Unforeseen Consequences - Changes!

>”W-Well to be honest with you, Anon… I kinda don’t know how it happened, when I woke up this morning, my body was already like this, t-that’s not weird, is it?” Thorax smiled nervously at you as his eyes shifted left and right
“Y-You are kidding, right? Please tell me that this is a joke and you actually know the cause of your metamorphosis”
>Thorax slowly shook his head “I-I’m sorry Anon, but I really don’t know why this happened”
>You didn’t say anything; instead, you walked past Thorax and slammed your face against the wall
>”A-Anon?” Thorax asked with worry but didn’t stop you
>This is fantastic! Just frickin’ fantastic! This was probably the biggest advantage when it came to dealing with Chrysalis and you couldn’t even use it! AAAAAH!
>You wanted to yell at Thorax for being so scatterbrained and so careless, he should have known how important this is for everyone and… hnng… calm down Anon, just… do the breathing exercises that Twilight taught you.
>Breathe…exhale… let all the negative feelings to flow out of you, just, breathe…
>Okay… you think that you are calmer now… if anything, just enough to think straight.
>”I-I’m sorry Anon… I let you down and, well…” Thorax dropped his head and looked at the floor with a saddened expression “sorry…I’ll go now”
>With his head down, your friend walked past you, or he would have if you didn’t stop him with his hoof
“Thorax…”
>”Y-yes Anon?” He asked with a surprised tone
“Don’t go, man, listen, I…ah”
>You sighed and looked at him right in the eye
“I’m sorry, alright? I was just being an idiot. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe that I would've acted like a jerk, but trust me, it happens in some rare occasions.”
>”Alright? I mean, you know that I accept your apology b-but” Thorax tilted his head in confusion “Anon, are you sure that you’re okay?”

“I dunno man, lots of things happened today, your metamorphosis included. I think that I just need some time to think things thoroughly. Like, seriously, first those changelings we captured started to act all weird after I mentioned that you stopped feeling the need of stealing love from ponies and now this…”
>”Wait! Hold on!” Thorax’s eyes became wide open and judging by his face, he wasn’t seeing this one coming “Y-You captured some of my kin A-and you told them about me?!”
>Aw dang, you screwed this up, well, there’s no going back now, right?
>You let out a sigh and nodded
“Yes, some changelings took over a maximum security prison where a friend of Twilight Sparkle was being held, and before you ask, it’s a very long story man, it suffices to say that the gal’s name is Starlight Glimmer and she was being… how do I put it? I think the best word to describe it is that Glimmer was being reformed by Twilight, and as you maybe already deduced, Chrysalis used that to her advantage”
>Thorax scratched his chin ”Uhhhm… if I know Queen Chrysalis and I think I do, then I’m betting that she used Princess Twilight’s friend to get information about her so… well, my kin could capture her and put the Princess and her friends inside a cocoon”
“That’s… exactly what happened, huh, guess I forgot that you used to work for Chrysalis”
>”I was FORCED to follow her orders” Thorax immediately corrected you
“Yeah, yeah, I know, anyway… you’re right, that’s exactly what happened. Of course, we discovered that ploy and about you in the process, then we freed Glimmer, and captured those changelings. They are locked in Canterlot’s Castle but trust me, there’s no way that they can escape”

>”Ahm, Anon? How did you capture them? I’m sure that for that kind of mission, Queen Chrysalis would’ve sent a squad of the best drones in the hive with at least a couple commanders along with them… O-Oh, please, don’t think that I don’t believe your story, is just that… well, those guys can really put up a fight, you know?”
“Well, Thorax, maybe the elite of your hive can hold their ground against normal ponies, but there was no way that they had a chance against my “uncle””
>”Wow!” Thorax looked away from you for a moment, clearly impressed by your words “Your uncle must be really powerful then. What’s his name?”
“Discord”
>”Oh, that’s a funny name” Thorax chuckled before he gasped in shock “Wait a minute! Did you say D-D-Discord? THE Discord?! As in, Discord the spirit of chaos?! H-He is your uncle?! How does that even work? I thought that the Princesses were your mothers”
>Thorax’s reaction made you laugh a bit. Then you shrugged and smiled at him.
“Discord is not my official uncle, you silly. He’s a super close friend of mine… but, just between the two of us? Discord has done A LOT for me. I mean, if it wasn’t for that guy, I wouldn’t even be here speaking to you. I don’t care how much that grumpy draconequus may protest; he’s part of my family and that’s the end of the story”
>Thorax looked at the throne’s room doors “And what about that scary lady? I-Is she your aunt?”
>You shook your head and chuckled
“Eris? Nah, we’ve been friends for a very long time, long before I met Discord and got adopted by my moms, really, she has stuck with me through a whole lot and… yeah, even when I’ve done some very bad things to her, Eris has always been there for me. She’s really like a sister, you know?”
>”I see… well, Anon, that’s uh… weird” Thorax shrugged, not knowing what else to say “Sorry but I can’t think of anything else other than… yeah, that’s weird”

“Says the guy whose wings produce glitter naturally, anyway, we’ve gotten a little too derailed from our original topic. Thorax, before I tell you the reason why I came here, let’s try to figure out, together, the reason for your metamorphosis”
> “Alright! …uhh” Thorax stayed silent for a couple seconds, before shrugging, defeated “I honestly can’t think of anything, like anything that’d be useful, the only thing I’ve done is what you told me”
“Which is to make friends, right?”
>”Mhm” Thorax nodded
“Well, we do know that before I found you in that cave, you were about to either go mad thanks to the starvation…or give up and start to steal love again”
>”Yeah…” Thorax cringed at that, rubbing his left leg with the right one “You don’t need to remind me”
“Sorry bud, I know that those are bad memories, I’m just trying to create a timeline of events so maybe we can pinpoint what caused your new, shiny form. Then, I found you and after you slapped my horn causing me to have a magical short-circuit…”
>You shot a little glare to Thorax which he replied with a nervous laugh and a “Sorry…”
“Anyways, horrible mistakes aside, we became friends, right?”
>”Best friends!” Thorax happily waved his hoof
“Of course! That’s also the point where you started to notice that your hunger was waning and…”
>Oh, man… you think… that you just realized something
“A-And as our friendship grew your need to feed on the love of others completely disappeared. Right?”
>”That’s right!” Thorax nodded frantically “I haven’t feel like stealing love since I meet you, I do feel hunger but…” He chuckled “It’s like, normal stuff, y’know, fruits and hay and all that!”
>You looked away from Thorax for a few moments and instead focused in an empty space. You felt a chill running down your spine, the AWESOME kind of chill. Oh, baby! You just got it!
>”Anon?” Thorax placed his hoof on your shoulder “Are you okay?”

>You immediately turned to Thorax, placed your hooves around his shoulders and gave him a good shake
“Thorax! You just said that you’ve been nothing but making friends, right?!”
>”W-W-W-Whaaaa!” Thorax started to stutter as you shook him harder
“C’mon, man! You have to answer my question, this is important!”
>”T-T-Then s-s-stop shaking me p-p-p-lease!” Thorax’s eyes were spinning like crazy and despite his jet black color, he somehow went green
“Oh…”
>You stopped shaking your friend and gave him a big, awkward smile
“Sorry”
>”Apologize…burp…” Thorax did his best to keep himself from vomiting by placing his hoof on his mouth. Then he took a deep breath and placed his hooves on his head, making his eyes to stop spinning “A-Apologize accepted…eh… yeah, I did nothing but making friends… w-why?”
“Because!”
>You placed your hooves on Thorax’s shoulders again, making him close his eyes in expectation of a new shake. Of course, you keep yourself from doing that again.
“Thorax, my man! That’s what caused your metamorphosis!”
>”Shaking me like crazy?” Thorax looked at you with confusion “Anon… I-I don’t remember anypony shaking me like you just did”
>You shook your head vigorously
“I didn’t mean that! What caused this change in you was friendship!”
>”Friendship? Huh…” Thorax tapped his chin “I… guess you’re right?”
“Of course I’m right! Just think about it, my man! Your hunger disappeared after we became friends, and after you made friends with a lot of crystal ponies, your legs suddenly didn’t have any holes in them and your wings produced some sort of glitter, this is too perfect to be just a coincidence and I dunno why it never occurred to me, but this is it! Friendship is what made you change!”
>”So…” Judging from Thorax’s expression, he was starting to realize it too “Do you think that if I continue to make friends, then I’ll transform even more?”
“That’s what evidence suggests, but…”

>You let go of Thorax and looked at him right in the eye
“Thorax, I want to study this even further. Not only may this be one of the biggest discoveries in the history of life, but…”
>Alright Anon, you can use this opportunity to seal the deal and convince Thorax to have the meeting. You do that, and your problem with the changelings will be closer to be solved.
“Listen, man, you’re more to me than an experiment, I want to make that perfectly clear. You’re my friend, and as such, I want to study this phenomenon so I can help you. That’s why I want to ask you to come to Canterlot with me”
>After he hesitates, you need to hook him with something like…
>”Alright! That sounds fine by me” Thorax said with a big smile on his face
>What?!
“Huh… that was easier than what I thought. Honestly, I was starting to fear that you would complain, or be a little uncomfortable with the request”
>”Nah!” Thorax waved his hoof dismissively “I like Cadence and Shining Armor and all the crystal ponies but… You’re my best friend and if you say that you need me to go with you, then I’ll follow you, and also…”
>He will follow you no matter what? That… made you feel sad, but why?
>Thorax’s expression suddenly and surprisingly became… stronger? “You said that there is some of my kin locked in Canterlot castle, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct”
>”Then, if making friends did all of these wonderful things to me, I’m sure that it will do the same for them. So, please Anon…” Seriously, you have never seen him this determined “Let me help my kin the same way you helped me. Let me show them that we don’t need to steal love as long as we have friendship”
>You let out a sigh, walked to him and gently placed your hoof on his shoulder
“Thorax… I know how important this is to you, but I’m afraid that I’ll have to ask you to be patient and give us a few days to organize the meeting”
>”But, why?!” Thorax asked with an almost desperate tone

“My biggest reason is that I’m worried about you, man. I don’t want you to get hurt”
>Thorax let out a chuckle, and shook his head “It’s not like I was planning on doing this alone, you know? I really, really want to help my kin, but…eh, geez, this will sound super awkward after the show I just put up” he smiled nervously “I-I dunno if I have what it takes to do it alone, I-I want you to be with me during that meeting… if you’re okay with it of course”
>You rolled your eye and hit Thorax’s chest with your hoof.
“Mate, you can bet your glittering wings that I’ll be right by your side when that happens… but, there other reasons as for why we should wait. I mean, are you sure that you don’t want to stay in the Crystal Empire for a bit longer so you can, y’know, say goodbye to all of your new friends?”
>Thorax cringed a bit after hearing that ”Oh Yeeeah…I can’t just leave like this, that would be super rude and not friendly at all, right?”
“That’s right, you would look like a jerk if you just left without saying a thing… and I have one final argument in favor of waiting, one that would make this meeting much more effective.”
>Thorax tilted his head in confusion ”W-What is it?”
“Listen, Thorax, your kin told us that we should expect a platoon of changelings to arrive in Canterlot on Friday. Waiting would not only give you more time to make more friends and enjoy your life in the Crystal Empire for a bit longer, but it would also let us prepare better for the meeting since we will have full-house”
>”R-Really?” Thorax gasped in surprised and looked at you with pleading eyes “Y-You are not going to hurt them right? Please, Anon! I-I’m sure that without Queen Chrysalis lying and scaring them, then all of my kin could change like I did!”

>You held up your hoof to shush Thorax and gave him a reassuring smile
“Thorax, did you just forget the whole conversation we had? We want your buddies to see the light like you did, not to hurt them. The only one who’s gonna get hurt, and badly, is Chrysalis”
>” OOOOOH! So that’s what you meant by “full-house” I thought that… Eh, it’s not important” Thorax chuckled and then let out a sigh of relief “Thank you Anon! Thank you so much!”
>Without warning, Thorax gave you a hug, and of course, you returned his sign of affection
“Hey, no need to thank me, Thorax, you’re my friend, helping each other is what friends do”
>”I know that I told you this already but…” Thorax sniffled “You really have brought harmony to my life, y’now? And now, I’m just happy that you want to do the same for my brothers and sisters”
>You broke the hug and looked at your friend right in the eye
“Hey, I’m the frickin’ Prince of Harmony, gotta live up to my title, you know?”
>Thorax gently hit you in the chest ”I think you’re doing a great job with that, but... uh” He then placed his hoof on the throne room’s door and opened it “What do you say if we go back with Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor? I’m sure they must be waiting for us”
“Well, you already opened the door, so…”
>You shrugged and motioned Thorax to enter the room
“After you, my pineapple ambassador!”
>Thorax gave you a bow “Oh, no! After you, my Fruity Prince!” He then stood up and with a big grin asked “Oh! I forgot to ask you another thing!”
“Sure, shoot away”
>Thorax rubbed his left leg with his right one “You wouldn’t mind to teach me how to be as good as you in chess, right? I-I kind of want to beat Prince Shining Armor like you did”
>You let out a laugh and then gave Thorax a little smirk
“We’ll see… I can’t guarantee you that you will reach my level because… well, it’s me who we’re talking about, but I can at least give you some tips to defeat my bro’s weak game”

>After that, you and Thorax entered the throne room. There you saw Eris on the far right corner of the room, resting on top of a pink cloud, bored out of her mind.
>Meanwhile, your mom, Cadence, and Shining Armor were finishing discussing the details about the changelings platoon and the eventual meeting with Thorax.
>When they noticed your presence, your mom motioned you and Thorax to come over. After you walked to them, your mom gently caressed your mane “I hope everything went fine with your… peculiar friend.”
>You nodded and then looked at Thorax
“Yeah, mom! No worries back there, right Thorax?”
>”That’s right!” Thorax answered with a big smile before becoming nervous “It’s just that… uh… Princess Cadence? I-I think that we need to talk about something.”
>Cadence placed her chin on her hoof and gave Thorax a little smirk “If it’s about the little pep talk you’ll have with your “family” then don’t worry, Auntie Luna just told us everything. I have to say Thorax, having you around was a lot of fun just don’t cause much trouble in Canterlot, alright?”
>”O-Oh, that makes thing sooo much easier, but…” Thorax rubbed the back of his head and put up a nervous grin “M-Me and Anon talked about this A-and we thought that it would be better if I stayed here for a few more days… if you don’t mind, of course”
>”Well…” Shining Armor replied with an uncomfortable tone “It’s not like we don’t want you here, as Cadence said, you’re a bag of fun, it’s just that…eh…” He looked at your mom “Princess Luna?”
>”Thorax, I know how my son thinks, so I’m sure that his reasoning for this was logical and oriented towards effectiveness…”
> Eris interrupted your mom by snickering ”Pfft! Yeah, right!” she waved her paw dismissively and adopted a more comfortable position on her pink cloud “I know that dork too and I’m telling ya, he told buggy over there to wait so the dude could say goodbye to his friends or something cheesy like that”

“Oh, come on Eris, could you…”
>”I’m sure you are correct, Miss Eris…” Your mom nodded “That doesn’t justify your mocking tone, though. Worrying about the feelings of the friends that Thorax would leave in the Crystal Empire is a perfectly valid argument for wanting to delay Thorax’s trip to Canterlot”
>Eris didn’t say a word, she just grumbled, crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
>You smiled and whispered at your mom
“Thanks, mom…”
>”You are welcome, my child” She whispered back as she ruffled your mane a little. Then she looked at Thorax again “The point I wanted to make, is that while there are perfectly sound arguments for you to want to stay a few more days in the Crystal Empire. I’m afraid that I will have to ask you to come with us to Canterlot”
>”O-Oh…” Thorax’s mood dropped a bit after hearing that “C-Can I ask why?”
>”I can imagine how hard this may be for you, but please Thorax, you have to understand why we need your help. Did my son tell you about the “guests” that we are expecting on Friday?”
>Thorax slowly nodded “Y-yeah… Anon told me all that there’s to know about it”
>”Then I’m sure that you realize why you are needed in Canterlot. Your knowledge in changeling’s tactics will be vital for our success” Your mom gave Eris a glance “That is why we didn’t ask for your cooperation this time. No offense, Miss Eris, but you and your father lack any sense of discretion, and we can’t have that if we want our strategy to go smoothly”
>”Booooring!” Eris looked at the ceiling and waved her paw dismissively “If you are done with this snooze fest, can we go now?”
>”That would be for the best.” Your mom turned to Thorax “I’m sorry Thorax, but Miss Eris is right, we need to leave now”
>Thorax dropped his head and replied with a pretty depressed ”O-Okay…”
>”Thorax, cmon bro, don’t get like that” Shining Armor gave a tap to Thorax’s chest “You know that you can visit us whenever you want”

>”Yup!” Cadence nodded “Shining is right; our doors will always be open for you Thorax. Just take care, alright? I want you to come back in one piece so you can tell us more of your stories”
>After that, there wasn’t too much, you said your goodbyes to Cadence and Shining Armor. Eris and Cadence scheduled a little “baby shower” party and you tried to calm Thorax a bit.
>When all was said and done, Eris teleported everyone except for her to your home, Your mom asked Thorax to meet your mom Celestia in the throne room. Then, your mom Luna took you to your room.
>”This was quite the day, right my little star?” Your mom asked with a motherly tone after closing the door behind her.
“Yeah… first I had a blast from the past from you, then I had to deal with this whole changelings stuff… I just want to know if Thorax will be alright”
>”You don’t need to worry so much, my child. I’m sure that Celie will find the way to raise your friend’s spirits like she always does with everypony”
>You hopped on your bed, got under your sheets and let out a yawn
“Yeah… she’s amazingly good at giving pep talks, but… she’s not as kind you are, nobody is.”
>”Oh, I’m not sure about that, my child. After all, Fluttershy is the element of a kindness for a good reason” Using her magic, your mom tucked you in bed, then she gently caressed your mane “Now, rest my little star, you have a busy day tomorrow.”
>You let out another yawn
“C’mon mom, I can still have the energy to go… I-I just need to lie for a moment and then…”
>You yawned
“Then we can go with my mom and Thorax… and then I can come up with something to capture those changelings”
>”My child, we may be dealing with a difficult situation, and I appreciate your initiative but you are still a foal, my foal. You HAVE to rest, leave the changeling to us, after all, you have other things to worry about, like the election that your school is having”

“Maybe… I mean, I’m sure that Gale Breeze and Bubble Cup are going to kill me after they hear that I couldn’t focus on the campaign but… eh, I’m sure that I will come up with something”
>”You will not be able to do such thing if you fall asleep during class and get sent to detention again. Before you ask, yes, Celie tells me about your school life…. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, do you remember the little commission that I asked Miss Rarity to do a while ago?”
>You let another yawn as you slowly shook your head
“Nope”
>Your mom placed her hoof on her forehead and shook your head “I hope this is due to how tired you are and not because you have a memory as terrible as mine. I asked Miss Rarity to craft a whole line of clothing just for you and this evening I received a letter from her, telling me that she has already finished it. So, after your classes end, Twilight Sparkle will take you to Miss Rarity so she can give you your new wardrobe”
“Well… maybe I can ask Thorax to come with us… after I rest my eyes for a moment… yeah… I don’t have to sleep right now… I just gotta…”
>You felt your eyes closing and for all that is science, you did your best to fight that back… but before you could do much, your mom hopped on your bed, wrapped her wing around you, nuzzled her muzzle on your mane and gently sang into your ear
>”Twinkle, twinkle little star. You don’t know how loved you are…. When the blazing sun is gone… when he nothing shines upon… then you show your little light… twinkle, twinkle all the night….”
>You couldn’t stay awake after that, so you enjoyed your mom’s warm embrace and drifted off into the dream world.