and hope.
A lavender notebook and a pen appeared next to her in a flash of her magic, which surprised both her interlocutors. “I was thinking we should start by playing a traditional changeling song at the beginning instead of the wedding march.” she wrote this down with a warm smile. Maybe if Celestia saw how dedicated Twilight is to this case, she would let them do it by themselves? She already let the nobles have too much influence in her life, but the Sun Princess looked at her with surprise. Thorax quickly got Twilight's idea and looked at her notepad. Twilight felt his orange magic aura taking a pen from hers, he wrote a few words on the paper with a small smile.
“I was thinking about making a few completely new meals from mixing changeling and ponies food. Also, we could bring a few magic crystals from the Changeling Kingdom to light the Ballroom!” Twilight looked at him with thankful eyes and smiled at him. He isn't so bad at all… he will be a really good friend, that's for sure.
“Oh, and Pinkie Pie has already started planning our bachelor and bachelorette parties. And Rarity, you should just see her sketches of my gown and Thorax’s tuxedo!” Twilight's eyes sparkled a little and Thorax laughed.
“A Tuxedo? For me?”
“Why not? You could at least try it” Twilight chuckled a bit and looked at Celestia with a warm smile and hope in her eyes. “What do you think, Celestia?
“No.”
“Great! It will be soo... what?” Twilight blinked as she became full of disbelief. Thorax was also surprised, they both took one step back. “Why?”
“Because, young pony and changeling, it was already decided that the nobles and changeling legation will have a deciding vote on any wedding matter.” The white alicorn explained with dead serious tone, looking at the future married couple. They took one more step back and flapped their ears down, almost in perfect sync. Celestia’s gaze was slightly indignant, but powerful, making the pair gasp quietly. Both of them felt a bit guilty about even talking about their ideas for the wedding, but Twilight was feeling even more. Celestia wasn't only her superior. She was her teacher, mentor, her… friend… what was happening to this lovely, caring mare? The young princess forced back tears, looking at her friend with disbelief and shock. She opened her mouth, but the older alicorn saw it and quickly said. “If you were a mature leader, you would understand it and respect our decision.”
These words broke Twilight's heart. She felt Thorax move next to her.
“That also refers to you, the young king,” the Sun Princess added as the changeling sighed with resignation. Twilight wiped her eyes and stood straight stomping a hoof on the floor.
“I am mature. I agreed to marry King Thorax to give the changelings a new life they deserve after decades of tyranny! I did something YOU couldn't do!” Twilight said with a fire in her eyes. Thorax made the pose similar to his betrothed mare and looked at Celestia with seriousness in his eyes. The Sun Princess stepped back surprised by Twilight's words. “We DEMAND a right to organize our own wedding! We are aware of the needs and customs of our subjects and we could be very helpful during the preparation meeting.”
“I cannot agree to that,” Celestia stated, opening her wings. Twilight and Thorax did the same. It was two to one.
“Without me and Princess Twilight, the alliance and the wedding wouldn't be possible. We HAVE the right to at least be able to be present during the meeting and listen to the nobles and legation’s adjudications.” Twilight never heard Thorax speaking with such regality and power in his voice. Celestia felt she was in the losing position. She had two of them against only her. She was sure Twilight would give in and accept it, hers and Thorax’s reaction surprised her. She had to make a deal with them, the Sun Princess sighed and folded her wings to her sides.
“I reconsidered your… demand…” she started. Twilight was still looking at her, not breaking her concerned gaze as she felt that Thorax is by her side. Both literally and mentally. “... I, along with nobles and legation, will be really content if you, King Thorax and Princess Twilight Sparkle, will honor us tomorrow at the preparation meeting,” there was no emotion in her voice. The ponies bowed their heads, still dead serious.
“We will gladly come there. Thank you for accepting our request,” Twilight said and with her wings still opened regally, she trotted towards the door. “Good night, King Thorax. We shall see each other tomorrow then.” The changeling smiled slightly at her.
“Have a nice rest, dear princess Twilight,” he said before she disappeared behind the large double doors, leaving Celestia speechless with her lips shut closed. “And you too, princess Celestia,” he added with a hiss before he disappeared down the corridor. As the door rumbled after him, Celestia sighed heavily. She was looking at the door with a sad expression on her face for a few moments before she asked her guard in. She gave him instructions, and the white stallion in full golden armor bowed low, they then left the Ceremony Hall together.
Many rooms away, in separated chambers, the young king and princess laid down on their beds, exhausted by all the events that happened during the day. Hours passed and they couldn't sleep, thinking and over thinking their new, not-so-bright future. Eventually, Twilight couldn’t take it anymore and pulled herself out of bed with a groan. Where was she going? The place where the only other pony, or in this case changeling, could understand her plight.
Thorax was staring up at the ceiling of his dark room, the only thing lighting it being the moonlight shining through the balcony window. He couldn’t sleep, the stress of the last couple days was keeping his mind from calming. A certain purple alicorn would not leave his thoughts. ‘Will it actually ever work out between us? Do I want it to be more than just friendship? Could it ever be more than that? Will it better for us and our countries if we will be just friends?.’ These questions seemed to have no answers, and he wasn't sure if he ever wanted them answered. Just then a knock came on his bedroom door and pulled him from his thoughts. ‘Who could it be? It’s the middle of the night!’
“Coming,” he called and slipped out from under the covers and onto the floor. Making his way over he opened the door, who he saw on the other side made him blink his eyes. “Twilight?” He asked a bit dumbfounded that the one mare he was just thinking about was now outside his bedroom door.
“Hi...” She responded. An awkward silence followed for a few moments before the mare spoke again. “Can I come in?”
“Uh… sure…” He answered, stepping out of the way and holding the door open for her with his magic. He was honestly unsure of what to think of the situation. ‘Why was she here? What did she want?’ Just more questions to throw on to the pile of uncertainty that had started to build up in his mind. Once the mare had stepped into the room he closed the door and turned to her. “Umm… is there something you need?”
“Well I don’t know, I just couldn’t sleep and… I guess I just wanted to talk.” She said looking down at the floor while rubbing her left foreleg awkwardly, trying to avoid looking at him directly.
“I can’t sleep either… so much has just happened in such a short amount of time. Literally about six months ago I was a rogue changeling, and look at me now - I’m their king and will be marrying a princess of Equestria. It’s all so much to take in,” he said as he made his way back over to his bed and sat down on it, leaning his back against the bed’s backboard. Twilight looked up and saw he had moved. She decided to join him on the bed, albeit sitting near the foot and keeping a good hoof length between them.
“I know how you feel.” She stated. “I’ve only been a princess for a few years now, and I’m already about to become a Queen... I’ll now be in charge of the kingdom of thousands and possibly millions of changelings, and be tasked with the responsibilities of rebuilding said kingdom,” she murmured, looking at the floor. Thorax nodded in understanding. “I’m a bit… scared…” The two sat in silence for a few more moments until the greenish changeling decided to speak again.
“They’re very excited to have you.” he said.
“Who?” Twilight raised her head to look at him with surprise.
“The changelings. They are excited to have the pony who saved them as their new Queen.”
“But I didn’t save them, my student Starlight did.” she explained.
“I know it may seem strange to think of changelings having a culture, being that we have all been living under chrysalis for so long, but we do have one and also have a bit of saying. For every great student, there is a greater teacher. That combined with what you’ve done in the past. The prospect of having a great hero being the new queen has gotten many changelings excited to serve you,” He explained. Twilight was a bit surprised by this. ’They want you to be their Queen.’
“Really?” She asked to make sure she had not imagined what he just said. He nodded in confirmation with a small smile. “What do they think of you then?”
“They also see me as a hero, I’m the one who showed them they could share love instead of taking it,” he answered with pride and the alicorn nodded. The room once more descended into silence, but this time it felt less awkward.
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” the changeling asked.
“Well, not entirely…” she trailed off a small blush forming on her cheeks. It was at this moment the Changeling King realized just how beautiful the mare in front of him looked in the moonlight. ‘Was she always that pretty? Wha-, okay, keep it together Thorax, she’s just a friend.’ he reminded himself. ‘It doesn’t have to stay that way. She could be more than just a friend.’ his mind argued back.’
Meanwhile, the mare was having her own internal argument. ‘This is all going too fast. We should just stay friends. It would be better that way. For us and for our countries...’ She told herself. ‘Why are you fighting it, you could be more than just friends. Would that be so wrong? What’s wrong with going fast?’ her mind argued. ‘I should get to know him more.’ She argued back. ‘You already do, you talked with him and got to know him whenever we visited the Crystal Empire.’ her mind rebuked. ‘I guess... Maybe we should talk about it.’ She concluded.
“Umm...Thorax…” Twilight started hesitantly.
“Hmm?” he looked at her, being pulled from his own internal monolog.
“Where do you see us a year from now?” she asked quietly. This caused the king to think for a moment.
“I.. don’t know… really…”
“Let me rephrase the question. Where do want us to be in a year from now?” She asked looking him in the eyes with genuine interest. Thorax thought on it for a moment. ‘Where do I want us to be in a year?’ he mentally repeated the question. Then an image formed in his mind. The two of them each sitting on a throne next to each other. Another one; the two of them spending time together, happy… in love. Was that what he really wanted? ‘Yes,’ his mind answered his question. Did he love her now… he was unsure… ‘should I tell her?’ Before he spoke, however, the mare sighed and looked away.
“Sorry it was a silly question, I should go…” she said and was about to get up, but a green hoof rested on her shoulder. Looking up she saw the King of the Changelings looking at her with smile.
“You really want to know?” He asked genuinely and the mare nodded waiting for his response. Thorax gulped down his fears and spoke. “I see us… together… happy… more than friends…” He explained. “I see us ruling together over our changelings. Our nation prospering, and happy. I see you and me… in love.” He finished. He said it. He said what he felt. It may be time before she felt the same way, but something told him he cared for this mare deeply. The mare just sat there staring at him with a neutral expression. His smile soon turned to a frown, unsure of how she would react. What she did next surprised him. She closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug, which he returned.
“I… hope you are right… I don’t know how I feel now…” she explained, her voice clearly showed how nervous she was at saying this. “... but I hope that maybe... it will be more than just friendship.” She concluded still holding onto him in a hug. A few more moments passed before the mare yawned. “If not… we will still be friends, right…? Who knows… Who knows…” She was exhausted, but for the first time in these last few hectic days, she felt truly at peace. It wasn't long before sleep took her and she drifted off into her dreams, snuggled in the changeling’s arms with her head on his chest.
Thorax soon felt the pull of sleep. He didn’t want to wake the mare and was too tired to even try. She looked so… cute with that calm expression on her muzzle, with closed eyes and… the green ring on her horn. The changeling smiled a bit. He had enough of this day and so did she. Without much thought, he laid down on the bed with the lavender mare still held in his arms and pulled the covers over them. “Who knows…” Before long sleep took him as a content smile graced his features.
The two knew that life was not going to be easy and they knew they were going to take it at their own pace, but now they knew their future would be much brighter than they had originally feared.
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This entire story would be better with far slower pacing. The progression of the story is far too fast, particularly in regards to the characters dealing with what's happening to them. In this chapter alone, Thorax goes from directly confronting Twilight with the fact that he only thinks of her as a friend to wanting to love her and then not being sure if he already does, purely because Twilight starts behaving very strangely and starts randomly thinking about Thorax in a romantic way for no discernable reason outside of the author being in a rush.
This is not a bash against the author(s), however. You have a good premise, and by far you're nowhere near being a bad writer, you just have pacing issues. If this chapter had established a thorough backslide in Twilight's emotions because it turned out she wasn't ready for any of this, you could've explored Thorax's position better as well as Twilight's, and given us more insight on how the nobles are feeling about all this directly. As it stands, I feel the story's lacking substance.
8975958
You think this is fast? You should see some of my first stories! They would make this seem like a snail in comparison. That aside I see what you mean. I think this was something more subcontouse than intentional because of how much we are going to be cramming into this story, that we want to get to that and not get bogged down in the beginning. Before you say we are just trying to get to the shippy bits, that's only a part of it. There is a lot more to this than just a ship fic. The central premise is indeed to ship these two, but there is way more going on then that. I appreciate the criticism nonetheless, and I hope you stick around to see where this goes.
The nobles should really start rethinking their demands, if they wish to keep the amount of power they've had over the princesses so far. cause I can see a partnership between the changelings and the princesses of equestria being very acidic to their bulwarks of power.
I can already picture it in my mind. 3 days after the weeding, aliance between Ponies and changelings ended. Celestia revealed as tyrant. I love Karma even if I have to wait a while, but It will be worth it.
well I can safly say its belivable that they would be confused about their feelings being forced into marriage can do that to people
A few months....A FEW MONTHS!!...WHHHHYYYyyy...just kidding :) I enjoy the story so far and I'll be waiting for that update dear author and co-writer.
While I really want to see this story continue, I wanna call bull**** on several things.
The princess of love accepting an arranged marriage, without any preexisting romantic connection between the engaged couple? bull****.
Celestia
bowing to the whims of moronic mortalsallowing a bunch of "nobles" to browbeat her into an arrangement she obviously believes to be wrong? bull****.A society that lacks feudalism allowing Nobles to have so much power? ...Eh, I mean, England kinda sorta has that with the house of lords, but still, bull****.
Other than that, I really like the organic way the story handles perspective shifts. I would recommend that internal dialogue be written in italics to help differentiate it from descriptive text. I really love this story, please continue!
Hmm...The Nobility is being jerks and controlling the lives of the princesses in a political sense? Is Equestia even a absolute monarchy anymore? Or is it more of a Monarchy with a Diet made out of nobles!? Or a consitunal monarchy like the UK!? Does Celestia even have any power!? Twilight I think you should really really just move to the changeling kingdom and then declare independence (basically, going their own path) and if the nobility decides to invade you, well, the Changelings still can shape shift right? You could always cause confusion among them and maybe also help declare the Crytsal Empire's independence...
8976172
Well... technically it’s only till just before August, so it’s only like a month and a half. Also “a few” means more than one, and this is not even two. So if you want to be pedantic about it, it won’t be gone for ‘a few months’
I like this story so far.
Hope the hiatus won't last too long
I feel like Celestia is very jealous because she is lonely?
Also, since changlings are like insects which a lot of them have ton of children... Would Twilight end up having 100’s of children? Oh boy Ms. Grandmother Twilight is going to have a field day with snuggles
8977533
Nah, changelings in this AU are very different. Being the scientist between my co-writer and I, I'm still working on how they reproduce, but it's similar to how mammals work. Normally I would consider this a spoiler, but it's mostly insignificant.
I know this has been proofread, but there are still a fair number of grammar issues riddled here and there, mostly basic typos like missing a space or incorrect punctuation. I would recommend groups like Looking For Editors for general proofreading assistance - having an outside critical eye look at your work is always helpful, and the more you take suggestions from others, the better you'll be at self-editing your own work in the future, so it's really a win-win.
Interesting premise. Though it does suck to marry for politics, Twilight could have been stuck with someone a lot worse than Thorax.
He's essentially the only character capable of out-cinnamon rolling Fluttershy. 
I don't think it'd be hard for Twilight to fall for him, let alone learn to love him.
Curious to hear what Pharynx thinks about all of this. Supportive of keeping the political peace, as Celestia is, or not so much, like Twilight's friends? Time will tell!
I have to say I really love the cover art for this story, it's really nice.
8977548
Oh ok!
8978076
Funny thing is this chapter did have an editor. I'm glad you liked it, I hope you stick around.
At this point, it really wouldn't surprise me if that was precisely the case.
Actually, at this point you might as well slap them, start a political revolution...it'd really be for the better. Clearly Equestria's current form of government is broken if they can do all of this.
Twilight's more resolute than I am. I would've snapped and snarked my way through all of it, making it clear that I was only doing this largely against my will...because that's totally what this is. The fact Twi's just going along with it without more of a fight is actually probably the most depressing part of this fic so far...still on the fence on whether that's a good thing for it or not.
No it wasn't! Don't even pretend they had anything even approximating that they had anything like that right! What's worse is that they don't even have a good reason, let alone the right! And being one of the victims, Twilight has more right to be angry than they do!
I'm surprised Pharynx hasn't had his chance to berate Twilight like her dad and brother have done to Thorax. You can't tell me he doesn't have words to say about all of this, nor that he's just going to keep silent about it, not that grump.
Thorax's aura is cyan blue, not orange.
8975958
Ditto on the pacing. It is all going too fast...but not cripplingly. It's really only most problematic at the more emotive parts of the story, and that damages its credibility somewhat, cheapens the effect.
8976231
And ditto pretty much all of that too.
...and I could run through all the reasons why again, but I'm told there's a method to this madness that will eventually come clear, so I'm waiting until then to comment on the matter further, so I'll leave that alone for now.
I will say that, despite the pacing problems, this chapter handled the emotions of its cast of characters notably better than past chapters, so yays and all on that.
And I also do get the feeling Celestia is acting this way only under duress now...which only raises more questions, but for once, it's the good kind, the kind you want readers asking. 
I am absolutely loving how Twilight and Thorax's relationship is developing, you guys have absolutely nailed the awkwardness that would be between the two. Keep up tje great work, and take as much time as you need.
8980370
I think Ember is the one who is gonna be berating twilight in this case lol.
Ember might be this stories jealous besy friend os something.
Excited for new chapter :)
9087559
so was I back in august
9186078
I know it's not out yet I'm sorry, but the good news is I'm making progress now! I don't know exactly when, but hopefully it will be soon.
9186094
thats good at least
Will queen chrysalis return
9216154
... well, I'm not saying she's not going to return...
9216625
Oh! Oh! Lemme Guess! She's been there the whole time as Princess Celestia, lying to Twilight and Thorax about the Marriage, setting it up herself, and trying her best to make it fail so they end up hating each other and her two worst enemies (The Ponies and the Changeling Rebellion's Leader, recently crowned "King" Thorax) Hopefully take each other out! Removing the Ponies from the spotlight as a very powerful political Ally in the eyes of the Changelings, while also trying to demoralize the King and try to get him overthrown, or leave the throne all together, for her to swoop in and save the day~
Did I get it right???
(Don't Read the Potential Spoilers.)
Also, by the way. I just want to say, this is by far one of the better Twilight/Thorax Shipfics I've found and read. Actually- this is the best thus far (minus some of the 'NSFD' stories I've read (Not Safe For Derpy.)) I hope all is well, if you need help with this thing man, don't be afraid to ask for help. XD I'm not too great at actually 'Writing' stories, but I'm certainly good when it comes to making Inspiration and Creative Ideas, and I'd hate to see something so good die like the rest of the stories I've seen "Go on Hiatus."
It makes me sad that this story is on Hiatus.
It was one of the best I have read thus far.
9264950
It won't be on hiatus for much longer.
9265217
Thats a relief lol
9265217
Can we get a release date lol
9285318
Eh... not really. If you look at my newest blog post you'll know the next chapter is complete, but my co-author want's to complete the fourth chapter first so we can get back on a weekly schedule. Life is a bit hectic for both of us so I can't give you an accurate date.
Whiplash