Part I, Chapter 14 - The Empire's Decision (PART I FINALE)
Thorax now found himself walking back towards the throne room he had been in only a few hours ago. Around him were a squad of guards, all with spears trained on him lest he choose to do something hostile. Of course, he had no intention of that sort, but the guards did not trust him in the slightest. The changeling silently wondered if that was an indication of the kind of outcome he should expect from this scenario playing out.
As he walked, he distracted himself with thoughts of the conversation that he'd been having with his friends in the princess's guest room. Thorax had to give a small chuckle, which put the guards more on edge than they already were. Two days ago, if somepony had told him that he have four friends and he'd be pleading a case for asylum in a territory governed by the two ponies whose lives he'd had the most negative impact upon, he'd have called them insane. Most ponies would agree, because any reaction to an undisguised changeling besides either being hostile or just outright running in fear could be called insane.
"KEEP WALKING!", the lead guard shouted,"NO FUNNY BUSINESS!" Thorax flinched upon the spear being thrust towards his face, but did nothing else. Even if he was told no and made to leave the empire, he'd prefer to do it without injury. He simply kept quiet as he approached the throne room, and most likely his future.
Princess Cadance sat nervously on her throne as she waited for the crystal guards to bring the changeling before her. Not long before, she and her husband, with input and clarification from all three of the other princesses of Equestria, had made a decision regarding the changeling. It took into account both Shining Armor and her own viewpoints and was a great example of compromise.
Unfortunately, while Shining had agreed to it, he had no desire to be present when the decision was read aloud. He simply excused himself to attend to his guards and gave no more comment on the current situation. This bothered Cadance a bit, as she hoped her husband would stay with her while she read out the decision, but she couldn't fault him entirely for not wanting to be present. They both had a hard time coming to a decision, and Shining wasn't thrilled to learn that Celestia had granted the changeling immunity from being punished for the Canterlot invasion, so the ability to throw him in a dungeon for that was off the table.
As she waited, Cadance reviewed the documents and made sure all the Ts were crossed and the Is were dotted. Seeing nothing out of place, she averted her gaze out the large windows of the throne room, watching some of the birds flying about in the air, and the odd pegasus going about their day as well.
After a few more minutes, Cadance heard the rhythmic clopping of a squad of guards. Looking to the door, she saw the group approaching the throne room. They were all holding spears towards the center of the group, where a black chitin coated changeling was walking in time with them, presumably to avoid being poked with a spear.
"Guards", Cadance addressed the group,"You may resume your posts. Thorax, please step forward."
The guards looked apprehensive, but obeyed and resumed their position on either side of the red carpet approaching the throne. Thorax nervously and cautiously made his way towards the throne, where a chair and table had been placed in front the dais it sat upon. On the table was an inkwell with a single quill resting inside of it. Thorax had walked up to the table and paused, assuming this was as far as he should go.
"Sit down, Please" Cadance commanded, indicating a chair in front of the table. He took his seat and looked at the princess with both anxiousness and nervousness. Cadance took notice of this and did one final check of the documents before her. Once she was sure that everything was in order, she looked at him and spoke.
"Thorax", she began,"You have come here to the Crystal Empire with a proclaimed desire for asylum and to live peacefully amongst my subjects. You have giving support to your claims: Spike the Dragon, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Starlight Glimmer, and Heartfelt Sentiment, and both Princess Celestia and Luna. Each has claimed that the asylum you seek would be to prevent persecution based on personal beliefs. We have heard their arguments in support of you and have taken into account the fact that you are a changeling and, according to several of those testifying on your behalf, were present during the attempted invasion of the city of Canterlot."
"After careful consideration and deliberation, we have reached a decision on the matter of your asylum."
Thorax fidgeted in his seat. His nerves were building up inside him. In just moments, he would find out whether or not he would get the chance to make his dream a reality, or if he was doomed to living what life he had left in the darkest dungeon they could find. He held his breath as he waited.
"We have decided...", Cadance continued,"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Cadance sat for a moment, fidgeting slightly, apparently nervous about what she was going to say.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... That on a probationary and provisional basis, we will permit you to stay in the Crystal Empire."
Thorax sat there for a moment. He didn't know how to react. A part of him wanted to jump into the air and scream for joy at the words "permit you to stay", but he was wary because of the words "probationary and provisional" that came before it. Cadance went on to explain the full decision.
"For the next six months, you will be allowed to stay here in the empire, but there are terms you must agree to and follow to stay here during that time."
Cadance then levitated a paper to her face so she could read it.
"Firstly, you will be confined to the palace until we determine you can be allowed outside, and certain areas inside the palace will also be considered off limits. Second, you will be under 24/7 supervision of a guard, a request Luna was happy to assist with by providing a squad of her night guard to stay here during the next six months. Also, you will be placed in restraints that will allow you movement, but will severely inhibit your ability to cause harm to my subjects. However, I warn you now that if you should try something hostile, we will shred this agreement and you will find yourself in the dungeons faster than you can swear to whatever higher power you would swear to."
Thorax gulped at that. He had no intention of harming anypony, but that threat was an effective deterrent from even considering the thought. Princess Cadance concluded with the last term.
"Finally, we make a request of you to complete 1,000 hours community service as a show of good faith. It will be carried out with our cleaning staff, who will be made aware of your situation and trained in how to deal with you should you become unruly. Most of them are unicorns, so we will be able to teach them spells that will be effective to use on you."
"If you agree to these terms, you may sign at the bottom of this document." As she finished speaking, Cadance levitated the papers to the table in front of Thorax and a glow formed around a line at the bottom of the paper. Looking at it, Thorax saw that it was more or less what the princess had read off to him. Near the bottom, there were a few lines with signatures above them. One he recognized was Cadance's, which was fairly loopy and finished with a heart after the last E. The other, belonging to Shining Armor, had been not only hastily done, but with so much force that it actually tore the paper at parts. Thorax took a second to think about the document, then decided he needed clarification.
"Um, Princess", he began,"I have some questions, if I can ask them."
Cadance looked at him for a moment, then nodded. "Go ahead."
"Okay. The first one is the restraints. What does that mean?"
Cadance floated a document that had a pegasus pony on it, as well as some arrows pointing at different places. Gesturing with a pointer, she indicated different places. "The restraints will start with a magic inhibiting ring on your horn, to keep you from using any magic we deem to be harmful to our subjects. Basic levitation will be permitted to allow you to perform the duties of cleaning the palace, but will be so diminished as to prevent you from using any type of weapon. After that is a belt around your barrel to hold your wings down, then a pair of horseshoes that will have soft soles to keep you from physically hurting a pony, but enchanted to not slide on the floor when it's wet. Last will be a muzzle over your mouth to keep you from biting anypony. A lot perhaps, but hopefully we only have to do this for peace of mind and not to stop an actual threat."
The last part had been spoken with a little bit of an edge to it, likely to dissuade any thoughts of actually trying to cause harm. Thorax read over the document again, and then saw something he skipped over the first time, but surprised him a great deal.
"You're going to permit me to feed?" he asked, not quite believing what he had read. Cadance looked wide eyed for a second, but then she remembered that part of the terms.
"Yes", she confirmed,"For two half hour periods, once in the morning and once in the evening, you will be permitted to feed on the excess love of the empire. You will be taken to a designated location and the suppression ring will be removed so as to allow you to feed. However, should you attempt to feed directly on anypony, the deal we have here is null and void, and we will turn you over to the princesses in Canterlot for them to judge what punishment you face."
Thorax gulped, but nodded in understanding. He then went on to read further into the document and saw something else to catch his eye. "I'm getting a teacher?"
"Yes", she answered,"We have no idea of your intellect, so our crystaller has agreed to instruct you in any non-sensitive matters in regards to living here. You'll have one two-hour session each day from noon to two o'clock. While he has the majority of control over what he will teach you, my husband and I will have final say over his curriculum."
Thorax nodded and continued reading over the agreement. When he finished, he did it again, and again. Each time, he smiled just a little bigger. After about the fourth time rereading the document, he looked up at Cadance with hopeful eyes. "This is real?" he asked her.
"Yes" she replied.
"Really real?"
"Yes."
"So, the minute I sign this, I can stay?"
"If you sign on the line at the bottom, the document becomes official, which means you are granted the probationary asylum. So, yes, you'll be allowed to stay."
Upon hearing that, Thorax had a large smile on his face and a tear down his cheek. Without any further words, Thorax lifted the quill out of the inkwell, wiped away the excess ink, and scrawled his name on the paper.
Cadance watched the event happening before her with a shocked expression. Upon hearing about the restraints and all of the security around him, she had expected the changeling to refuse and be taken away. Instead, the exact opposite happened, and the fact that this changeling was now an accepted part of the Crystal Empire sunk in. "Shining really isn't going to like this" she thought to herself.
Thorax put the quill back in the inkwell and looked back up at Cadance. The princess looked on at him in shock, and he could feel a great deal of emotions coursing through her, namely anxiety and fear. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he was cut short by the princess taking the paper and rolling it up and sealing it with a seal that bore her cutie mark on it.
"Take this to the records hall and have it processed", she told a servant that had been standing off to the side and out of sight of Thorax,"and speak not a word of this until I make an official announcement." The servant nodded and quickly left out a side door. Cadance then gestured for a group of guards to come forward.
"I want you to take him to the smithing shop so that we can have the restraints placed on him", she ordered,"Make sure the enchanter is down there as well. I want everything taken care of before ten tonight."
"Yes ma'am!" the guard replied, then prodded Thorax with a spear to get him to move. Thorax took a few steps forward, but then stopped.
"Princess" he began to address Cadance, but was cut off by a guard getting into his face and starting to yell to keep moving. Cadance waved her hoof at him.
"It's alright, guard", she told him, then asked Thorax,"What is it you wish to say?"
Thorax took a breath before responding. "I know that wasn't an easy choice for you to make, but before I leave, I just wanted to say... Thank you."
Cadance was taken by surprise, but only nodded in acknowledgement before gesturing for the guards to take him. The group moved out of the throne room and down the hall, stern eyes trained on the changeling in the center, who had a large grin on his face.
While it wasn't exactly how he hoped things to go, it was a step in the direction he wanted to be going in. For the first time in his life, he had found some acceptance, and he finally got to hear the words he had been hoping to hear from ponies since he started his journey so long ago.
You can stay.
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A little tense here & there but at least Thorax's finally making some headway (course with the thorn on his side named Shinning things might get rough!
) We'll see how it goes from here on out!
Thanks again for another sweet chapter!
Awww, this was wonderful and sweet, Thorax gets to stay! I can't wait to see more!
And, uh, just a side note, the "Finale" in the title might confuse some readers and make them think the story is completely over. It might just be me, though if you're worried about this, consider saying "Arc 1 Finale" instead. You don't have to though, just a suggestion. Great job!
10849324
It's a legitimate concern, but I'm not overly worried. I've made mention in the author notes of this chapter and the last that it would go on past this, not to mention I've said I'm writing more for this in my blog posts. But if people get confused, then it will be a pleasant surprise for them to see the story continue past the "finale"
10849335
Alright then. Anyway, great job with the chapter!
I'm not comfortable with those restraints Thorax will be put in, but the ponies' caution is understandable, and given where our favorite cinnabug is coming from, he probably sees it as a small price to pay for having friends. Let's hope he won't be in them for very long
What did I say before?
The only suspicious creature here is Shining. I worry he might have...other plans. Honestly, I was surprised he even agreed to this much. But time will tell.
Oh sure, drag it out why don't you. It's not like the suspense can't always be dialed up higher still, after all.
That must've been Shining's big contribution to all of this.
That one's admittedly pretty reasonable, though, and I'd imagine Thorax won't protest it--if anything, he'd see it as his way to pay back for past actions too.
My gut reaction here is to advise Thorax read every word of this document in full first before signing, you know, in case of any secret clauses or exploitable loopholes that could be used against him and stuff like that.
I dunno, at that point, wouldn't it just be easier to stick him into a magic-proof giant hamster ball and be done with it?
Well...you could've asked him yourselves...
So...what, you were bluffing, then? Well, that's what you get for that, first of all, but honestly, I don't know why you're so surprised. Even if Thorax did mean ill-intent for whatever reason, this arrangement would still be overall better for him in the long run than the alternative.
All in all, that honestly went better than I was expecting, so hopefully that continues, moving forward.
10850260
Better than what you put him through that’s for sure.
10850310
Yeah, but I've been trying hard not to draw comparisons all throughout reading this, so...
wait isn't treating him like a slave with manual labor/community service while restrained break the immunity Celestia given to him?
I do hope the sisters hear about his treatment immediately
10870783
He agreed to it when he signed the document. Besides, I'm sure he would want to contribute back as a show of thanks even without being requested to
10871216
even if he did agree, the fact he'll put a muzzle and restraints. Publicly doing community service with said restraints. Ponies WILL assume he DID something and finally got what he deserve or if they hear the alicorn sisters give him a pardon but their empress didn't ? Ponies will still talk
10888172
I didn't expressly write it in the chapter, but Cadance and Shining Armor are kind of keeping Thorax "under wraps". Basically, he's being kept away from the general public, and anyone that resides in the palace is under a gag order not to speak of him. Not ideal for Thorax, yes, but events will transpire to change that in part 2.
With all these limitations and restrictions that many would see as demeaning, I’m just waiting for Thorax to express his joy at being treated so much better than he expected or was ever treated by the hive (with the exception of Pharynx, of course).