Unforeseen Consequences - Farewell

“E-Eris, j-just what in the world was that? How in the world Spike managed to convince them with that excuse of a song… where I failed with real logic?”
>Eris shrugged as she gently placed you on the floor “Well dork, for starters you didn’t prove my argument wrong, even when it had more holes than a Swiss cheese… you only cried and whined, and secondly… this stuff you just saw? Where these big problems are done and over after somepony sing a bad song? This happens a lot in this world… honestly, how come you never noticed it?”
“Because! … Because…”
>You have actually seen a lot of ponies bursting out in random songs a lot of times… but you always dismissed it as some street show or promotions for plays…
>You never thought that this was something that ponies did to prove a point… oh man… you felt like a complete idiot now… you are a scientist… or at least you were, this type of weird behaviors should not go without notice, at least not for you
>”Becaaaaause?” Eris asked with a grin on her face
“F-forget it, I didn’t say anything, besides… wait a minute!  Why are you suddenly okay with Thorax being accepted by Cadence? I thought that you were against him”
>”I still am…” Eris gently shrugged before giving you a malicious grin “This little defeat doesn’t bother me, because the moment that little bug steps out the line…” she punched her paw with her talons “Bam!”
>You rolled your eyes and rubbed your temples
“Pffft! In your dreams, sister! You just can’t accept that Thorax is a good guy, just look at him!”
>You looked at Thorax who was happily chatting with Cadence and Shining Armor… they just accepted him right? Yeah, they even offered him a tour around the empire…
>That probably means… that they will want Thorax to stay with them, and judging by how happy your friend looks… he will most surely agree…
>And… and that’s fine… right? Thorax will stay in the Crystal Empire, allowing him to do as many friends as there are stars in your mom’s sky… that’s what you wanted, right?
>But then… why? Why do you feel so sad?
>”Anon…” Eris asked with a surprisingly kind voice “Are you okay?”
“H-Huh?”
>You quickly shook your head and waved to snap out of this train of thought and tried to not look at Eris…
“Oh… yeah, right… I’m fine, more than that actually… I’m great! W-Why I wouldn’t be okay? Yeah… I feel fantastic…”
>Eris narrowed her eyes at you and tilted her head “You know… it’s not fun to mess with you when you’re all mopey…”
“I said I’m fine! You don’t need to worry about anything… everything is fine now!
>You then cleared your throat and tried to smile to Eris
“… err… sorry for yelling at you, it’s just that… I mean…”
>You sighed
“I-I was just lost in thought… that’s all, now if you excuse me… I-I have to congratulate Thorax…”
>You turn around, but before you take any step, Eris stops you by gently placing her talons on your shoulder and whispering into your ear “Y’know… I could tease you endlessly with how that overgrown iguana bested you at your own game, but since I’m supposed to be your big sis and all, I’ll just say this… stop getting those dumb ideas into your head. Candy-Candy will give that bug the life you promised him… and I can take you to the crystal empire anytime you want.”
“I…I…”
>You turned to Eris and quickly wiped a little tear that ran down your face
“You really mean it?”
>”Mhmm…” Eris nodded “So you can stop with your little depression quest now. Big sis Eris got ya covered. Promise”
“But… how did you know?”
>Eris rolled her eyes and gently scratched your chin… ooooh, that felt so good! “I know you better than almost anypony else in this world. You can’t really fool me, my little brother. Now, go there and be the happy and cheesy dork I know and love, alright?”
“T-Thanks Eris… really… you’re the best”
>”Yeah, yeah, I already know that…” She giggled and patted your head once last time before sending you on your way “Now go…”
>You walked to where Thorax were, and before you could said anything, the guy turned to you and greeted you with a joyful smile “A-Anon!” then he dashed and gave you a tight hug “Look! Look! I have friends! Like actual, real friends and not some changelings who want to throw me into a swamp! And I…”
>Thorax broke the hug and gave you a military salute “I, Thorax, the pineapple ambassador will be forever grateful to you! Uhhh…” he nervously chuckled “It means that I’m happy to have a best friend as good as you…”
>You rolled your eyes and gently punched his chest
“I know man! See? What did I tell you? Everything would be fine once you talked to Cadence… err… I mean…”
>You cleared your throat and made a super regal and uptight voice
“You did a great job on the show floor my ambassador. The fruity prince is pleased with your efforts!”
>”The pineapple ambassador?” Cadence asked while trying to contain her laughter “Where did that come from?”
>Spike barged into the conversation by flailing his arms in protest ”Yeah! Especially when it was I, the brave and glorious Spike who saved the day! Why is that princely schmuck your best friend?! Where’s my nickname?!”
>You would have said something to the mutated salamander if it wasn’t for Twilight, who quickly pulled the salamander away with her magic and gave him a small scolding
>Shining Armor looked at Spike, surprised by his attitude. But he just shrugged it off in the end and answered Cadence’s question “It’s a long story, honey. I’ll tell you everything after we show Thorax the Empire…”
>”Hmph! You know I don’t like to be left in the dark, but just because it’s you, I’ll be a good girl and wait…” Cadence gave Shining a quick peck on the lips before turning to you “Anon… I hope that you don’t have any hard feelings for what happened before. I know that I keep repeating myself but…”
>You quickly interrupt her by complimenting her sentence
“You were doing what you thought was best for your subjects. Yeah, don’t worry Cadence… my moms are always telling me to do that, and I mean, everything is alright now so meh, who cares? Thorax is clear of any charges, he has friends now, and…”
>”And, you still have to say thanks to Spike and Twilight for saving you at the very last moment…” Cadence said with a little smirk on her face
>You placed your hoof on your forehead and groaned
“Do I really have to do it? C’mon Cadence, you know that me and the sala- I mean Spike aren’t exactly best buds”
>”Anon…” Cadence sighed and placing her hood under your chin, she raised your head so you could look at her right in the eye “I’m not going to tell you what to do nor who you should be friends with, I’m just going to ask you a question, and I hope you think about it… Do you really want to act like Blueblood and never own up to anything because your arrogance gets in the way that much? Or do you want to be powerful, kind and awe-inspiring like my aunties?”
>You looked away and rubbed the back of your head… ehhhh… were you really acting like Blueblood? Because c’mon, you still haven’t hit a little foal and… hnnng…
>Gosh darn it! Why are you so easy to convince when someone brings up your mothers?!
>You sighed and rolled your eyes
“I want to be like my moms… you’re right Cadence… I will say thanks to Spike…”
>Cadence smiled and nodded “Good, now if you excuse me. Me and Shining have to speak to Eri-Eri. She has these AMAZING ideas on how our daughter’s room should look like…”
>”Ehhh… honey…” Shining Armor gently placed his hooves on Cadence’s shoulders, nervousness was drawn all across his face “y’know… we still don’t know what the baby is gonna be… for all we know, it might be a boy, y’know? I-I don’t think that it would be a good idea to hurry this”
>Cadence then adopted an unamused expression as she gently shook her head “Everypony except you know that we’re having a little girl…” she then turned to her husband and shot him an angry glare “And that includes the friends you made that stupid bet with…”
>And in that moment… Shining Armor’s white fur somehow became paler as his pupils shrank “H-H-How do you know- I MEAN! Honey! You know I’d never bet on something like this!”
>Cadence raised an eyebrow as she poke Shining Armor’s chest “You and I are going to have a looooong talk about this. Then you’re going to tell your friends that the bet is cancelled. That’s all I have to say” Cadence then huffed and went to meet Eris…
>”H-Honey? I-it’s not a big deal… T-the bet wasn’t even about that… C-Candy kisses?” Shining Armor gulped after he saw that Cadence kept walking without paying him attention
“Oh bro, we all told ya that your bets were going to blow up in your face sooner or later… but…eeeeh… do you need any help? I know I kinda blew it with Thorax, but I’m sure I can do something for you. After all, I’m handsome, I have good negotiation skills and my special talent is bringing frickin’ harmony. C’mon, I’m your right guy to make cousin Cadence happy again”
>”Nah… this ain’t your battle lil’ bro…” Shining Armor said with a defeated tone
“You sure?”
>He waved his hoof and then sighed “Yeah, I’m a big pony, so gotta clean my mess on my own… thanks for the offer though, really, you’re a true bro… and Thorax… sorry you had to see that, we usually ain’t like this”
>”O-Oh… I don’t mind!” Thorax replied with a smile
>”Thanks… now if you guys excuse me… I have to face my destiny… or at least do something so Cadence doesn’t sent me to sleep on the couch” With that Shining Armor walked to where his wife was
>You and Thorax gave the brave stallion a military salute… gotta respect those who are about to fall, yo
>After a couple seconds of silence, you turned to your changeling friend and placed your hoof around his neck
“Aaaanyways! Hey man, mind if you join me to say thanks to the salamander? I don’t think I can do this alone and I could really… huh… Thorax?”
>You noticed that he wasn’t listening to you; instead, Thorax was looking at Cadence, Eris, Twilight and everyone else in the room with an almost melancholic look
>You gave the changeling a little tug and asked him softly
“Thorax… you okay there man?”
 >He immediately snapped out of that little trance and quickly shook his head “Wha-? O-Oh yeah… yeah I’m alright, it’s just that…” he sighed and then looked at everyone with that melancholic look again “I still can’t believe it… it feels like a dream but it isn’t… it feels so great to finally have friends… it’s so wonderful…. And the best part is that I actually don’t feel hungry anymore…”
“You… don’t? Hmmm… now that’s curious… especially since you mentioned something similar during our trip back to the Crystal Empire… but back then, you only said that your hungry was still there, just not as strong as before, right?”
>”Y-Yeah…” Thorax nodded “Do you have any idea why’s that happening? I-I’m not complaining or anything, it’s just… i-if you could deduce why I’m not feeling hungry anymore, maybe… just maybe we could make the rest of my kin to do the same”
“Well… I’m not a biologist since I’ve always been into physics and math but… hmmm… I can only deduce that you’re producing love on your own, enough to quell your hunger. Is this related to the new friendships you have made? Probably, but we can’t be sure… something I had to learn the hard way is that correlation doesn’t necessarily means causation, could we replicate this same effect on the rest of the hive? I honestly don’t know man… we would need to design a proper experiment to test it out, with a control group and…”
>You noticed that Thorax was giving you a thousand yard stare and… ehhhh, you should probably dial it back a little
“Sorry… I-I kinda got excited… what I mean is that we still don’t know many things about why your hunger for love suddenly stopped, so our best route of action is to wait and see, like seriously, mate. Enjoy your new life, you’ve earned it”
>Thorax nodded, some confusion could still be seen on him ”Y-yeah, you are right. I-I think it would be better if I learn to relax… but still” Thorax tapped his chin, thinking hard about something” I didn’t understand like half of what you said but… you will help me to figure things out, right? Because I honestly don’t think that I could do it on my own”
>You rolled your eyes, nodded and gave him a little punch on the shoulder
“Of course I will! That’s what friends are for, man!”
>Thorax smiled at you and replied with a little “Thanks…” he then looked past you and with a shaky voice said “O-Oh! I-I don’t want to ruin this moment, especially since I know that you and Spike don’t get along but… c-can I still join you? Y-You know, maybe I can be of some help…”
>You let out a sigh in frustration and lowered your head… man, you had hoped that everyone had forgotten about that
“Yeah… I would really like to not do this alone… so… eeeh… better get done with this… c’mon man…”
>You and Thorax walked to where Twilight and Spike were. The purple princess greeted you with a smile, but the salamander… well, he wasn’t happy to see you in the slightest
>”Now what do you want?” The salamander growled “Are you here to steal my credit again?”
>”Spike!” Twilight shot the salamander a glare
>”What?! You know I’m right!” Spike looked at her and pointed at you with his puny claw “That jerk won’t admit that I saved the day no matter what”
>Twilight placed her hoof on her forehead and shook her head “You did a wonderful thing today, Spike. But the amazing moment of friendship that we just witnessed wasn’t just the work of one pony. This happened because many ponies opened their hearts and minds to a friend that came from an unlikely place. And I’m sure that Anon is here to show us that”
>”Whatever…” Spike huffed and crossed his arms “He’s still a jerk…”
>You honestly felt annoyed by his tone, but… Cadence was right… you have to act like a prince. So you did your best to keep your composure and sound as politely as possible
“Don’t be an idio- I mean… No, Spike. Twilight is right; I’m actually here to say thanks…”
>You then whispered to yourself so no one else could hear you
“…even when all you did was to sing that stupid song…”
>”What’s that?” Spike raised an eyebrow, looking at you with cautious
>You took a deep breath, and then exhaled….
“It’s exactly what you just heard. I was pretty much defeated back there… and by an incredibly poorly thought out argument nonetheless, we wouldn’t have been having this conversation if it wasn’t for you and Twilight, so yeah… I wanted to say t- th…. Thau…..”
>Darn it! Every cell of your body refused to do this. But you have to… no, you MUST! It is your duty as a prince!
“Thenk… thunk… aaaaaah!”
>Not only that, but if you don’t say those words, then that mutated salamander will look as the best pony-lizard-thing out of the two of you, and that’s something you cannot allow! YOU SHALL THANK SPIKE!
>Thorax noticed how hard you were fighting against your own instincts, and like the true friend he is, spoke for you “I think what Anon is trying to say is this…” he then used his magic to change into you “Thank you Spike, I couldn’t have done this without you. You’re a great friend!”
>”Oh…” Spike first stood in silence by the surprise, but it didn’t last long because then the purple lizard decided to make that stupid grin of his “So that’s what you wanted to tell me? Well, I guess the brave and glorious Spike can forget what you did before and be friends with you… prince humdrum. Because that’s what I am, the brave and glorious, yep that’s me”
>The brave and glorious? THE BRAVE AND GLORIOUS?!
 >…No… calm down Anon… remember… you have to act like a prince… even if it kills you…
“The first three words in that sentence are actually correct… I did came here to thank you, as for the rest of what Thorax said…”
>You shot Thorax a glare to which he responded by changing back to his original form and giving you a naïve smile
“Those are just his personal interpretation…”
>”You see…” Spike rubbed his chin while grinning at you “I’m still not sure if I can believe you, I mean, you’re still sounded a little too shady, hmmm… maybe if you gave me your entire collection of comics we could-“ but he was stopped when Twilight put her hoof on his shoulder, looking at the salamander with a stern face
>Spike then growled and looked at you with an annoyed expression “Alright, alright… you’re welcome, you can go now…” but that didn’t seem to please Twilight in the slightest.
>Spike slapped his face and groaned “Oh c’mon!” Twilight just narrowed his eyes at Spike. The salamander then sighed and rolled his eyes “Fiiine… I guess you did a good job too and yadda, yadda, go friendship… please, can we get over with this already?”
>”Actually…” Thorax spoke up with a shy voice “I wanted to say thanks Spike again… really, you did a lot for me, e-even when you didn’t have to, and especially when… y’know… I was raised by an evil ancient queen”
>”Awww shucks!” Spike waved his claw and smiled back at Thorax “Don’t think about it dude, I just…” Suddenly, Spike scrunched his face and burped…
>AAAH! IT SMELLED LIKE A DEAD RACOON!
“Aw that’s gross! Seriously mate, have… you…ever washed… wow…”
>After Spike burped, a green ember came out from his mouth, but it didn’t burn anything! Instead, it went upwards and materialized a… scroll…
>Sheesh, leave it to Spike to turn even the most awesome stuff into something lame…
>”A letter?” Twilight was surprised, but not waiting any moment, she picked the scroll with her magic and gave it a quick read “And it’s from Princess Celestia! She wants Anon to return to the castle immediately… and she wants me to come with him… huh? H-How did she know that I’m in the Crystal Empire?”
>”Zat is not a hard zing to deduce, Princess Twilight.” Aegia finally decided to join everyone, giving Twilight a little teasing look “Now, excusez mes rudeness, but may I see zat letter please?”
>”Wha-? I mean… sure…” Twilight hesitated for a couple seconds before handling the letter to Aegia
>”Merci…” Aegia then gave it a very throughout inspection, and once she was over with it, she turned to you and said with a monotonous tone “Mon Petit, it seems zat your mozers have already taken care of talking wiz ze zebra zey told us about. Good, zat leaves us wiz less problems to worry about”
>Your mothers are back? Oh man! Oh man! This is awesome!
“Thorax! Man, this is great! My moms are back and… and… I have to go back now…”
>And with that realization, your excitement died down…
>Oh man, you have to say goodbye to Thorax… this sucks…
“I have to go back now… and you…”
>”Y-Yes Anon?” Thorax asked with worry in his voice
>You looked at Cadence who was walking towards you with Eris and Shining by her side… then you looked at Thorax
“And you want to stay in the crystal empire, right?…”
>Thorax tilted his head “Huh? What does that has to do with… oooooh…” your changeling friend lowered his head “I get it… you have to go back to Canterlot now, right?”
>You slowly nodded
“H-hey… what if you come back with me? That way I can introduce you to my moms, and my marefriend and all my friends too! What do you say Thorax?”
>”I would love to… I really, REALLY would… but… b-but…” Thorax looked at Cadence who was now standing by his right side “I-I also want to stay and get to know the crystal empire and… and… I’m sorry… I messed up everything again”
>You let out a sigh and shook your head
“No… don’t be sorry, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s fine Thorax, really… this is what we wanted, what YOU wanted… I can’t take this away from you… besides… I-I…”
>Cadence looked at you with an almost motherly expression “Anon, you don’t have to be worried about anything. We’ll keep Thorax safe and he will have all the friends he has ever dreamed of, and if you ever miss your new friend, you can ask Eri-Eri to bring you here anytime you want”
>”Of course he can! And it’s not like we ain’t coming back here soon! After all…” Eris gave Cadence a sultry smile “We still have to look up for a tiara that matches my eyes color!”
>”Yeah!” Cadence nodded energetically “And you still have to teach me how to get a mane as good yours”
>Eris rolled her eyes and waved her paw “Oh puh-lease! Have you looked yourself in a mirror? Your mane is already P-E-R-F-E-C-T! I can give you my tips on make-up though… I have in mind an eye shadow color that’s simply to die for!”
>Cadence quickly clapped her hooves together “SHUT UP! I’ve been looking for something to cover these ugly eyelids of mine for like, forever! And oh! Oh! Oh! I know! Maybe we can try a karaoke night!”
>”It’ll be the most awesome ladies night ever!” Eris held Cadence’s frontal hooves
>”I know! I can’t wait!” Cadence joyfully nodded as she held Eris’ paw and talons too
>Then the two screeched a very high pitched “Eeeeeeee!” in unison… O-Ok… maybe they got a little too close…
>You cleared your throat and returned your attention to Thorax…
“I guess… I guess we have to say goodbye for now…”
>”Yeah… but before you go… I want to say something…” Thorax sighed heavily, some tears were forming on the corner of his eyes
>“Anon… I… this morning I was still in that cave… alone, starving… losing my mind little by little… but then something happened that I would have never expected… not in a million years, and especially not to somepony like me…“ Thorax placed his hoof on your shoulder “a colt… a prince came and told me that everything was alright, that I wasn’t alone anymore…”
>Thorax quickly wiped his tears, but his voice broke a little more “You really deserve that title…you have brought so much harmony and hope into my life… that’s why… that’s why I’m scared that you will be mad at me…”
>You shook your head and gave Thorax a hug… you could feel some tears running down your face too…
“Come on… why are you saying that? I’m not mad at you, it’s actually the exact opposite… you are getting a new life, you will be making new friends. I couldn’t be happier for you”
>”T-Thanks Anon!” Thorax hugged you a little tighter “I c-couldn’t have asked for a better friend!”
“Me neither…”
>The hug lasted for some time… until Aegia told you that it was time to go. Despite all the tears, you and Thorax said your last goodbyes and promised each other to write. After that…
>After that Cadence had to convince Twilight that your group needed to go back to Canterlot as soon as possible and that Eris’ magic was much more faster than any train… that alone was a task on itself, but Twilight ultimately agreed…
>And with a circular motion of Eris’ paw, you were back to your home in less than what it takes to blink…
>Huh… or that’s what you thought of… instead, you were inside of what it looked like a well-kept cellblock. Not as big as the prison though. This one was more like a big corridor with stairs on both ends.
>The ones behind you led up, while the ones in front of you led down… and you could see some sort of dim blue light coming from there…