Fitting In Is Hard To Do

by origami

Part IV, Chapter 15 - Van Hoover, Part 4 - Gratitude and Leniency

The Kindness chapters will continue after this one.

---

Thorax could only stare in awe of the two ponies in front of him.

It's them, he thought to himself. It's really them.

He never heard their names, but there were enough clues for him to be sure. Firstly was the fact that all four princesses had conferred on the matter of Thorax's residency in the Crystal Empire, and it was agreed that, until such a time as his safety could be guaranteed and a panic wouldn't occur, all information regarding him was to be kept confidential. To that extent, the only ponies who would know about him would be those who were involved with him in one way or another, and the two detectives disclosing the information about Sharpclaw and his underlings had earned them the privilege of being in the loop, so to speak.

Besides this, Thorax was only ever told that the two ponies that provided the information were a stallion and mare detective duo from Van Hoover, for which these two fit the description to a tee.

"I suppose it's a lot to take in," Old Bill said to Thorax, who could only nod his agreement.

Before anypony could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, which then opened to reveal the detective from before, followed by a royal guard.

As soon as Thorax saw the armor, he deflated in the chair he was sitting in. Guess that's it for my visit to Equestria, he thought as he watched the guard.

"May we help you?" Peach asked the guard.

The guard produced some papers and gave them to the detective. "I was given orders to take this changeling from your custody so that he could be taken before the commander."

Peach read over the papers and then showed them to Old Bill, who read them and nodded to her. "We shouldn't be too much longer," he told the guard. "If you could just wait outside while we finish?"

"Of course," the guard replied and moved to step out of the room, but stopped and looked back at the two. "Almost forgot. I'll need a copy of the incident report from tonight concerning the attempted rape. It's relevant to the changeling situation after all."

"We'll get you a copy after we're done here," Peach told the guard, who nodded and finally stepped out. Alone again, Thorax took a breath as he looked at both Peach and Bill.

"I wasn't sure if I would ever get to meet you two," he began, "and there's so much that I want to say to the both of you, but the first thing I want to say is... thank you. Thank you for getting that information to the Crystal Empire and helping me with my case. Because of both of you, I was exonnerated and set free. Now, I get the chance to live with the ponies of the Crystal Empire and have a life I've always wanted. So... Thank you."

Peach, upon hearing his words, actually got a little choked up, a hoof wiping a few small tears from her eyes. Old Bill stood there with a simple smile on his muzzle.

"You're welcome, Thorax," he said. "Truth be told, we weren't completely sure it was you until we heard you telling the interrogator about your time in the Crystal Empire."

"Really?"

Bill nodded. "After we relayed that info, we were told to stay on the phone line. When they picked up again, it was Princess Cadance speaking to us. She thanked us for relaying the information, and then explained to us the sensitive nature of the situation and asked us to keep things a secret for the time being."

"That doesn't bother you?" Thorax asked, sounding a little concerned.

"Nope," Peach chimed in with a smile. "We just do what we're told, and sometimes, we're told not to go blabbing."

Bill nodded his agreement. "We'll have to talk to the interrogator and get the info he gathered from you and mark it classified. That'll get sent to the princesses in Canterlot and kept on file with the royal guard."

Thorax tensed up upon hearing that the information would be sent to the princesses, as well as the royal guard itself. He wondered with a bit of dread whether or not Shining Armor would see it.

Being as perceptive as a detective is supposed to be, Old Bill took notice of Thorax's reaction. "I take it that us letting Canterlot know would be a bit of trouble for you?"

Thorax sighed. "It stokes an inferno that's already there. I was brought in because I went after a stallion that attacked my friend. Seeing that... I got mad, like... seeing red kind of mad. I had him pinned down under my hooves and was snarling at him."

"As much as I hate to admit it, but if Fluttershy had not been there to stop me, I probably would've drained him comatose."

Old Bill and Peach both winced a bit upon hearing that.

"Well," Peach said after a moment, "that stallion probably deserved it."

"That still would've been wrong of me. When I left the hive, I did so because I didn't want to take love like that. I wanted to have friends that shared it with me, and I wanted to share it back with them. If I had done it, it would've went against all that I believe in."

"I must say, your conviction is admirable," Old Bill commended Thorax. "Even when your reactions could be understood, if not justified, you still strive to be the bigger pony."

Thorax didn't say anything, but did smile. After a moment, however, it changed to a frown. "That's nice to hear, even if it doesn't do me much good."

Peach cocked her head at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Thorax began but paused as he thought how to explain it, "my being here in Equestria was under some... special conditions. One of those was that I didn't reveal myself to anypony while here, but... you can see that I've failed to follow that rule pretty majorly."

Both Peach and Bill look at each other before giving Thorax nervous smiles.

"I wouldn't worry too much, Thorax," Peach said to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Both Peach and I know the guard commander here in Van Hoover," Bill cut in. "You could say we've worked closely together for some time, even. He generally doesn't make a decision until he has all the facts, and he usually considers how the involved parties were feeling at the time an incident occurred."

Peach nodded. "I can't say for absolute certain, but I don't believe the commander would toss you in their prison or send you packing back to wherever."

Thorax looked a bit hopeful. "You mean, he might let me stay?"

Old Bill shrugged. "Nothing's set in stone yet. He might feel obligated to do so, but he might also give you a pass, considering there was a pony you consider a friend involved and they were attacked in such a despicable way."

"Yeah," Thorax agreed, a tiny bit of an edge to his voice, "despicable for sure."

"Regardless of what happens," Peach finished, "both Bill and I would be interested in hearing from you. If the princesses reveal you to the rest of Equestria, then I get to brag that I have a changeling pen pal!"

"Speaking of pens," Bill said with a smug grin, "we have to put ours through a workout before we head home."

Upon hearing that, Peach deflated. "You just had to bring the mood down, didn't you?"

Old Bill chuckled. "We can't keep him and the guard commander waiting." He then turned to Thorax. "Tell Gold that Bill and Peach send their regards."

Thorax gives a smile, though a bit forced. "I will."

Bill and Peach smile as they leave the interrogation room. A second after they leave, the guard pokes his head in.

"You'll want to disguise yourself as Crystal Hoof for the trip over to the captain's office."

Thorax did as requested, and with no more words exchanged, the two left the police station.

---

The guard and Thorax arrive at the train station about an hour later. Heading down the hallways where the guard commander's office is located, the pony in front of Thorax knocks on the office door three times.

"Yes?" the commander called out.

"I'm back from the police station," the guard answered. "I have the changeling with me, along with some paperwork regarding why he was arrested earlier tonight."

There was silence for a few moments, before the commander replied, "Bring him in."

Opening the door, the guard let Thorax enter first, coming in behind and closing the door.

Thorax looked over at the commander's desk and saw the pony sitting down behind it, his eyes scanning the changeling's disguised form.

"An incident report, sir," the guard said as he presented paperwork, "and an explanation from the guard who failed to report earlier."

Commander Imperial Gold took the papers from the stallion and nodded. "Please wait outside. I can handle things from here."

The guard nodded and left the office. Thorax stood uncomfortably in place while the captain glanced over the papers.

"Have a seat," he told Thorax, "and please remain quiet as I read over these reports."

"O-Okay," Thorax replied, taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

Imperial Gold didn't acknowledge Thorax after that. His eyes scanned the paper in his hooves, his mind processing the information and making conclusions.

At least, that's what Thorax hoped he was doing.

After ten minutes of reading, where he switched between the incident report and the guard's explanation for his tardiness, Imperial Gold looked at Thorax with a stern, yet gentle expression.

"I have a few questions," he said to Thorax, "and I want honest answers."

"Um, alright?" Thorax replied, uncertainty clear in his voice.

"First, this report says that an undisguised changeling was found with the bearer for the Element of Kindness, Miss Fluttershy, and a stallion that was encased in a cocoon-like object. This was you, correct?"

Thorax sunk down in the chair. They're gonna send me back to the empire and Princess Cadance, he thought to himself.

"Y-Yeah, that was me."

Imperial Gold just nodded. "Well, according to this incident report, the stallion you cocooned attempted to rape Miss Fluttershy, and she claimed that you came to her defense. Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is."

Imperial said nothing further. He read over the incident report again, and then re-read the explanation from the guard. Once he finished, he looked at Thorax again.

"From what I gather, when all this happened and you revealed yourself, it was during the attack on Miss Fluttershy, correct?"

"Yes, it was."

Imperial smiled. "I imagine seeing her being attacked upset you, didn't it?"

"I don't think upset would be the right word."

"Would righteously furious be more apt?"

"I'd say that's probably in the neighborhood or being more appropriate."

"You consider Miss Fluttershy to be a friend, don't you?"

Thorax sighed. "I'd like her to be, but..."

"But?"

"I can still sense it. Their apprehension. I can tell when they're still nervous around me and just putting on a brave face."

Imperial's expression didn't change, but Thorax could feel his mood shift to something resembling pity.

"That's a shame. You do seem like a nice stallion. Maybe one day we'll be able to put all of this nonsense behind us and come to accept you for who you are."

Thorax wasn't quite sure what to make of that remark, so he didn't say anything. Imperial looked at the incident report again as he spoke.

"To the letter of the law, or at least the rules that you were supposed to follow, you did reveal yourself as a changeling to a pony here in Equestria."

He pauses as he looks up with a small smile. "However, given the circumstances you found yourself in, I would say that you were not in your right mind when that happened."

Putting the incident report down, Imperial Gold looked at Thorax was a gentle smile.

"I'm gonna let this go with just a warning."

Thorax blinked. "Really?"

Imperial nodded. "Yes, really. If you find yourself in a situation like that again, just do all you can to get some help. It's honestly the safer option; if you hadn't caught him off guard by revealing you were a changeling, that stallion probably would've walloped you worse than those ponies in the Crystal Empire did."

"Y-You know about that?" Thorax asked nervously.

"We do," the commander confirmed. "Each guard post commander was given a brief dossier on you, detailing your life since you were given that..."

Imperial pauses to check a folder set off to the side, Thorax's name on the tag sticking out.

"...probationary asylum," he finished.

Thorax felt a little dumb after the stallion had said it. Of course the princesses would pass along all the information that they had on him.

"So, to finish," Imperial continued, "you're just getting a warning about revealing yourself to other ponies. Try not to let it happen again."

Thorax blinked. "So I don't have to leave Equestria?"

Gold shook his head. "You don't even have to leave Van Hoover. Just watch your temper and when and where you drop that disguise here in the city."

Thorax couldn't believe it. He was allowed to stay, even after the incident earlier this evening.

"It's also probably a good idea for you to go check on Miss Fluttershy," Gold added. "She's probably going to want some company after what happened to her tonight."

Thorax nodded at that, but then realized an important detail.

"I forgot to ask where her hotel is."

"That's okay," Gold said as he pulled a piece of paper from his desk. "She's in the same hotel as Miss Tree Hugger."

Thorax looked at the commander in shock. "How did you know that?"

Gold chuckled. "We're well aware of the herbal remedies of Miss Tree Hugger. We keep tabs on her just in case somepony bites off more than they can chew."

"We also keep tabs on any friends of hers in case she overindulges. There was actually an incident a few years ago where we had to return her to Miss Fluttershy after she had too many of her brownies and thought some ornamental flowers were a 'giant candy bush'."

Thorax didn't quite know what the stallion had meant, but he was more concerned about the mare he'd spent a nice day with.

"I would appreciate it if one of the guards could take me to her, i-if it isn't much trouble."

"Not a problem at all. In fact, I think one of the night guards is about to come off duty. I could make a request for him to take you to her before he goes home for the night."

"I would appreciate that greatly."

Imperial made a gesture to Thorax, and the two left the office in search of the guard. As they looked in the break room, Thorax kept wondering about Fluttershy, and hoping that she was okay.

Author's Note:

Things working out better for Thorax. He gets to meet Old Bill and Peach Fuzz, the two ponies who provided the evidence to help exonerate him, and Imperial Gold has let him off with a gentle warning. I dare say Van Hoover's guard commander is Thorax's favorite at this point.

In the next chapter, we get back to Fluttershy and see how the mare is holding up after her ordeal. It will be some time before I post that chapter because, like with Kindness Part 2, I want to take the time and make sure the subject matter is treated with the respect it deserves.

Comments

[Scyphi]

Nice to see things going Thorax's way for a change.

...if you're waiting for a typically and overly long and hyper-analytical comment from me, I'm afraid you're gonna have to be disappointed, that's really all I got to say this time.

[Velvet-Fresh]

prediction, they still have to sent the report to the Crystal Empire and the idiot that Cadence is sleeping with is probably going to gloss over the rape part and would probably say "I don't care why. " only to get bitchslapped. Hopefully anyway

[Starlight Glimmer1]

11682370
That’s a shame.

[Scyphi]

11683845
I know. But I really couldn't think of anything else to say that I hadn't already said before, and I didn't want to be repeating myself like a broken record.

[Melody Song]

Good to see the Commander is understanding. I hope Flutters is doing okay though...