The Light Within Us

by theOwtcast

Something for Everyone

A pleasant surprise awaited me in the mail a few days later. Among the usual letters from Spike, Twilight and her friends, Starlight, Sunburst, and Ember, was an additional one bearing the royal seal of Princess Cadance. It wasn’t unlike her to send me letters, though she didn’t usually do it in an official capacity… What could be happening? I opened the letter and found it lacking the usual formal structure I’d learned to associate with insignia on an envelope. Had something been sent by mistake?

Dear Thorax,

Shining and I thought you might be interested to visit us for the Crystal Faire, since you enjoyed the last one save for the disappointment that Spike couldn’t be here. Consider yourself invited! This year, Auntie Celestia and I paid close attention to make sure the Faire doesn’t coincide with any major events in Canterlot, and the magical conference that messed with her and Spike’s plans last year is this time scheduled for the weekend before the Faire. Barring any unforeseen complications, all of your friends will be here to attend the Faire with us! Some of them have expressed interest in being given assignments, though, so I can’t vouch for all of them to be available for socializing. I expect you won’t want to run a booth this time, but in case you do, just tell us and we’ll have one set up and reserved for you. The same goes for any changelings you choose to bring, and I’m not saying this to be polite; Shining and I really do want to meet more of your subjects and see them mingle with the crystal ponies, and so do they! We’ve actually been halted in the streets a few times while taking Flurry for a walk and asked if we can get you to bring changelings to the Faire! We also don’t mind Pharynx being among them, though we understand if he doesn’t want to or you’re not comfortable with bringing him along.

I just realized I forgot to tell you the date of the Faire. It’s Saturday, September 4th. We hope to see you then!

Cadance
P.S. Flurry has a surprise for you!

Yes, Cadance, I certainly was interested in visiting for the Crystal Faire! The last one had been wonderful all on its own and made better by allowing me to contribute by selling my paintings and sketches, and if Spike and the others were coming this year, that was all I could ask for! And getting to bring changelings… was I dreaming? I knew the Crystal Empire’s royals were fond of changelings, so why hadn’t I expected an open invitation to such an important event?

I re-read the letter. It didn’t feel like a dream, but I still caught myself watching for Luna strolling by on the sidelines.

Satisfied eventually that I wasn’t going to see her in this context, I got up off my throne and went to talk to my subjects. We’d been invited, and it wouldn’t do to ignore this opportunity to strengthen the bond between our lands!

---

The train chugged on between the mountains and through snow-covered valleys of the far north. Though our destination was still too far to be observed, the calm weather promised no delays to our arrival. I wasn’t afraid; even with unexpected setbacks, we were close enough to fly there with only a slight delay, maybe even to teleport if we could trust the thaumic vortices that made such a method of transportation risky in this part of the world to have remained dormant with their snowstorm-inducing brethren.

Appeased by these thoughts, I shifted my attention to my fellow passengers. Though a few had rooted for teleportation all the way from the hive, the others had kept them grounded in reality, as they’d put it, claiming it would put too much strain on my magic, a stance that I couldn’t effectively counter, especially once it had found ample support in Pharynx. Thus, here we were, resting on the overnight train out of Appleloosa after having flown over the jungle. Some were still asleep under the morning sun caressing their carapaces through the train car’s windows; others had already opened their eyes to the incoming light.

“Are we there yet?” Antenna asked, yawning.

“Do you see any crystally buildings or spire-like castles?” Pharynx retorted.

“I thought the aura was a much better telltale sign than the architecture?” Grim joined in.

“Bleh. It’d be much easier to tell without all of you interfering. Just what in the world is making you broadcast that aura so intensely?”

“It’s in accordance with the Crystal Faire spirit-”

“You shut up, Thorax! You’re especially guilty! Another few minutes and I’ll be getting morbidly obese just by sitting next to you…”

“I’ll take that over being hungry any day,” Cornicle quipped.

“Just you wait, guys,” Feisty said. “I bet Pharynx will be the first in line for all the stalls and activities!”

“I’ll be the first in line for a nap,” he grumbled.

“Aww, but I brought you here to enjoy yourself!” I protested. “And didn’t you sleep just now?”

“Someling had to keep an eye on you lazy snugglebugs. And you know what I think about pony festivals and all the pathetic stuff they do there.” He turned to the window and made a show of ignoring us.

There was silence for a moment, then Elytra asked, “Think a crystal berry pie will change his mind?”

A round of chuckles followed.

“I heard somepony makes cute plushies there! Maybe that’ll do it!”

“Or the foals when they start playing with him!”

“I know! The crystal ewes are so fluffy and adorable, he won’t be able to resist!”

More giggling drowned out Pharynx’s annoyed groans, and the sour aura emanating from him was diluted by everyling else’s warmth; they pretended not to notice, but I was sure they did. Were they hoping their cheer would pass on to him if they tried hard enough? It hurt me to see him like that, but fortunately, I had an idea what to do about it.

“Sounds like all of you have plans already,” I said. “I’ll probably join you at some point, but personally, I’m just looking forward to seeing my friends again. I just hope the Royal Guard ones will be able to take a short break from patrolling or spare a moment during the jousting tournament to talk for a bit…”

Though he was still very deliberately staring through the window, Pharynx’s ears twitched at the mention of jousting, and I knew I’d caught his interest.

“Will you send anypony to buy our stuff?” Mystique asked, continuing the conversation, oblivious to my attempt to get Pharynx involved.

“Of course! That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? But I’m sure the ponies won’t need prompting to empty their money bags at your booths! They certainly did when I sold my stuff last year, and yours is way better than mine was!”

“Yeah, why aren’t you selling anything this year?”

“I didn’t make anything. Besides, Cadance asked if I’d care to be available for mingling with ponies and answering any questions they may have, which I think is more important for improving our reputation than selling a few doodles.”

“Hey, we’re almost there!”

Thunder was right; the crystal city was in full view by now, and we were approaching the station.

Almost everyling swarmed the window and uttered wow’s and whoa’s; the Empire had that effect on those seeing it for the first time. Feisty and I just grinned at each other, and Pharynx continued pouting.

Soon the train stopped, the doors opened, and a flash of golden magic popped in front of me before a ball of pink fluff attached itself to my chest.

“Tora here!” it babbled. “Ma, pa, Tora an chali here!”

“Yes, yes, Flurry, we’re here,” I chuckled, stroking her mane. “And you’ve learned to talk!”

“Yea! Follo me Tora!”

I followed her to the platform, where her parents were waiting with Spike and Twilight. We exchanged hugs right away.

“So, Thorax,” Shining said, “did you like Flurry’s surprise?”

“Absolutely! When did she learn to talk? Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“It was a surprise, silly,” Cadance chuckled.

“Of course,” I said. “Well, Flurry, now we can finally understand what you’re trying to tell us!” More or less… but it would get easier over time, so I wasn’t complaining.

“Yay! Tora come play wi me!”

“A little later, honey,” Cadance told her. “I’m sure he’ll drop by the foals’ playground at some point! You will, Thorax, right?”

“I will, and I brought Grim here to help your own foalsitters, as promised. Also, here are Mystique and Elytra with their arts-and-crafts projects, Antenna with flowers, Carapace with the storytelling, Whisper with the musical workshop… you’ve already met Pharynx and Feisty… and the rest just came to see the Empire and mingle with the citizens and tourists. I hope I haven’t brought too many?”

“It’s never too many,” Cadance reassured me. “If we’d wanted to limit your numbers, we would have said so!”

“That’s right, and we welcome you all to the Crystal Empire!” Shining added. “Though, we should get moving. The Faire starts in half an hour, you need to set up your booths, I have to check the roster and arena for the jousting tournament - there’s still a few open spots, by the way, so if any of you want to participate, come with me and I’ll sign you up - and we need to make sure there aren’t any last-minute complications before we open the festivities. Those of you without assignments will have to just be patient until everything is settled, I’m afraid.”

“Thorax said we’d be helping carry the stuff and set up the booths,” Cornicle said.

“I did, yes. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all! That’ll make things easier as long as you don’t lose track of who’s helping whom and where you’re supposed to go!”

“We won’t!”

We loaded the stuff onto our backs and headed for the city. Everypony and everyling except Pharynx found a companion to chat with along the way, but though he was technically alone, my brother kept close to Shining Armor at all times. If I didn’t know better, I would have suspected him to be plotting all kinds of things… but then again, if he were plotting things, he would have made sure to be less obvious about it.

I ended up with Spike riding on my back between pots of flowers and bush sprouts I was carrying for Antenna.

“So we finally get to do this together, huh?” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it last year!”

“It’s alright, Spike. I know you were busy with other things, and I got to enjoy the Faire regardless, though I did miss you. I take it you don’t have any assignments?”

“Not officially, other than helping Twilight with the preparations, though knowing the crystal ponies, they’ll swarm me again and I’ll end up telling stories and giving out autographs.”

“Mind if I sit in the audience?”

“Doesn’t Cadance want you to mingle with the ponies and whoever else visits?”

“Okay, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take a break from it for a few minutes to enjoy what the Faire has to offer! Right?”

“I guess, if you have nopony to strike up a conversation with.”

We were at the Faire grounds by then, and Spike rejoined Twilight as she directed us to our booths; Cadance excused herself to take Flurry to the castle for a quick breakfast and Shining trotted off towards the stadium, presumably to see to the jousting tournament as he’d mentioned. Pharynx lingered a moment longer and disappeared as we were settling into the booths and helping arrange stuff.

Antenna’s booth ended up right between Rarity’s fashion corner and Crystal Berry’s cookie stand.

“Hey, darling,” Rarity said. “I take it the journey from the hive went well?”

“It did!” Antenna said. “We’re well rested and ready for whatever the day will bring!”

“Oh my, and you do have such stunning flowers! Simply marvelous!” She gasped. “Ideeeaaa! It may be near-autumn, but who says one can’t design a spring fashion line ahead of its peak season? Do you mind terribly if I use some of your adorable flowers as motifs to incorporate into the designs?”

“Why would I mind? Do you need actual flowers or will you craft them out of fabric?”

“I’ll craft them out of fabric, but now that you mention it, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to have a few actual ones for reference…” She reached for one of the bags of coins. “I’ll take these, these, and these… oh, and maybe those, too? Thank you, dear! How much are they?”

“Let’s see… I’ll give you a discount, so… seventy-four bits?”

“Hey!” Berry shouted from her stall. “You gals wanna grab a snack while you’re at it?”

“Why, thank you, your pastries do smell divine! What would you recommend?”

“The crystal berry caramel hearts are the freshest out of the oven, not to say that the others are bad, I mean.”

“I’ll take one! It says three bits, if I’m seeing it correctly?”

“Two bits, since we’re giving out discounts. What about you, Thorax and… uh, I didn’t catch the name?”

“Antenna. No, I’ll just bask in the love coming from them, if you don’t mind, and leave the actual cookies to the ponies. I can still pay if you want…”

“Nah, love is best served free… Right, Thorax? You taught me that, didn’t you?”

I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. “Maybe…”

“Aw, modest as ever! Started eating pony food yet?”

“No, it still feels like I’m wasting resources others might need, even when there’s an obvious abundance of food.”

“This?” she snorted. “You should see Pinkie and Applejack! They run a pie booth together. I trotted past it half an hour ago and they already had enough to feed three death-starved Canterlots, and it smelled wonderful! Makes me worried I won’t sell anything…”

“I’m sure you will, darling,” Rarity reassured her, munching on the cookie she’d bought. “These treats speak for themselves!”

“I guess I can pitch in if you don’t sell much…” Antenna mused.

“Oh, pfsh! Of course she’ll sell everything, Antenna dear! They’re absolutely delightful!”

“You girls seem to have everything under control,” I said. “I’ll just go check on the others quickly before the Faire starts, if that’s alright with you? I’ll drop by later again if I can.”

“But of course, darling! Say, would it be too much trouble for you to take a few of Berry’s treats to Fluttershy? She’s in the petting zoo and I’m not sure if she’ll manage to catch a proper lunch break.”

“Of course! What about Rainbow and Starlight? Should I get something for them too?” I’d caught a glimpse of Starlight preparing a magical workshop while the other drones were settling into their booths, and I had no idea what Rainbow was doing.

“Rainbow rushed over to the jousting tournament, but I think she’ll get enough breaks between matches to grab a snack herself when she’s hungry.”

“And I left a couple of sandwiches and a slice of cake in the castle kitchen for Starlight. She said she intends to teleport them to herself as part of the workshop she’s running.”

“Okay, then, see you later!”

Fluttershy was very grateful for the cookies but had too many little ewes to keep an eye on to chat much, and I had just about enough time to check on the other drones’ booths before the Crystal Empire anthem marked the opening of the Faire. All four adult alicorn princesses and Shining Armor held a short speech and then disappeared into the crowd. I followed their example. It wasn’t long before crystal ponies, and occasionally non-crystal ones, started approaching me with questions about the new hive and how my subjects were adapting to their new lives; some who had known me before were interested to know how I was handling my new role in the changeling society, and there were even inquires about visiting the hive! I was kept busy, but not so busy that I’d miss noticing Spike get even more attention, just like we’d predicted.

A couple of hours later, after a conversation with a group of ponies from Fillydelphia, I ran into Rainbow strutting around furiously, muttering something to herself.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“That brother of yours… when I get my hooves on him…”

Oh no… “What’s he done now?”

“He beat me! I could have won! I should have won! I’m a Wonderbolt, darn it, not some newbie with four left hooves who can’t hold a lance!”

“So the jousting tournament is over already?”

“No.” She kicked at the ground. “Last I checked, they were getting ready for the quarterfinals.”

“Oh… I thought…”

“Yeah… I got my flank kicked in my third match… But don’t go blabbering about it or I’ll find you and make you sorry! I’ve got a reputation to maintain! And Pharynx owes me a rematch!”

Somehow, I doubted that would end up any differently, but Rainbow wasn’t in the mood to hear it. “Is Pharynx still in the game?”

“Yep.”

Of course he was. Stupid question. “...and when are they starting again?”

“Dunno. A couple of minutes? I’m not sticking around.” She marched off, grumbling to herself again.

I watched her go, debated cheering her up, and decided it was doomed to fail; nothing I said or did would make her stop pouting, and changing the past to make her the winner was even less likely. She probably just needed to get it out of her system… and it probably was hard for somepony not used to losing… but then again, nopony could win everything every time. And, realistically speaking, this wasn’t even her turf; though athletic and more versed in physical feats including combat than an average pony, she was first and foremost a flier, and jousting was a martial discipline, therefore the kind of thing Pharynx had spent his entire life training for.

And the tournament wasn’t over yet.

But I’d promised I’d be available to entertain the ponies…

“Don’t worry, Thorax,” Cadance said, approaching from behind me and gently touching my shoulder. “We’ve got you covered.”

How long had she been there… and how had she known?

In a daze, I nodded absent-mindedly and flew to the stadium.

The beginning of the quarterfinals were just being announced as I looked for an available seat. I found one next to an old friend.

“Aren’t you competing?” I asked him.

“I was,” he said. “Your brother defeated me in the first round. Part of me wants to be mad at him, but I think it’s just the universe’s way of ensuring some payback for the way I used to treat you.”

“What?! But we’re friends now, Trusty! I’ve forgiven you long ago!”

“But I still haven’t forgiven myself entirely, though getting to gradually discover your true self without much outside pressure helps me live with myself. Based on how much better I’ve fared compared to Captain Shining some months ago, I’m guessing Pharynx doesn’t know our history?”

“I haven’t told him, so if he has found out, he must have learned to control himself better.”

“Unless he just doesn’t want to get disqualified from further competing by breaking the rules and is plotting revenge for sometime out of ponies’ sight…”

“Don’t say that! I made him promise to behave himself!”

A round had just ended with a yak victorious over a bulky crystal pony I vaguely remembered seeing in a Royal Guard uniform once or twice while living here, and the next round was announced.

“Oh look, there he is!” I exclaimed as my brother marched into the arena. “Wait, where did he get that armor?”

“Beats me,” Trusty shrugged. “Didn’t he bring it along?”

“I don’t think we even have any armor that fits our new bodies. He certainly wasn’t carrying one on a train! He wasn’t even aware there was going to be a jousting tournament until we were almost here!”

“Oh well, a mystery for another time. Maybe the Captain assumed Pharynx would be interested and had an armor made for him during the preparations for the Faire.”

“Maybe. Who’s that other guy?”

“One of the Royal Guards; a transfer from Manehattan, I think. He came here only a couple of weeks ago and I still haven’t gotten around to spending much time around him outside of morning roll-call.”

“I was chased in Manehattan once, but I don’t remember any Royal Guards, only police officers and some brave civilians…”

“An outpost exists, but yeah, it’s a small one and they’re there pretty much just for appearances and ceremonial purposes, and watching over the city is mostly in the police’s hooves. Unless you’d been found right under their snouts or the chase lasted all day, I’m not surprised they didn’t have time to show up before you ran off.”

“Probably-” The round began, and Pharynx scored an epic hit. “Ouch… that must have hurt…”

“Who are you rooting for?”

“Hey, just because my brother is competing doesn’t mean I want the other guy dead! …he isn’t dead, is he?”

“Nah, just unconscious… I think…” The medics came and carried him away. “Yep, alive. They didn’t cover him and halt the tournament.”

“So… what now?”

“Pharynx wins this round and the tournament continues. This isn’t the first time in history that somepony got knocked out and it won’t be the last.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but at least they’d provided medical staff on standby and there seemed to be rules against excessive violence, so it probably wasn’t that bad… And if Sunburst had been right a while ago about ponies rarely sustaining injuries, then this incident couldn’t be a regular thing, right? I decided not to ask.

Like Trusty had said, the tournament continued. Sentinel battled a griffon and won, this time without medical interventions for either party, and after them came a red dragon and-

“Shining Armor is competing?!” I exclaimed. “I thought he was only going to oversee the tournament!”

“That was the idea, but Paladin’s wife went into labor so he dropped out of the roster five minutes after the tournament started, and Captain couldn’t find anypony to replace him.”

“Oh…wow… I didn’t know he was expecting a foal!”

“Yeah, he- What the?”

The dragon, obviously furious that his winning streak that had brought him to the quarterfinals was about to end, blew a fireball at Shining, who was, thankfully, skilled enough in defensive magic to conjure up a shield.

“Stop!” an overseer shouted. “Garble, you’re disqualified!”

“We’ll see about that, you pathetic pony!”

“Keen Watch is right,” Shining declared. “You made an illegal move.”

“And your magic tricks aren’t illegal, now?”

“No.” Keen Watch reached into his saddlebag, took out a book, and leafed through the pages until he found what he was looking for, then showed it to Garble. “See here? ‘Rule 51: An illegal move shall be permitted if used in defense from an opponent’s illegal move in the event that attempting defense by a legal move would not be expected to prevent the defending competitor from sustaining a major injury or death.’”

“Pathetic rules for pathetic ponies!”

“Call it as you will, but you could have killed your opponent, so be glad you’re just disqualified and not arrested!”

“Pfft! Illegal this, disquali- quali- whatever! I should have known wimps like you would hide behind stupid rules so it’d be less obvious how pathetic you are! At least it’ll be fun to watch you try to stop me while I eat all your precious gems!”

“Garble!” a roar echoed from the opposite side of the stadium. Ember flew into the arena and pointed her scepter at the exit. “Out. Now!”

“B-b-but Dragon Lord-”

“I. Said. Out!” To the ponies, “Sorry about that. I should have known he was gonna cause trouble and forbidden him from competing, or better yet, not brought him along in the first place. I’d better escort him to the Dragon Lands before he starts another international incident.”

“Can’t she send another dragon to escort him?” I asked Trusty.

“Nope. The only other dragon here is Spike, and that would have gone spectacularly.”

“Yeah… I can imagine…”

Despite this second incident in a short time, the semifinals started without much fuss. Pharynx defeated the yak with only a little more effort than he’d needed against the Royal Guard, and Shining triumphed over Sentinel, who amply redeemed herself in the battle for third place against the yak three times her size.

“And now, the grand finale,” Trusty said as the remaining competitors strode to their positions. “I must say, Thorax, this has been one of the more interesting tournaments I’ve seen, and this final round is going to be especially interesting!”

“I know… that’s what I’m worried about!”

“So, knight Shining Armor, we meet again,” Pharynx taunted from his end of the arena. “I challenge you to a battle in the honor of my King!”

I hid under my hooves and let out a moan. Trusty patted me on the back.

“Let’s begin, knight Pharynx,” Shining taunted back.

Keen Watch signalled the start, and the Captain and the First Commander launched into a full gallop with lances held tightly at the ready. I winced as Pharynx scored a hit, but Shining didn’t allow himself to be knocked down. The two charged at each other again a few times and both managed to dodge a blow, until Shining’s lance connected with Pharynx’s armor, and I winced again; though stumbling a little more than Shining had earlier, he steadied himself quickly and I allowed myself to breathe again.

As they prepared to charge again, I sensed a red-hot surge in my brother’s aura.

“Don’t kill him, Pharynx, please,” I whispered.

Shining knocked Pharynx down and I bit into my hoof, but Pharynx wasn’t giving up just yet; he flipped himself back onto his hooves and resumed his charge in one fluid motion, returning the favor before his opponent realized what had happened.

The entire stadium broke out in gasps and Trusty joined me in hoof-biting.

Shining tried to get back onto his hooves but was lanced down again. He made one more attempt, but Pharynx hadn’t even stopped pressing him down. He strode closer, pressing the lance down harder until he was standing over him and Shining struggled to breathe.

Then, stomping onto his chest, he lifted the lance and stabbed it into the ground just next to Shining’s head with so much force that the wood broke in half.

The stadium went silent as Pharynx, now calm as a mountain lake, walked away from the arena and left Shining Armor lying on the ground wide-eyed, gasping for breath.

“Excuse me,” I muttered after a few stunned seconds, having recovered from what I’d seen, and flew to intercept Pharynx on his way out.

I caught up to him in the stadium’s entrance lobby.

“Are you satisfied now?” he asked. “I left him alive.”

“I… yes, you seem to control yourself a little better now.”

“And for the record, I didn’t orchestrate this so I’d end up fighting him.”

“I know. You couldn’t have… you probably didn’t even realize this was part of the Faire until I mentioned it on the train…”

“I didn’t, no. I almost missed it in favor of a nap…”

“Instead, you won,” I smiled.

“Heh. Yeah. Ponies are still pathetic enough that I managed to kick their flanks even after a sleepless night. Which reminds me… there’s a nice, quiet cave on the outskirts and I’d better get going if I want to be awake again in time to catch a train home.”

“But you’ll miss the award ceremony…”

“You can pick it up.”

“But I’m not you!”

“But you can look like me. We’re changelings, remember?”

“I don’t know… it still doesn’t feel right…”

“Whatever.” He engulfed himself in blue flames and emerged from them unarmored, then started to walk away. “It’s not like I care any for a piece of pony metal on a string, anyway.”

“If I promise to teleport you to that cave afterwards, will you stay and accept the medal yourself?”

He paused, then rolled his eyes and turned back, attempting to hide a smirk. “Eh, fine.”

I started to follow him back towards the arena when a realization hit me. “Wait, did you go through the entire tournament without armor?!”

Comments

[origami]

I get the feeling you were making some references to other stories at a few points in this chapter.

[theOwtcast]

11875851
Naaaaaaaah...

[Yuri Bacon]

11875851
I didn't notice any excpet for The Odd One, earlier in the series. https://www.fimfiction.net/story/476208/the-odd-one

[origami]

11876068
There's a story by Unity Bringer called The Little Things that involved a petting zoo with crystal ewes, and the pet name Tora could be alluding to the story A Watchful Changeling by Carapace.

[theOwtcast]

11876249
I did steal borrow Tora from Carapace, yeah. I haven't read The Little Things, so that's a coincidence.

[origami]

11876264
Really? I'm pretty sure you left a comment on it along the lines of Thorax asking Shining Armor to get him ALL the crystal ewes.

[theOwtcast]

11876285
Oh, right, I did read it, I just forgot (also this chapter might have alrealy been written by then and waiting for its turn to get published)