//------------------------------// // Sky Trek // Story: Grief is the Price We Pay // by Scyphi //------------------------------// It thus became the norm for Thorax to pull out a record to play on his new record player every evening after work, and then simply sit to one side and attentively listen to it as it played. Naturally, most of what he played were episodes from his new favorite radio drama, which he was now an avid fan of. However, before they had even gotten halfway through the following week, Thorax had already finished listening to them, which was a problem as he was still left eager for more. “So put on another,” Spike suggested early one evening, not long after the shop had closed for the evening, as Thorax pulled the most recent finished record off the turntable, lamenting that it had finished. “I can’t, that’s the last one for that series,” Thorax explained as he glumly slipped the record back into its sleeve and put it back with the rest. “I’ll have to buy the next set to continue.” “Right,” Spike said, looking up from the writing notes he had been working on at the desk, across the room from where Thorax and the record player were. “About how much do those sets sell for again?” “For a full set? About five bits altogether, generally.” Spike thought for a moment, gazing up at the bulletin board sitting above the desk they both had been using to hang notes and reminders to themselves to glance at their notes for their funds. Their funds had become streamlined enough now that they kept two stashes of money; one for long-term savings that they could fall back on in emergencies or extraordinarily large expenses, and another for more general, day-to-day, expenses. Of the two, the long-term savings was the one that contained enough funds that there wasn’t immediate danger of it running dry too soon, but Spike also didn’t consider buying another series of radio drama episodes on record as an “emergency.” “Can I ask you to hold off on doing that until we get our next paycheck this weekend?” he asked his changeling friend timidly, turning in his seat to glance at Thorax. Thorax sighed, but nodded reluctantly. “Yeah, I can,” he agreed, and wandered over to the window seat to sit down, staring at the wooden panel floor of their room. He sighed once more. “I’ll…just have to be content in not immediately knowing what will happen next.” “Aw, you just need something else to keep you occupied,” Spike suggested as he turned back to his own project. “Seeing you like this radio drama series so much and it is part of the sci-fi genre, maybe you just need something else from that same genre to keep your appetite sated.” He thought for a moment. “Sky Trek comes to mind.” “What’s Sky Trek?” “It’s a long-running book series. I’ve only read one or two myself, but its Twilight’s third favorite series of books to read after Daring Do and anything written by Starswirl the Bearded. Starlight Glimmer, as I recall, is an even bigger fan of the series.” Spike shook his head to clear it of memories of his old life before being cast out, turning in his seat to look at Thorax again. “It doesn’t deal quite so much with time and space like your Doctor Hooves, but basically it’s set in a future Equestria where it’s about the adventures of the crew of this high-tech airship as they travel out beyond Equestria, exploring. You know, seeking out new lands and new civilizations, going where no pony had gone before, and all that.” Thorax considered it for a second then stood up onto his holed hooves again. “I suppose it’s worth a try,” he reasoned. “But where would I find a copy of one of these books?” “Well, Fly Leaf sells some of the books downstairs…maybe she’ll let you borrow one from the stock to read.” So Thorax put on his disguise and went downstairs where Fly Leaf was sweeping the empty front of the store to ask. “Well yes, I do sell Sky Trek books,” the orange earth pony confirmed to her employee, “but only the more recent entries in the series. I would think if you were going to start reading them, you’d want to start at the beginning with the first book.” Thorax frowned. “Where can I find the first book?” Fly Leaf glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “If you hurry, you might be able to try the library real quick before it closes.” So Thorax left for the library. Because it was faster, he ducked into a nearby alley after leaving the shop to change his disguise into a pegasus so to fly there instead of going by hoof like he normally would. He arrived only minutes before the library was to close for the evening, and the attending librarians were more interested in hurrying patrons out the door than welcoming more in. But nonetheless, Thorax was able to return to the shop with the desired book in hoof. He then took it up to his and Spike’s room and sat down on the window seat again to begin reading. He did not stop for dinner that was held later, and he was still reading it as it grew late. Spike, deciding to call it a night, put away what he was working on and, studying the changeling with an amused expression, approached him. He knew Thorax was an avid reader, but this was the first time the changeling had been reading the same work for so long in one stretch without interruption. “Good book?” he asked. “Mm-hmm,” Thorax hummed distractedly, his pupiless eyes glued to the pages of the book. Spike folded his arms as he continued to watch the changeling read. “You know, I’m starting to think you’re a bit of a sci-fi nut, Thorax,” he observed. “Mm,” Thorax hummed again, turning the page in his book. “Anyway, I’m calling it a night, so can I have the window seat back so I can go to bed?” Thorax didn’t immediately respond and continued to read. “Thorax?” Thorax glanced up slightly from the book, as if his eyes were reluctant to look away from the book. “Hmm?” “Window seat. Bedtime.” “Oh right, sorry.” Continuing to hold the book before him with his cyan magic, Thorax got up from the window seat and trotted over to his sleeping nest instead. The window seat thusly freed, Spike clambered up onto it and pulled out his blanket so to transform it into his usual makeshift bed. Arranging his pillow into a comfortable position, he proceeded to lie down, but paused as he glanced over at Thorax sitting in his makeshift nest of blankets and other fabrics, continuing to read like nothing had changed. “Thorax, time for bed,” he reminded. “Just a few more minutes,” Thorax promised without looking up, again turning the page. Spike frowned slightly. “Don’t stay up too late,” he advised. “We still need to get up on time for work in the morning.” “Mm-hmm.” Spike gazed at the changeling for a long moment, not certain he was even listening, but the little dragon finally shrugged, trusting Thorax would insure he got to sleep on his own and snuggled down the night himself. He slept well, deeply, and comfortably for the full night before waking up again as the sun rose again the following morning, as had become the custom since taking up residence here. Sitting back up, he stretched then turned to see if Thorax was up. He was, but he was also still sitting in the exact same position reading his book as Spike remembered him being when he went to sleep the previous night. The only changes was that Thorax was now much further into the book than he was last night, looking to be only about a dozen pages away from the end, and there were now notable bags under the changeling’s blue eyes…which left Spike briefly wondering how one could get such bags under their eyes when their face was lined with chitin like Thorax’s was. More importantly though, Spike was quick to realize that Thorax clearly wasn’t as well-slept as he should be. “Thorax,” Spike stated in a firm tone as he frowned at the changeling. Thorax, as usual, was only half-listening. “Just a few more minutes,” he repeated, turning a page. “…it’s morning now, Thorax.” “Not for another few hours.” “No, it’s morning now.” And to demonstrate it, Spike pulled open the curtains to their window, letting the early morning sunlight stream in. Thorax winced as the sunlight glared into his eyes, but that still didn’t stop him from continuing to read. “Mm,” he murmured. Spike’s eyes narrowed at the changeling as he started to suspect what happened. “Thorax, did you get any sleep last night?” “Just a few more minutes.” “Thorax!” The changeling jumped and blinked owlishly at Spike. “What?” “You stayed up all night reading that book?” the little dragon accused. Thorax blinked, then glanced around their room as if it was the first time he had done so in several hours. “Huh, I guess I did,” he admitted. “I’m almost done though, so I’ll get some sleep then.” “No, no, Thorax, it’s time to get up,” Spike repeated, dragging his claws across his face in frustration. “Now. If you try to sleep now, you’ll be late for your shift.” “Mm.” Spike groaned as it was clear the changeling wasn’t listening, and decided instead to proceed with getting ready for the day. He hoped that doing so would alert the changeling that it was time to set the book aside and get on with the day, although Spike was more worried about how useful the sleep-deprived changeling was going to be today. He was likely to be dead on his hooves the whole day considering he hadn’t slept a wink. Unfortunately, as Spike emerged from the room’s attached restroom after freshening up, he found Thorax still hadn’t moved and was still reading his book. “Thorax,” Spike growled in a warning tone. “Just a few more minutes,” Thorax promised distractedly, turning the page again. Spike threw his claws into the air. “Fine!” he said in defeat. “But I’m not defending you when Fly Leaf gets after you.” “That’s nice,” was Thorax’s only response as Spike headed out the bedroom door.