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// Much to Talk About 
// Story: Grief is the Price We Pay 
// by Scyphi 
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	Thorax stopped feeding not long after Spike left, but he continued to shift and stir in his sleep afterwards, enough that Fluttershy thought he might wake soon. She both hoped and dreaded that he would.

The fact of the matter was that Fluttershy was left feeling very torn about where she stood on the matter of Spike and Thorax. It was true she had enough benefit of a doubt and trust to come here in the first place, but that didn’t mean she still didn’t believe everything Twilight and the others had told her about the matter could be true either. In fact, she very much thought she would come and find things that would prove Twilight correct, and that poor Spike was being manipulated by the changeling she now knew was named Thorax. She only came at all because she trusted Spike’s letter claiming he was ill, and not only did she mean what she had said to Spike about the goodness in her refusing to turn a blind eye to an ill creature, changeling or not…but she also saw Spike’s letter proved he was at least still capable of thinking for himself, and thought that, maybe, with the changeling ill, that would give her a chance to try and sway Spike to come back to Ponyville at the same time, hopefully bringing a peaceful resolution to everything.

She wasn’t expecting what she actually found, though. Neither Spike or Thorax were living the dreary sort of life she expected, and found the life they seemed to be living to be surprisingly decent all things considered…it was the sort of life she thought even she could be satisfied with. And Spike’s version of the story was a far cry from the tale of deception Twilight and Starlight had painted upon their return from the Crystal Empire, one that did indeed make Spike and Thorax seem like the victims. Furthermore, it was clear Spike believed every word he said to be true, and the longer they talked, the harder it was for Fluttershy to find reasons to doubt they weren’t the actual facts either. She had spent the entirety of their meeting quietly watching Spike for any signs that what he was saying might not be genuine, or that any malicious intent to deceive him or force him to act contrary to his desires existed…and was finding none. Of course, she was no expert at this sort of thing, and she was consciously aware of that—to the point that she wondered more than once if she was perhaps in over her head—but all she was finding in Spike was a very sad and troubled little dragon, who was just very…disappointed…in the ponies he saw as having betrayed his trust.

The only real unusual detail she saw about Spike’s behavior in fact was just how shockingly bitter he had become about it all…but even Fluttershy knew that could be justified, given the circumstances he had been put in. Otherwise he was still the dragon she had always known, and the fact he spoke and interacted with her with such familiarity felt so genuine…it was hard to believe Spike wasn’t being truthful. She knew that, logically, she probably shouldn’t rely on face-value impressions like that so much, not when Spike may have been fed disinformation himself…and Fluttershy knew Twilight well too, knowing that she wouldn’t lie about something like this if she didn’t think it was absolutely true…and she had been right about things like this in the past. After all, she had been right at Cadance and Shining Armor’s wedding right before the changelings attempted to invade Canterlot…a day that still occasionally gave Fluttershy nightmares and had no wish to relive.

But even Thorax, sick though he was, didn’t even seem to match Fluttershy’s expectations of the changeling. Spike’s portrayal of his morals and state of character made him seem actually very much not too unlike herself, one who wanted to help everyone and just wished things could be good and peaceful, without conflict. And even while he lay there so very ill, he did so in such a peaceful manner that it seemed hard for Fluttershy to envision him as the cruel attackers she had previously seen changelings as. And the fact that he was so very ill…so weak and helpless…Fluttershy couldn’t help but take pity on him. Surely not even a foe as bad as what Twilight claimed him to be deserved this…and that was what was perhaps most telling of all about all of this…the fact that when she first spoke with Spike about Thorax’s ailments, he had replied with such fear, such concern for him…it was hard to see how anyone could care so much for another if they weren’t actually trusted friends.

It was actually making Fluttershy wonder more and more if Spike really was the one who was being truthful, and it was herself who had been misled.

…but how could she ever be sure? If what Twilight and the others had claimed was true, then all of this could still be suspect, that even Spike could be spouting lies without even knowing it, that it was all just a ruse. It left her feeling very torn and conflicted…she didn’t know who was right, and which side she should be on. She felt like she was caught in an unending game of monkey in the middle…and she had always hated that game so.

So, torn as she was, Fluttershy simply sat and awaited further developments. After waiting for about ten minutes and seeing that Spike wasn’t going to be coming right back, she decided she might as well use the opportunity to privately use the attached restroom the humble little room bore. In so doing, she noticed a big green lump of…something…still resting in the bottom of the bathtub, and stopped to stare at it warily for a long moment. She wasn’t sure what it was, but the green color reminded her very much of the cocoons she had seen the changelings use during the invasion at Canterlot and she assumed Thorax was somehow responsible, and her lack of knowing of what it was supposed to be allowed her mind to fear increasingly worse explanations.

It was little things like that that bothered her most in all of this; the little things that didn’t quite add up. This blob for instance; why was it here in the bathtub, and what was its purpose? Did Spike know about it? Then there was how Spike had spoken about his and Thorax’s sneaking out of the Crystal Empire in such a cold and calculating way…it seemed almost militaristic, not like Spike to say. There was also the fact that Spike had become so bitterly against Twilight when mere moons ago he had thought the world of her. Had all of this really changed his views of her that much? Or was something encouraging Spike’s bitter attitude towards ponies like Twilight, and if so, was it deliberate? How did Spike’s employer, the apparently unknowing Fly Leaf, fit into all of this? Had she perhaps played a role in all of this, and Spike was just hiding it?

Or was Fluttershy just jumping to conclusions that weren’t there?

Still too conflicted, Fluttershy decided to leave the matter alone for now and after washing her hooves stepped back out into the main room. Upon glancing at Thorax and seeing he was stirring but still appeared to be asleep, she proceeded to wander about the room, taking in the details. She stopped at the desk near the door and gingerly sorted through some of the papers that rested upon it, trying not to disturb things too much. She was somewhat surprised to note that the papers appeared to be notes to a variety of story ideas Spike seemed to have been working on. It heartened her to see that the dragon still seemed to be making good use of his free time, despite everything.

Meanwhile however, while Fluttershy was across the room, Thorax was gradually waking up again for the first time in what felt like days to him. He still felt awful all over; his joints ached and his chest and throat hurt from his lingering congestion and continued coughing, felt a cruddy sick feeling deep in the pit of his belly, and his forehead throbbed faintly when he moved it too much. His peeling chitin also mildly itched. Nonetheless, he still felt refreshed and marginally better than when he last recalled being awake, and dimly considered that good in the back of his head. Gradually, he started to groggily open his eyes a little and peer around at his surroundings, still blurry and unfocused, but slowly resolving back into clarity. His gaze fell upon Fluttershy, and faintly stared at her for a long moment uncomprehendingly.

Before he suddenly realized this pegasus mare was neither Spike nor Fly Leaf, and with a gasp, he bolted upright in alarm.

Startled, Fluttershy spun around to face Thorax, but no sooner than Thorax had sat up did both forehooves fly to his head to clutch painfully, throbbing from the sudden movement. “…ooowwwww,” he groaned pitifully.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy declared, quickly running to Thorax’s aide, carefully lowering him back down onto his sleeping nest. “Take it easy now…you were in such an awful state just a few hours ago that you really shouldn’t tax yourself.”

Thorax frowned at the unfamiliar voice, but he took comfort in the fact that she seemed to be here to help, so he allowed himself to be laid back down.  “Who are you?” he croaked weakly.

“I’m Fluttershy,” the mare responded as she filled a glass with water and held it up. “Would you like some water? Drinking fluids should help your body to continue to clear this up.”

“Sure,” Thorax responded, and allowed her to place the glass to his lips so to drink. Meanwhile, he regarded the name she gave in his tired mind, and far later than he should’ve, realized the significance of the name. “What…what are you doing here?”

“Spike asked me to come help you get better,” Fluttershy explained gently as she took the glass away and started to root through a pair of saddlebags on the floor Thorax assumed were hers. “He’s been, uh, explaining things to me.”

Thorax’s eyebrows went up at this, the most he could do to convey surprise in his current state. He coughed before replying. “I must have been in quite a state for him to decide to do that,” he said, his voice sounding grumbly due to his illness.

“You were,” was all Fluttershy said on the matter. She pulled out a medicine bottle and consulted the instructions printed on it before withdrawing a pill. “Here, take this—it’ll help with that headache.”

Thorax forgot he was still rubbing at his head during all of this, but he started to push the pill away. “I shouldn’t,” he said. “…don’t know if it’ll react well with my biology…”

“It won’t,” Fluttershy assured, pressing the pill up towards Thorax’s mouth. “We’ve already made sure of that. In fact, I already gave you one of those pills earlier this afternoon…it’s probably just worn off by now.”

“…oh.” Thorax relented then, popping the pill into his mouth. Fluttershy reached for the glass of water again so Thorax could take a sip, but the changeling had already swallowed the pill dry. The changeling then proceeded to consider the fact Fluttershy was here, and began to wonder what else had happened while he was out. “Anything else I should know about?” he asked. His face must have turned worried because Fluttershy’s face began to mirror it. “Have Spike and I been found by…?”

“No, no,” Fluttershy quickly soothed. “The, uh, only one who knows about this besides you and Spike is, uh, just me.”

She turned back to her saddlebags for a moment while Thorax watched for a moment. “Thank you,” he stated simply.

Fluttershy made a small grin but avoided eye contact. “You’re…um…welcome.”

Thorax laid back for a few moments, thinking. “What day is it?” he asked upon realizing he was no longer certain.

“Monday,” Fluttershy replied as she finished with the saddlebags and returned her attention back to Thorax.

Thorax blinked. “Really?” He flipped through his foggy memories real quick. Last he could clearly recall it was still Friday or Saturday. He couldn’t remember which precisely, but neither of them was Monday, that he did know. “I must have been really out of it.”

“…you were very ill.”

Thorax looked back at her. “How has Spike handled that?” he asked, worried.

Fluttershy didn’t seem certain how to respond at first, surprised that the changeling’s first concern was Spike over himself. “Well…” she began hesitantly. “…I’m here now. So…”

Thorax nodded seriously, catching on to what she was implying. “That bad,” he concluded. He squinted his eyes for a moment while he massaged the flaking chitin on his forehead. “…am I going to be okay?”

Fluttershy brighten a little at this. “I think so,” she assured. “But um…it’d help if I knew a bit more just what illness you, uh, have precisely.”

Thorax glanced at her skeptically. “…didn’t Spike tell you when he asked you here?” he asked.

“…it wasn’t in his letter, no,” Fluttershy admitted. She shrugged. “I had assumed he didn’t know exactly either.”

Thorax, however, had figured out the answer. “He probably didn’t know how to spell it without using changeling characters,” he realized. He turned back to Fluttershy. “I’m no healer myself…but given all the symptoms I recall having and by the sounds of just how bad I got, it’s most likely mutatum aegritudo.”

Fluttershy’s brow furrowed at the unfamiliar words. “Mu…what?”

“A sort of changeling flu,” Thorax said. “It’s known to infect and attack all the major traits of a changeling’s body, and can be pretty serious. I’ve only caught it once before myself when I was back in the hive…and in that instance I could count on our healers to take care of me by placing me in a healing cocoon and giving me treatments through that.” He nodded his head in the direction of the bathroom. “I tried to make one for myself here, but uh…my condition grew too severe before I could finish…so Spike and I sort of had to do without.”

That explains the big green blob in the bathtub, Fluttershy thought to herself. “This illness…” she began to ask, more concerned about it especially given how serious Thorax was making it sound. “…is it contagious?” Spike had indicated in his letter that it wasn’t, but Fluttershy wanted to be absolutely certain.

But Thorax shook his head. “Only to changelings,” he replied. He grinned. “So seeing you’re not a changeling, you’re in no danger.”

Fluttershy hesitated, for some reason not liking he was so confident of that even though she knew he was right about her not being a changeling, feeling like she wasn’t in control when she should be. “Oh I don’t know,” she said, uncharacteristically deciding to casually challenge that confidence. “…how do you know that I’m…uh…not a changeling?”

Thorax chuckled briefly before it devolved into a ragged cough for a second. He sniffed his stuffy nose before replying. “My nose may be stuffed up and hindering my sense of smell a bit, but I still would be able to tell if you were.” He titled his head knowingly at her. “Besides…any self-respecting changeling wouldn’t voluntarily get so close to another changeling potentially ill with mutatum aegritudo without at least some protection.”

Fluttershy examined herself and saw she bore no such protection, and only was now belatedly thinking, far too late to do anything about it, that it might have been smart for her to do so anyway as a precaution. “…oh…fair point,” she conceded. She then had another thought and grew puzzled again. “If this is a changeling disease though…then how did you catch it way out here in Equestria, where there are no other changelings?”

“That you know of,” Thorax pointed out. He paused to cough again, giving Fluttershy a chance to allow a shudder of fear ripple through her, seeing he had a point. Thorax didn’t seem to notice and continued. “I don’t know, really. But it can be airborne…maybe it just managed to blow itself on over to me from whatever other poor changeling who last had it.”

“Maybe,” Fluttershy said, who knew enough about microbiology to know this was slim but plausible. She quickly had a more likely theory though. “Or maybe ponies aren’t affected by the disease…but they can still carry it, passing it on unknowingly to others.” She motioned to Thorax. “In this case, to yourself.”

Thorax eyebrows went up again. “Good to know Spike recruited the help of a pony that knows what she’s doing,” he observed with a pleased grin.

Fluttershy blushed. “Oh, well…” she said humbly. “…I’m no expert, I just happen to have picked up a bit of medicine from helping all my animal friends…”

“Ah yes, that’s right…you’re the element of harmony that had the thing for animals.” When Fluttershy showed surprise at his knowing of this, Thorax shrugged. “Sorry, it was part of the intelligence that was shared with all changelings in the hive back before…well…”

“…the invasion at Canterlot?” Fluttershy finished.

Thorax sighed, nodding. He then yawned and blinked his eyes sleepily, what little energy he had for conversation quickly ebbing. “I’m exhausted,” he noted with a hint of frustration.

“Your body’s still fighting the illness,” Fluttershy explained. “You should take it easy for a few days until you’ve recovered fully.”

Thorax shrugged then and started to settle back down, indeed looking too tired to stay awake much longer. “Whatever needs to be done, I suppose.”

Fluttershy fidgeted for a second. “But, uh,” she began to interject quickly. “…if I could ask you to just stay awake for a…teensy bit longer…there’s, um…a few things that I’d…that I’d like to…talk about.” She grinned falsely, hoping she had successfully made that all sound innocent and not intimidating like she feared.

Apparently not, because Thorax raised an eyebrow and gave her a knowing look despite continuing to blink sleepily. “Good, because I have a few things I want to talk to you about too,” he stated seriously. He then turned himself so he could face her while still lying down and quite bluntly asked the question not even Spike had asked save indirectly. “Now that you know where we are…are you going to sell us out?”

Fluttershy bit her lip, feeling put on the spot. “…I, uh, haven’t quite, um, decided yet,” she reluctantly admitted.

Thorax’s expression turned more serious. “Then we have much to talk about indeed.” He stopped to clear his throat briefly before continuing. Fluttershy was expecting him to go right into his own needs and how he, being a changeling, did not wish to be discovered and why, but he again surprised her. “Spike wouldn’t have gone to such great risk to plead for your help if he didn’t think you could also keep it secret. And after everything he’s already been through…he doesn’t need that trust shattered here too.”

Fluttershy blinked, again impressed the changeling was putting Spike’s needs over himself. “You…you don’t understand though,” Fluttershy attempted to explain. “From my point of view…”

“I understand what your point of view is perfectly,” Thorax interrupted, choosing not to beat about. “No doubt everything you’ve been told about us on up to now would suggest you should have no reason to trust me.” He tilted his head knowingly at her. “But if you really have doubts about our sincerity…then why did you even come?”

Fluttershy awkwardly rubbed her leg with one hoof, avoiding eye contact. She didn’t feel as much control of this conversation at all like she had hoped. “…because you were ill…gravely so,” she explained simply. She shrugged. “I…I couldn’t ignore that and not try and help, danger or not.”

Thorax made a small smile in approval though. “That is more than I could’ve expected from some of your peers,” he said, deliberately not stating directly who, but they both knew who he was referring to. “You mentioned Spike was explaining things…I assume he’s already filled you in on our side of the tale.”

Fluttershy nodded. “That’s…what has left me so undecided.”

Again, Thorax approved of this and nodded his head. “Good, you aren’t just flat-out dismissing it because it’s not the truth you want to hear.” His grin grew and he started to relax some, letting his tired eyes droop. “You seem to be a good pony, Fluttershy. I do hope you will make the decision you feel is right then, and not the one you are told is right.”

That only made Fluttershy feel even more conflicted though, because she wasn’t yet sure what her heart felt was right. “It’s not that simple, though,” she began to object.

“Isn’t it?” Thorax challenged gently, letting his eyes close as sleep began to creep up on him again. It seemed clear he wasn’t likely to stay awake for much longer.

So Fluttershy quickly just blurted it out before she missed her chance. “There’s something you need to know,” she said urgently. “Something you and Spike wouldn’t already know about…about all of this.”

Thorax didn’t respond immediately, momentarily leading Fluttershy to think she had missed her chance, but then Thorax let out a long and weary sigh and opened one pupiless eye to peer at the yellow pegasus. “What is it that Princess Twilight Sparkle has told you that is leaving you uncertain, then?” he asked with stunning perceptiveness.

It momentarily left Fluttershy flabbergasted and she struggled to regather her thoughts to speak briefly. “Ah, well…um…Twilight…ah…Twilight has this…theory, you see…um, it’s about how changelings operate with, uh, what she called a hive mind, and, uh…”

“Spike told me she had theorized this before already,” Thorax interjected, letting his open eye close again.

“No, no,” Fluttershy interjected back quickly. “He doesn’t know about this…he couldn’t. Twilight made it clear she didn’t want either of you to even suspect this.”

This got Thorax’s attention, and even though it was clear he didn’t want to, Thorax opened both of his sleepy eyes to study her once more. “What is so important about this that she’s keeping it secret?” he pressed, concerned.

Fluttershy bit her lip, knowing Twilight would not approve any of what she wanted to say. “…I really shouldn’t tell you this. If Twilight’s right…”

“If it involves a hive mind, then she’s not, because there’s no such thing presently in existence,” Thorax assured, and then motioned for her to continue. He clearly expected she was going to tell him anyway.

He was right. “Twilight’s been…well…assuming that the minds of all changelings are…interconnected,” Fluttershy began to explain. “She calls it a hive mind. She says this would allow all changelings to be able to communicate and carry out intricate plans as a united group, even when apart, and to consult and receive instruction from others at will despite distance while also keeping it entirely secret and private. She’s…assumed you are part of that hive mind…”

“I’m not.”

“…and that you’ve somehow linked Spike into that hive mind too.”

For the first time, Thorax looked stunned and just stared at Fluttershy in shock. “What?” he breathed, looking more hurt by the implication than anything.

Fluttershy simply nodded. “That’s how she thinks you’ve gotten Spike to…well…to side with you so completely. You’ve brought him into the influence of that link so other changelings are able to be either misleading his mind directly, or are directly controlling Spike’s actions through it…” she hid her face behind her mane in shame, Thorax’s increasingly growing shock bothering her. “…like a puppet.”

Thorax was momentarily at a loss for words. Clearly, this possibility had never occurred to him before now, and to Fluttershy, that was perhaps more telling than she cared to admit, fearing the implications. It bothered her greatly. Why would he react this way if it was true? “Twilight, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance all privately agreed after Spike started supporting you that they would keep this secret to themselves and make sure neither you nor Spike knew of their fears,” she continued. “No pony beyond them knew about it. Not even Starlight Glimmer knew about it until Twilight explained it to us—on the grounds that we were to keep it completely secret—once they returned to Ponyville. From what I was told later, they feared that if you or Spike found out, then assuming you two really were connected to this…hive mind…then potentially all the other changelings, if not Queen Chrysalis herself, could know about it, and…react accordingly.”

“And rob them of the advantage,” Thorax concluded, and let his head flop back into his nest with a tired sigh, closing his eyes wearily. “But she’s wrong—there is no hive mind for either of us to be linked to.” He opened his eyes to glance at Fluttershy. “And assuming there was…do you think me or any other changeling would have allowed Spike to choose to bring you here and risk everything?”

Fluttershy frowned, seeing his point. “I suppose not…not without some ulterior motive at least…which I haven’t seen any sign of yet, but…”

“And you never will,” Thorax added, starting to relax again but it was clear this revelation troubled him. “That supposed “ulterior motive” is no more real than that hive mind.”

“Nonetheless, Twilight, Shining, and Cadance didn’t want to take the risk assuming it didn’t exist, for fear of the danger it presented if it did exist.”

“They searched both me and Spike for any mental connections or mind manipulation of any sort and found nothing though…shouldn’t that disprove it? Why keep assuming that it exists?”

Fluttershy shuffled her hooves sheepishly. “Twilight believes you could have some way to keep it especially hidden and undetectable,” she explained, and shrugged. “I don’t know much about the science or magic behind it, but…doesn’t it make some sense? If such a thing existed, I’m sure the changelings wouldn’t want any outsiders to be able to freely tinker with it. Surely it’s not so unreasonable to assume you would want to keep it so hidden?”

“Except it doesn’t exist,” Thorax said softly but with emphasis, letting his eyes droop closed yet again. “And if that was really what they were thinking, then why did they respond with banishment?”

“I, uh, think the idea was that if enough distance was put between you and Spike, it’d either break the link, or at least weaken it enough that that it could then be forced to break…” Fluttershy lowered her head. “I admit that it sounds like a longshot though, um, and obviously since Spike followed you into banishment anyway…”

“And that’s the other thing—why let Spike go with me if they thought keeping us apart would somehow help?”

“I, uh, think that’s why Twilight has been so adamant on getting him back,” Fluttershy explained. “I mean, uh, they had other fears besides this hive mind that made them turn to banishment of course…basically Shining and Cadance thought the changelings intended to use Spike as…well…some sort of pawn in a greater scheme, and feared that, when he decided to follow you into banishment too…he was already too far gone, and it would be safer to let him go with you than keep him there where he could possibly cause trouble…at least until they came up with a better plan. I think there was also the secret hope that Spike wouldn’t…commit…and just give up and come back on his own…” Fluttershy fiddled with her hooves some more. “But Twilight didn’t agree with Shining and Cadance, and so…Thorax, she just wants Spike back, desperately, and…and I feel so bad for her about it, because I can tell, this is tearing her apart…but…look…all I really want…is to find some way to settle this so…so everyone can be happy, but…I…I…”

“You still aren’t sure if I can be trusted,” Thorax summarized softly. He was quiet for a moment. Again, Fluttershy thought he had drifted off again, but finally after some thought, he spoke again. “The problem we all face is that we have conflicting details, and no surefire means to prove them as genuine…except by word of mouth…and you have no way of knowing for certain if anything I say is truth or lie.”

Fluttershy frowned, but nodded again. “…yes.” She tilted her head at the changeling. “I guess you do understand where I stand better than I thought.”

“A quirk of being a changeling,” Thorax explained simply. “One has to be able to understand how one thinks in order to be truly disguised as them. Not perfectly of course, just enough to be…convincing.” He shook his head lightly. “But you aren’t interested in that. Spike wasn’t able to convince you fully and you still have fears that Twilight could be right, so you’re hoping that I can settle that.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said, yet again nodding. “Um…can you?”

Thorax sighed and went silent again for a long moment. He was sounding increasingly tired and Fluttershy felt slightly bad she was preventing him from getting the sleep he needed to battle his illness, but she patiently waited for his response. “I will be honest with you Fluttershy even though this is not what you’ll want to hear, because I feel if I am to hope of ever convincing any one that I am being truthful, I should hold nothing back, good or bad,” he began. He sighed once more, and his body seemed to relax even more, ready for sleep. Yet he still remained awake enough to finish. “If Twilight Sparkle and the others truly believe there is a hive mind falsifying both my and Spike’s actions, then I know of no way I could convince you of my truthfulness. Everything I say or do could be seen as suspect unless you can be completely certain said hive mind has no influence in the matter. And as there is no hive mind…I don’t know if I can do that…much less how.” He coughed briefly. “Worse still, is the fact that you need to know that while there is no hive mind…changelings do have the means to make one.”

Fluttershy inhaled sharply at this without meaning to, and stared warily at the weary changeling before her in a new light. He was right. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

Thorax pressed on regardless, despite fully knowing he was only fueling her fears. “The reason we don’t use a hive mind,” he continued, “is because we learned a long time ago through experience that such a thing doesn’t help us, it only holds us back, robs us of our freedoms.” He chuckled humorlessly again. “We knew that through a hive mind, there would always be someone else who was manipulating us, forcing us to do things we may not want to…much like what Twilight fears has happened to Spike. If I can convince you of anything Fluttershy…it’s that changelings know that fear very well. We wouldn’t wish it upon ourselves, and I’d like to think most of us wouldn’t want to wish it on others either. I certainly don’t at least. It is something I cannot see even changelings resorting to. But the important thing is this…we may have the means to do it…but I swear to you…we are not doing it now. Spike’s actions and thoughts are his own. I have no wish to do any harm, and have done none to him. My actions are also entirely my own. My hive probably knows even less about where I am right now than Equestria does, and would probably do nothing to aid me if they did, as everything I have done to get here would be seen as a betrayal to them. I fear they would sooner punish me than help me. Above all, Equestria does not need to fear me. I seek no harm to it or its populace…I just wish to be a part of it if I could.” He smiled sadly, wearily. “You don’t know just how good you have it here in Equestria, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy needed a moment to process all of this. On one side she felt moved by Thorax’s words, but at the same time, it had done little to quell that lingering spark of doubt in her mind, that spark she could not bring herself to ignore just yet still. “Does Spike know about all of this?” she asked softly.

“Absolutely,” Thorax said gently, dozing and so close to sleep he probably would not be able to stay awake for much longer. “You can ask him yourself.”

Fluttershy resolved to do so next chance she could. “But…how do I know any of this is true, and not just…a story to convince me?”

Thorax did not respond right away. “I suppose you don’t,” he admitted.

The next thing to be heard from him after that was a small snore as he finally slipped back to sleep. Fluttershy let him, and instead sat and mulled over what she had been told.