Thorax's Visit to Ponyville

by origami

Arriving

"Next stop - Ponyville Station!"

I looked at the conductor as he moved down the aisle between all of the seats on the train. He was alerting the passengers who were meant to get off the train at this stop. It was my stop as well, and it made me rather nervous to finally be here after so long.

Back during Hearth's Warming, Princess Twilight, my friend Spike's surrogate mother/older sister, had told me that the town of Ponyville would be agreeable to letting me visit them and do so without having to disguise my changeling appearance. Hearing that I could visit the town and just be my real self was wonderful news to hear, but knowing that I would also be getting to spend some time with my first true friend made it even better.

Of course, there were some conditions I had to follow in order to come visit Ponyville. I was to be escorted by a guard, and I had to make the trip here in my Crystal Hoof disguise. Those two conditions had been insisted upon by both Princess Cadance and her husband Prince/Captain Shining Armor.

Thinking of the captain also reminded me of how much things had changed since I first arrived in the Crystal Empire some time ago. He had not trusted me from the first moment we met, and had only agreed to go along with his wife's wishes that I be allowed to stay so he could keep his eye on me.

It was like that for a while. I would be followed by guards wherever I went, and Shining had made a point to pick out the ones who would act the most obstinate towards me and my goals.

All of that changed the day of Hearth's Warming, when I had presented a portrait of the royal family I had made as a gift. Princess Cadance had loved the product of my hard work, and showed it by showering me in affection. Princess Flurry Heart, though too young to truly and fully appreciate the piece, also enjoyed the portrait, and had even tried to be a bit more hooves on with it than an adult would.

Shining Armor...

The stallion had mixed feelings. Initially, he didn't want to accept that I had actually painted the portrait, and was also rather upset that I had used my transformation magic to accomplish the level of detail and accuracy that I required to do the ponies justice on canvas. As the day progressed, however, his viewpoint changed. Instead of outright hostility, he appeared to be confused and in deep thought. By that evening, he had come to my quarters and apologized for his behavior, truly thanking me for the portrait and showing his appreciation.

He also apologized for his mistrust and treatment of me since I first came to the empire, and made a promise to improve his behavior towards me going forward. In the months that followed, he had held to his promise, and spoke to me more positively than before. He even included me in different activities, such as games with his family. I enjoyed most of the things he included me in, but his insistence that we have sparring sessions together was one I wasn't fond of.

Despite being roughed up by Shining Armor during these sparring sessions, he did offer his opinion on how I should improve my fighting technique, and as time went on, I did get better at defending myself. There were even a few times where I was actually able to beat the stallion, but those times often resulted in an immediate rematch afterwards where he would go harder on me than before and my victory would be short lived.

The sparring sessions often led me to thinking of what my clutch mate Pharynx would think of me being trained in fighting by the pony captain. A part would probably have some kind of praise at actually performing better than I had in the hive, but he would definitely not be fond of me learning combat techniques from a pony.

I also thought of what Queen Chrysalis would think of my current situation, but I often dismissed those thoughts rather quickly. I was happy where I was now, and as far as I was concerned, her opinion of my life didn't matter anymore.

Bringing my mind back to where I was and what I was going to be doing, I nervously fidgeted in my seat as the guard beside me gathered his belongings. His collection of items included a bag set up for a week-long stay, a camera for some sightseeing, and his guard equipment. He made a gesture for me to grab my belongings, including my painting supplies and a sack with several canvases inside.

Once I had my belongings, I felt the train come to a stop. Looking out the window, I saw the station and platform. There were a few ponies standing there, some were waiting for the departing ponies to get off the train, while some others were holding signs and looking around in an effort to find ponies that were disembarking. The guard beside me gave a nudge and indicated for me to follow him.

We disembarked the train and stepped down onto the wooden platform. Looking around, I could see some of the forests that covered the area. None of them looked like the dark and ominous Everfree Forest that I'd been told of by Sunburst and Twilight. These were probably the Whitetail Woods, if my memory is serving me correctly.

"Th-Crystal Hoof!"

I heard that very familiar voice and turned to face Twilight Sparkle, my second friend after Spike. The magenta mare with both wings and a horn trotted up to me and gave me a hug, which I returned in kind. She released me from her hooves and looked at me with a smile. "It's so good to see you again" she told me. "How have you been?"

"A lot better since Hearth's Warming" I tell her honestly. "Shining Armor has put aside a lot of his mistrust and started giving me more benefit of the doubt. He's even included me in a few different activities, both with his family and just with him."

"That's good to hear" she responds. "Anyway, we need to get moving. Mayor Mare said she wanted to meet with you as soon as you got here."

"Really?" I respond. "Why does she want to meet with me so bad?"

"She wants to talk to you and find out some information to help her write her speech" she replies. "I don't know when she plans on doing it exactly, but I'm pretty sure she wants to introduce you to the town as soon as she possibly can."

I frown a little upon hearing that. My hope was that I could settle in on the first day and clear my mind so I can be completely prepared for when I would be introduced to the town. Apparently, I was going to be rushed into it a little sooner than I had expected.

Twilight took notice of my demeanor and called me out on it.

"You're nervous about meeting the mayor?" she asked, but honestly knew the answer already.

"Mostly about meeting the whole town without being disguised," I confessed, "but I am nervous about meeting the mayor too. Honestly, I was hoping I could use the rest of today to calm myself down and settle in. The trip here from the Crystal Empire was pretty long."

Twilight gave me a sympathetic look. "I understand," she told me, "but these questions are important. Even though I've told everypony about you, there's a chance that some of them thought what I was talking about was just something 'in theory', and not something that could actually happen. If that's something that's true for even a fraction of the town, revealing you could cause a panic that could end up with ponies getting hurt."

"The mayor's speech is going to be really important when you're actually introduced to the town properly. If she can convince everypony that they are going to be meeting a real changeling and that everything is safe, then the chance of a panic happening really goes down."

"I tried to convince her to get whatever information that she wanted from me, but she insisted that she speak with you. She wants to hear the information straight from you."

"I promise that the mayor will only ask you a few questions, then we can be on our way to my castle. Okay?"

"I suppose," I finally relented, "but you are going to stay with me during the interview, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course" she replied. "I wanted to sit in on the interview in case there was any information that you would share with her that I didn't already have. I'm hoping that with all the info, I can write a report to Princess Celestia and Luna in Canterlot, and they can use it in an effort to try and start diplomatic relations with the changelings."

My hopes were high upon hearing her enthusiasm, but they were quickly brought down like a balloon that had suddenly been filled with lead. The queen would never hear of piece with creatures she considered prey.

"Chrysalis won't let you do that" I said to her, with perhaps a little more of an edge than I'd intended.

"Then perhaps we can convince the other changelings that living under her rule will be bad for their future and making peace with Equestria would be a more beneficial alternative?"

"Maybe," I relented, "but it would have to be a very convincing argument. I know from experience that drones and commanders are pretty obstinate. Without joking, you may find persuading a brick wall to be easier."

"Well, I'm still gonna try!" she declared with a hoof stomp, sending a small cloud of dust into the air as she did so. "Anyway, we should get going. I told the mayor I would get you to her as soon as possible, and if we take too long, she might begin to think a changeling army is starting to replace the town."

That was enough motivation for me. "What are we waiting around for then?" I asked in a panic. "Let's get going!"

I broke out into a full gallop as my mind created an image of a pony scowling at me and ordering guards to toss me in a dungeon. After a moment, I noticed a glow around me and felt my hooves leave the ground. I turned back to see Twilight with her horn lit up, and the guard sent along with me giving a disapproving glare. The princess brought me back in front of her and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Nopony knows who or what you are yet," she told me, "which means nopony thinks you're the herald for a changeling invasion, so just calm down and stay with me, okay?"

Her voice had helped calm my nerves, and the faint trickle of sympathy from her also helped steady my resolve. A part of me felt guilty for feeding off my friends, but they told me that allowing me to do that was how they showed their friendship towards me, aside from the usual stuff. After all, would a friend let another friend go hungry?

I gave her a nod and breathe slowly in order to calm myself down. "Okay," I answered, "I'll stick with you. Lead on."

Twilight gave a nod and trotted past me on the way towards town. The guard, who moved up beside me, was still giving me a disapproving look, but said nothing else. I got the feeling he wasn't too happy with me at the moment, but I guess I couldn't blame him too much. If Twilight hadn't been here, I would've probably been making his job of keeping an eye on me that much harder.

I quickly followed along, slightly faster than a trot so that I could catch up to the two ponies ahead of me. As I eventually caught up, I took the time to look around at the town. The main street was cobblestones, with houses that had exposed building frames and thatched roofs made with golden straw. Some of the buildings had housed businesses in addition to homes.

Looking down one street, I recognized a building that resembled a large gingerbread house; that was Sugar Cube Corner, the bakery where Pinkie Pie lived and worked. She once said that the sweets made there were the best in Equestria; quite a bold statement on the surface.

Down another street was Carousel Boutique, Rarity's business and home. It was here the fashion-minded pony weaved her magic with swaths of fabric and gemstones of all sorts.

I knew nothing of fashion, but she once told me that my natural form would be ideal for a tuxedo, whatever that was. All I knew about fashion is that some ponies dressed up all the time as a symbol of status, and sometimes all ponies dressed up for special occasions, but most ponies simply went around without clothes most of the time.

In all honesty, I found Rarity being an aspiring fashion designer to be a bit confusing; for all the clothing she made, I cannot recall having ever seen her wearing any clothing outside winter hats and scarves.

I pushed the thoughts from my head as we approached a large round building at the center of town. "This must be town hall" I thought as we got closer. Before Twilight got her castle, this had to be the tallest building in town.

Twilight had walked right up to the door and rapped her hoof on it loudly. A few moments later, and a mare with a gray mane opened the door and answered.

"Princess Twilight!" exclaimed the mare, who quickly moved out of the way. "Come inside, please!"

The princess gave her a thank you and walked through the open door. I followed her, and the guard followed behind me. As I walked inside, I gave a quick glance to the mare, who I deduced was the mayor I was supposed to speak with. She gave no outward reaction towards me, but I could feel her nervousness as I walked past. I suppose any behavior besides screaming and hiding or being bludgeoned with the nearest blunt object was a good sign.

As I walked past the door, I took in the building's interior. If I understood the structure of the building correctly, the exterior portion acted as a hallway in which all of the other rooms could be accessed. The rooms inside effectively served as a "middle ring" of sorts, and the remaining interior was a swirling stairway which led to an observation deck and the roof, where anypony, though presumably the mayor most of the time, could view the town and surrounding area from.

The mayor shut the door and moved past us, using her hoof to gesture at us to follow her. Twilight followed, as did I and the guard. We passed one door and came upon the next one, which the mayor opened and stepped inside, ushering us to follow her.

Upon entering, we found ourselves in the mayor's office. On one side was a table with several books between a pair of book ends modeled after the princesses; one was white and gold, the other was a very dark midnight blue with silver flashing meant to make the mane look as though it were a field of stars. Looking to the other side, I saw several filing cabinets, including a short one with long drawers that were rather thin, which told me that it held maps of the town, blueprints for all the buildings, or most likely both.

The last wall had the town seal, which was a golden oak leaf with a heart on the left side and a hoof print on the other. In front of the wall sat the desk of the mare, with two baskets full of paperwork sitting on one side, and a quill set on the other.

The mayor took her seat and motioned for us to take ours. Twilight sat down, and then I followed. The guard escorting me looked around before he saw a chair in one corner of the room and brought it over to sit down between us.

Once everypony and myself were seated, the mayor looked at me but addressed Twilight. "So," she began, "am I correct in assuming this is our changeling from the Crystal Empire?"

"Yes," Twilight affirmed, "this is Thorax."

"Hello" I said to her, waving my hoof just a bit.

"Er, yes" she responded a bit sheepishly, but returned the wave. "Hello to you too."

I could tell she was still nervous, but I could also sense her desire to push past that. Though it made me feel better, I didn't show it outwardly. If I was making headway in gaining trust, I didn't want to do something to undo the work I had already accomplished.

Twilight elected to break the small silence that formed after our greeting. "Thorax has been living in the Crystal Empire for some time now," she told the mayor, "and my brother and sister have been showing him all he's ever wanted to know about friendship."

That remark caught the mayor off guard. "Your brother and sister?"

"I know" Twilight responded. "You'd think they'd be the last ponies in all of Equestria that would want anything to do with changelings after what happened at their wedding, but with a little convincing, they agreed to let him stay, and have been showing him all about friendship and harmony, with a little help from a stallion named Sunburst as well."

The mayor mulled over what Twilight told her, and then shot her a small smirk. "I thought teaching ponies about friendship was your whole shtick?"

"It is," Twilight replied sheepishly, "but I didn't think I could bring a changeling back here to Ponyville and be able to teach him all he needed to know about friendship, not without it cutting into my other duties, and all of the unknowns at the time."

"Besides, it was probably better for him to stay in the empire anyhow."

The mayor looked at Twilight with puzzlement, so the magenta mare explained.

"Well, changelings need to feed on love to live, and the Crystal Empire was so chock full of it that it had actually drawn him there to begin with. However, Thorax wants to learn about friendship and not resort to stealing love from others, so since he's been staying there, he's been experimenting with ways to gather love that don't cause harm to other creatures."

Upon hearing that, the mayor turned towards me. "And you have found some methods to do so?" she asked me.

I was still rather nervous, so my response was a bit rushed. "I'm still experimenting, but the friendship Princess Twilight and the other element bearers share with me has helped me greatly, so you don't need to worry about me trying to harm any ponies here!"

The mayor looked at me skeptically, but the guard cleared his throat. "I've been dispatched by Captain Shining Armor to keep a watch on this changeling," he informed her, "which means that he is my responsibility for the duration of time that we are here."

"You're a member of the guard?" The mayor asked, to which he replied with a nod. "Do you believe there could be problems with having Thorax here?"

He shakes his head before answering. "I don't believe any problems will arise, however."

The mayor digested that before letting out a breath. "Well then," she responded, "I guess I can tell the town that they don't have to worry about being attacked while you're here."

"Well," Twilight interjected, "they don't have anything to worry about from Thorax. Since Queen Chrysalis and the rest of her hive are still at large and unaccounted for, we should still remain vigilant."

That remark from Twilight had given me mixed feelings. On one hoof, I could agree that everypony should keep their eyes open, lest Chrysalis find a way to get back into Equestria undetected. On the other hoof, I felt a twinge of guilt for what had happened. A part of me wished that I could go back in time and leave the hive before the wedding, travel the whole way to Canterlot and personally warn all of the princesses of what was coming.

"That is certainly a good idea" the mayor said, agreeing with Twilight's suggestion. "I should probably emphasize the point of being vigilant when I do give my speech to the town."

"Just make sure everypony knows they have nothing to fear from Thorax" Twilight reminded her.

"I will certainly do that" the mayor replied. She then looked at me and produced a notepad from her desk. "Now, I don't believe that I've properly introduced myself. I am Mayor Mare, elected mayor of the town of Ponyville." As she finished the last portion of her sentence, she extended a hoof towards me. I reached out my own and touched it with hers.

The mayor retracted her own hoof and prepared to write. "Now, I have a few questions I would like to ask you."

I spent the next hour or so answering the various questions that the mayor had, from whether or not changelings consumed actual food in addition to feeding off of the love of other creatures to whether or not changelings had any sort of a culture. I answered as best I could, but some things there just wasn't an answer for. Once she was satisfied, she told us we could be on our way, but she did ask me to reveal myself so she could see my true form. I did so, and learned that ponies still weren't used of the appearance of changelings; though she didn't run, she did flinch.

I changed back into Crystal Hoof, making a point to recommend that the mayor call me that until she told the town about me, and we all left for Twilight's castle. As we walked, I couldn't help but notice that since arriving, I hadn't seen any of Twilight's friends. I would've figured that we would have bumped into Rainbow Dash at least; she was a weather mare and also had a penchant for performing flying stunts. Not seeing her doing loops and corkscrews in the air or pushing clouds about seemed odd.

I was going to ask Twilight where her friends might be, but she and the guard escorting me were having their own conversation. Not wishing to be rude, I just elected to keep to myself until we got to Twilight's castle. My question wasn't so important that it couldn't wait until we got there.

After a few more minutes of walking, we finally arrived at the castle that served as the residence of Equestria's newest princess. Its massive crystalline structure was something to behold, and was starting to feel almost as intimidating as the Crystal Palace had felt the first time I had laid eyes on it.

Twilight trotted up the steps and opened the doors, beckoning the guard and myself inside. As I walked in, I was greeted by even more ornate crystal decorating the walls and ceilings. The building would not have looked out of place back home.

I paused at that last thought. The Crystal Empire, a place with more love than I could ever recall feeling in my whole life, was my home. It was still hard to believe after all the time that I spent there.

"You coming, Thorax?"

The question shook me from my thoughts. I looked at Twilight, who was looking at me with a smile, but also giving me the feeling that she was waiting for a response.

"Sorry" I responded. "Seeing this place made me think of the Crystal Empire, and I kind of got lost in my own mind for a minute."

The mare continued smiling as she offered a response to my own. "That's okay" she reassured me. "Sometimes this place can get a bit overwhelming. I'll have to tell you the story about the my first few months living here. That was quite a time for me and my friends."

"Speaking of friends," she continued, "I think there's some of them waiting for us." She turned and continued trotting further into the castle, the guard following behind her, but not until he gave me a look that basically said "Don't get lost". Not wanting to upset the guard that I was trusting my safety to, I quickly fell in behind them.

We walked a few more minutes until we came to a set of double doors. Rather than opening them, Twilight turned to face me. "Would you mind opening these doors, Thorax?"

I looked at her suspiciously for a moment. There was no malicious intentions that I could find, but she was more than capable of opening the door herself. My best guess was that she had some kind of surprise for me and was inviting me to "spring the trap" as it were. I gave a nod and moved forward, placing my hooves on the door knobs and pulling them outwards.

As I opened the doors far enough to comfortably walk through them, I was assaulted by party streamers and confetti. In a single second, I was covered head to hoof. Once I could clear some things from my face, I looked into the room to see where it had all come from.

"SURPRISE!"

The shout had come from six pony mares. I looked around at all of them and the room we had entered. It was a room I was all too familiar with, even if I hadn't seen it for myself before.

An arrangement of six thrones sitting around a large crystalline table, upon which sat a magically projected map of all of Equestria. This was the throne room, and that table was the friendship map.

I also saw another table off to the side, loaded with all manner of baked goods. Besides that was a second table which held a multitude of drinks, including a small wooden barrel with an apple painted just above the tap; The Apple family's legendary cider, if I was to guess.

I then regarded the ponies in the room. The five remaining element bearers and Princess Twilight's own protege looked back at me with smiles.

"Wow," I said while taking in the room, including the huge banner with the words "WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, THORAX!" written in large bright letters. "You did all of this for me?"

Applejack gave a small chuckle. "Pinkie Pie goes all out for a pony's welcome party."

"We hope that you like it" remarked Fluttershy, a slightly nervous look upon her face. Of course, it was from being nervous and not from fear that I might drop my disguise and attack her. There was a very clear distinction between the two.

"I do" I said as both a factual statement and as a means to assuage her nerves. "Getting to be reunited with all of you has been the best thing to happen to me in quite some time."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "And what was the last best thing before this?" she asked.

"When Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor allowed me to stay in the Crystal Empire."

That may have been the very best thing to ever happen to me in my whole life, besides becoming friends with Spike. When I heard the princess grant me permission to stay, and even apologize for not giving me the chance to prove my intentions were true, I practically jumped for joy.

"Yeah, that's probably the best thing that ever happened to ya, huh?" Applejack said with another small chuckle.

"Except for maybe becoming friends with Spike" I replied, voicing the thoughts I just had a moment ago. It was then that I realized something. "Where is Spike?"

I got my answer when something fell from the ceiling and right onto my back. Fortunately my disguise protected my wings, but it did nothing about my knees buckling slightly because of the sudden extra weight, nor the rather undignified yelp I let out at the unannounced rider I now found on my back.

"Hey Thorax!"

All thoughts I had about the sudden weight on my back disappeared as soon as I heard that voice. I looked back over my shoulder and saw him smiling back at me. I got an ear to ear grin and flipped around so fast to catch the little dragon in a hug. "Spike!"

We fell to the floor in a pile and laughed. All around me, I sensed happiness and amusement, and a spike of worry that I could only assume was the guard wondering why I had suddenly tackled the baby dragon between my hooves. I spared a quick glance to him, finding him held back by Twilight's hoof.

After a few more seconds, I released Spike and stood back up, offering a hoof to my first friend ever. He took it and rose back up onto his feet, looking at me with a smile.

"It's good to see you again" he told me.

"It's good to see you too" I replied.

Some giggling caught my attention, and I turned to see the mares watching us with smiles, and Pinkie with a hoof over her muzzle.

"He's been waiting up there for a while" Twilight informed me. "Rainbow convinced him that pouncing on you would be a good idea."

"And it was" Rainbow said in her defense. "Pinkie got a kick out of it."

Pinkie was still fighting back a fit of giggling, apparently quite amused by Spike's sneak attack on me. After a moment, I myself started to chuckle as well. "That was a pretty good idea" I admitted to the pegasus, then turned back to Spike. "Congratulations," I told him, "I don't think there's too many creatures that can claim they ambushed a changeling."

Spike let out a chuckle at that remark. "Yeah, I suppose there aren't too many who have done that, huh?"

I just nodded my head in response. I also left out the part that the ones who succeeded in getting the drop on a changeling had often made a meal of them shortly afterwards. That's why squads were to never to become too separated from one another on missions, or at least that's what drill instructors in the hive had told us.

"Well," Twilight continued, "I believe we all were planning on a party with our newest friend, weren't we?"

Everypony was in agreement, especially me; I had yet to enjoy a real, well put together party. Pinkie's little thrown together affair when we all first met each other was nice, but it was just a few streamers, balloons, a banner and some cake. This was well thought out, with just about everything that I had come to learn was usually expected of a party. I even saw a poster of a donkey without its tail and a table with several strips of paper made to look like a donkey's tail.

Once everypony had some food and something to drink, the party kicked off in full. I enjoyed a small plate of various cupcakes, which I washed down with some of Applejack's cider. I could honestly say that if I put a cup of that on top of my head, my tongue would beat my brains out to get to it. The flavor was almost as good as the love I received from my friends, with the cupcakes being a close second to that.

As I ate, I wondered if my body was changing to allow me to digest food for nutrition, but I dismissed it just as readily. I still had urges to feed, but they were getting lesser and lesser as time went on. That's when another thought occurred to me: had I solved the problem of insatiable hunger that plagues my kind?

A tapping on my withers brought me out of my thoughts. Standing in front of me was Starlight, who had a concerned look on her face. "Something wrong, Thorax?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "No, nothing's wrong" I answer her. "Just lost in my thoughts."

"Twilight told me that happened to you earlier" she commented. "I guess you've had a lot to think about since you first got here, huh?"

"Yes, I have" I admit, then elect to change the subject. "Anyway, you were trying to get my attention a moment ago. Was there something you wanted?"

I could feel nervousness coming off of Starlight like it was fog rolling off of water, but she nodded and asked me her question. "I wanted to ask you about Sunburst" she tells me. "I've written him several letters recently, but he hasn't responded to any of them. Do you know what's going on with him?"

Her nervousness gives way to worry. Not hearing from the bespectacled stallion for some time was clearly a cause for concern. Thinking back on a conversation I had with Sunburst a few weeks ago allowed me to give the mare an answer to her question and a quelling of her fears.

"Yeah, I do" I admit to her. "I was talking to Sunburst a few weeks ago and he told me he noticed that one of the letters that arrived for him at the palace had its seal removed. According to what he told me, he was afraid that it was his mother trying to spy on him and take control of his life."

Starlight looked at me for a moment, and I had figured the mare would be somewhat surprised to hear the revelation. Imagine my surprise when I am met with exasperation. "Of course it would be Stellar" she says with a huff.

"Stellar?" I question, unfamiliar with the name.

"Stellar Flare" Starlight answers. "She's Sunburst's mother. She's a very driven pony and wants her son to be one as well. She keeps getting after him because she's afraid he'll fall into a rut and not accomplish anything, so she keeps after him to do something with his life."

"That seems kinda wrong" I respond, fairly certain it's unfair to Sunburst that his mother keeps pushing him to do things.

"It is," Starlight admits, "but she means well. She just has issues with boundaries is all. He's probably afraid she'll try to push me onto him."

I look at her for a second with confusion, but then her eyes go wide and I feel a strong sense of embarrassment from her. "N-Not like that!" she quickly corrects. "I meant that she would pressure him into trying to start dating me or something."

"You really think she would do that?" I asked her.

Starlight nodded. "Me and Sunburst were close when we were foals, which is kind of to be expected; our town wasn't very big and there weren't a lot of foals our age. I think that Stellar would try to get him to ask me out because of how close we were then."

"Aren't you guys still close?" I asked. "The last time I saw you two together, you both seemed to get along pretty good."

"We've reconnected, sure," she replied, "but it's been so long since we've seen each other. Even now, we still have a lot to catch up on."

I nodded in understanding. Truth be told, I suspected that Sunburst may actually have feelings for Starlight. We had talked about friends on several occasions, and the more I mentioned her, the more red he became in the cheeks. Speaking to Starlight now, I suspected our talk may have made her question her own feelings about the stallion. A small part of me hoped they would confront these feelings in the future, if only to simply have them out in the open, should they decide they are simply crushes that wouldn't amount to anything if explored. A part of me thought that I was being supportive of them in my thoughts, but then another part chastised myself for acting on more basic instincts to try and create love to feed on.

"Anyway," Starlight continued, "Twilight mentioned you celebrated Hearth's Warming with Cadance and Shining. How did that go?"

"It was wonderful!" I replied with enthusiasm. "We sat in a drawing room and stayed warm by a fire. I got to watch Princess Flurry unwrap and play with her presents, and I even got to play with her a little bit too."

"Shining actually let you play with Flurry?" Starlight questioned. It was understandable; she knew about Shining's feelings towards me at that time.

"Yeah" I answered. "It took me by surprise too. But, he had allowed it. Actually, ever since Hearth's Warming, I've kinda became one of Princess Flurry's foal sitters."

"Really?" she said, her voice accented with a touch of disbelief.

I nod. "Yeah, really. I painted a portrait for the couple and gave it to them. When Shining saw it, he started to reconsider his position that I was an enemy lying in wait for an opportunity to strike, and by the time the day was through, he decided to start trusting me more."

"Since then, we've been getting along much better. Of course, it probably helps that we have sparring sessions and he gets to work out whatever negative feelings he has bottled up."

Starlight looked at me with surprise, and then a smirk. "Thorax," she said in a teasing manner, "are you sure you're not fibbing to me to try and drum up some trust and love?"

I went flush and became nervous. "Of course not!" I replied, "I would never do that to a friend!"

Starlight giggled a fair bit before answering. "I know Thorax" she finally answered. "It's just can't believe that Captain Shining Armor actually trusts you with his daughter."

"I didn't believe it either at first," I admitted, "but he went along with it at the insistence of Princess Cadance. Since then, Flurry enjoys spending time with me, and I've grown to enjoy watching over her."

"Getting some easy love from a foal?" she asks in a teasing manner.

I become a bit defensive about that. "No! Never!"

Starlight realizes what she had said and is sudden quite guilty. "I'm sorry, Thorax. I shouldn't have said that. I know from experience what you're truly like and what I described is most certainly not you."

"It's okay" I reply as a calm myself down. "It's just that I've been working so hard to shed the horrible stigma associated with my kind. Hearing ponies still saying that feels like a set back to me."

"And I'll remember to be careful of what I say in our conversations from now on" she responds. "You really are my friend, and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable around me. Friends?"

She offers me a hug, which I accept. As we embrace, I feel love coming of her and being directed towards me, and my body reacts by absorbing it, making the ever present dull ache of hunger quiet down for a while.

That had been a method of feeding I had discovered while staying in the Crystal Empire.

...Well, I didn't really discover it. Changelings could always absorb love ambiently without ponies really knowing about it. The problem was that one infiltrator could never absorb enough that way to bring back a sufficient quantity to feed the hive. Even a whole squad could never provide enough from ambient feeding alone.

That's why the discovery of how much more potent freely shared love was so important. Since the love being directed at me was much stronger than just generally amorous feelings in the air, ambient feeding became a much more filling method. Perhaps if the hive knew of this, they might consider changing their tactics and work towards a better solution than the horrible methods they used now.

Starlight broke the hug and decided to continue the conversation. "So, the princess and captain let you watch Princess Flurry Heart now? That had to be a rather interesting learning process."

I nodded. "It wasn't quite as hard as a normal foal, but with Flurry being an alicorn, it presented its own challenges."

Starlight caught the beginning of the sentence and looked at me with surprise. "You have experience with foals?"

I considered how I wanted to answer Starlight's question. I didn't want to lie, but I didn't exactly want to admit the truth. Ultimately, I decided that coming out with the truth now would be better than keeping up a lie that could be exposed later.

"The only infiltration mission I was ever sent on was to an orphanage. The headmare had had an accident on her way back from Fillydelphia and was killed, so I assumed her form and set up her retirement with a pony to replace her after two weeks."

Starlight listened to his explanation, and feelings of fear started to build up within her. "You mean... you've preyed on foals?"

"No" I answer quickly. "I would never do that. I actually cared about those foals, and I made sure the pony that replaced them was going to care for them as much as the former headmare and I both did."

"But... you absorbed their love for the headmare, didn't you?"

I didn't answer verbally, but I gave a nod. It was a past sin I still carried with me, knowing that I was nothing more than an impostor pretending to be the one pony that truly cared for those young colts and fillies, and feeding off the love and affection they so willingly provided that old mare. Only my attack on Soothing Dusk was a greater sin than that.

"I don't blame you" Starlight told me, causing me some surprise. "It's not exactly right," she continued, "but you were only doing it because you didn't want to starve, and you cared enough to make sure that somepony would be there to look after the foals when you left. I imagine the other changelings would've never thought to do that."

"They would've swapped me out with another changeling, and one with much less compunction about draining foals than I do. I at least made sure it was actually a pony taking my place before I disappeared into the shadows."

Before Starlight can ask or say anything further, Twilight walks up. "So," she says to me, "giving away more changeling secrets again?"

"They're more my secrets than anything else" I admit to her. "I'll tell you about them some other time."

Twilight gives me a look, but just nods. "I'll hold you to that" she tells me. "Anyway, we were just about to start playing some of the games. Want to join us?"

A large smile crosses my muzzle. "Of course!" I reply enthusiastically as I follow her over to the group gathered to play some games.

---

We played several party games, including the game on the wall I saw earlier, appropriately named Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We all had fun and got to talking again. Unfortunately, somepony looked at a clock and saw how late it was getting.

"Oh, my!" came a relatively loud exclamation from the normally quiet Fluttershy. "Sorry girls, but I really need to get home now. I'm taking care of an opossum family and they haven't eaten in a good while."

We all wave her goodbye, and she heads out the door. Applejack follows shortly after her, making a comment about needing to get up early to take care of some farm stuff. Pinkie, surprisingly, leaves after her, mentioning the need of some sleep so she can help get the bread ready at Sugar Cube Corner. Rarity and Rainbow Dash are the last to leave, the dressmaker needing to fill an order and finish a wedding dress for a pony in Sire's Hollow. I immediately recognize it as the town both Starlight and Sunburst are from. Rainbow just wants to feed her pet tortoise and go to bed, looking a bit tired.

With those five gone, I was left in the company of Twilight, Starlight, Spike and the guard with me. We all agree to go to bed and make our way to our rooms. I walk with Spike and the guard assigned to me. While he was initially quite wary of me, the guard started to relax and didn't seem as jumpy as he did before. He was never truly afraid of me, but it was his nature to be a bit flighty and observant of everypony and every creature around him. After all, his name was Vigilant Strategy.

Princess Twilight brought us back to my room for the night. She bid us good night and requested Spike come with her, but he asked her for another minute so he could say good night to me; a request she granted without objection. Giving us a smile, she turned and left for her own bedroom.

Spike turned back to me with a smile. "It really is good to see you again" he tells me.

"I know," I say in agreement, "and it feels so different being here. It's like being back in the Crystal Palace, but it isn't at the same time."

Spike chuckles a bit. "I know what you mean. If the crystal was white, I couldn't tell the difference."

"Well, I guess we should get to bed" I say to Spike. "I imagine it's quite probable that the mayor will want to introduce me sometime tomorrow."

"Yeah" the little dragon agrees. "Just remember: You have friends that are here for you, and we'll make sure you stay safe from anypony that might think it'll be a good idea to get revenge for the royal wedding by attacking you, or anything else for that matter."

I smile at him. "Thank you, Spike. It really does mean a lot to me."

The dragon smiles, and then lets out a yawn. "Wow," he says, "I didn't realize how tired I feel. I guess I'll just head to bed now."

I'm suddenly confronted with a yawn myself. "Me too" I respond. "I better get in bed before I end up falling asleep on my hooves."

"Yeah" Spike agrees. "Good night!" Spike says and then turns to go to his room.

"Good night!" I call back and then head into my room for the night.

The room itself is rather nice; at least as nice as my room back in the Crystal Empire. There's a bed with fresh linens, a writing desk with a magic powered lamp, a dresser for some extra sheets and some pony clothing, and then a bathroom with both a large tub and a shower, as well as a vanity with an ornate sink and small medicine cabinet to one side.

Resting on the bed, I unpack the few things I brought with me and I find places for them. I set up my easel in one corner of the room, and prop my canvases against the wall behind it. I put my sketch pads on the writing desk, along with my graphites and the small sharpener Princess Cadance was nice enough to give me. Lastly, I take my toiletries and put them in the bathroom in the shower and on the vanity.

Now that all of my things are where I'd like them to be, I find myself so tired as quite literally falling asleep on my hooves. Walking over towards my bed, I begin listing to one side and trip over a rug that had rolled up a bit. Fortunately, Vigilant lives up to his namesake and races over to catch me.

"Thanks" I tell him as he helps me back up. "I guess I should've went to bed and worried about unpacking in the morning."

"It's not a problem" Vigilant responds. "We've all had a busy day, so it's probably for the best that we all go to sleep."

I nod my head in agreement, but then realize something. "Where are you going to sleep."

Vigilant gestures to his bags. "I brought a cot with me. Princess Cadance said Princess Twilight would give me a bed if I asked for it, but in all honesty, I spent most of my tours in the guard out and away from civilians most of the time, so I got used to sleeping on a cot. Most of the beds I've slept in are too soft for me."

I just nodded and decided not to ask why he wouldn't take up Princess Twilight's offer of a bed. With my eyes winning the fight on staying shut, I mutter a quick goodnight before I drift off to sleep.

Author's Note:

And here is the first chapter in the sequel to The Hearth's Warming Gift. I had the idea to do this for some time now and finally decided to put something out. Thorax will be spending a full seven days in Ponyville before he will have to head back to the Crystal Empire. I intend for him to have quite a few adventures with all the ponies in town.

As with HWG, this story is an AU of Owtcast's story The Odd One. I will make references to that story more frequently in this story than I did in HWG, as evidenced by Thorax recalling the incident with Soothing Dusk (that event was part of Owtcast's other story Walk Where There Is No Path, to which Odd One is a sequel). My storyline will also skew or change some things from The Odd One, but nothing overly major. If you haven't read TheOwtCast's stories, I do recommend them.

Comments

[theOwtcast]

Soothing Dusk

I was just about to ask if this means that my story is canon to this timeline

Interesting start. Looking forward to seeing how this goes

[origami]

11247052
It is the sequel to the story we collaborated on for the holidays, and I did say it was based on an AU of The Odd One. Seemed appropriate to make some reference to it.

[Melody Song]

I can't believe I didn't find this already! I can't wait to see what happens!