//------------------------------// // Good Morning // Story: Grief is the Price We Pay // by Scyphi //------------------------------//             As it turned out, Ember really didn’t snore; instead, she talked in her sleep.             In fact, she more of mumbled in her sleep, which frustrated Starlight sleeping in the bed across from the dragoness all the more, because then Starlight couldn’t ever quite make out just what it was Ember was saying. And since the mumbling was always just enough to lull her awake on more than one occasion through the night, it was admittedly a bit annoying. Starlight didn’t dare try to wake Ember and alert the dragoness of the problem, though. She knew better than to bother a sleeping dragon that probably wouldn’t take kindly to being woken up. So instead, she gritted her teeth and bore through it.             But despite this setback, she did manage to get some sporadic sleep in, enough that she was rested enough to be sufficiently awake when arising and replacing Spike at the air yacht’s helm when it came time for her shift sometime around midnight. When asked if anything of note had taken place during his shift, Spike simply and curtly replied that it was “nothing you need to worry about,” so Starlight took that to mean his shift was largely uneventful and proceeded to find her own was likewise unexciting. The Vergilius mostly flew itself so long as it was kept on the right heading, which was simple enough for her to do. By the end of her shift sometime in the early hours the morning (when it was still too early for it to be rightfully called “morning”) though, Starlight was starting to feel the need for sleep press heavily on her again and was struggling to keep awake. She was fearing she might doze off at the helm when Ember, awake and alert as she had been before she went to bed, arrived to take over. Thus freed of that obligation, Starlight promptly went back to bed, and now that there wasn’t a sleep-mumbling dragoness in the bunk directly across from her, she slept undisturbed and like a rock.             And apparently that was sleep enough, because she only slept in a little later into the morning than she normally would’ve, her internal clock eventually spurring her to wake up and arising only a half-hour to an hour after her usual waking time. Feeling rested enough for now, but still working at waking up fully, she decided she might as well get up and start the day, stretching her limbs as she clambered out of bed and out of the little cabin in the prow of the airship. Entering the main mid-ship room of the below deck containing the craft’s kitchen and saloon, she wasn’t especially surprised to see there was no one in here, suggesting the others were likely still sleeping. For now she decided to leave it that way, but anticipating them waking up later, she went through their supplies and found packets of hot chocolate mix. Figuring the drink might help wake some of them up, herself included, she put some water on to heat up.             Afterwards, she decided she might as well find Thorax and inquire about how much longer it’d be until they were arriving at the hive, since their arrival there was now going to be imminent. Figuring he was still sleeping, she headed into the next cabin to check the bunk she knew he had claimed for himself. She was surprised, then, to find not Thorax in it, but rather Spike, the little dragon still out like a light and looking like he had simply collapsed into the bed from exhaustion as he hadn’t even undressed himself or properly put himself under the covers. As the bunk was apparently vacant at the time, his tired mind must have thought it was more appealing than the upper bunk hanging above it Starlight had thought was supposed to be his.             But then that raised the question; where was Thorax? He wasn’t in the cot she was expecting, and a quick look revealed he wasn’t in the upper one instead. She hadn’t seen any sign of him elsewhere below deck, and as the door to the head had been ajar and the room beyond vacant, it seemed clear he wasn’t there either. She thought that perhaps he had arisen early after all and decided he must be above deck, maintaining his airship. Heading up the steps and into the control room, she found Ember was still manning the helm, not looking the least bit tired, though she did appear bored. The view out the forward viewport showed the start of what appeared to be a deceptively beautiful morning though, so that at least was heartening for Starlight to see, but she didn’t focus on that for long in favor of her larger concern.             “Morning Ember,” she greeted the dragon as she arrived, glancing around briefly for the missing changeling. “Is Thorax up here?”             “He is not,” Ember replied briskly, not taking her eyes off piloting the airship. “I’d thought he’d still be in bed.”             “I thought so too, but he’s not in his bunk,” Starlight agreed with a frown as she peered about the cabin and into the navigation cabin it adjoined with. Thorax was in neither of these locations. “You’re sure he’s not up here and, I don’t know, doing something like working with the rigging or something?”             “Positive,” Ember pressed, glancing back at Starlight. “I would’ve seen him if he had, and I haven’t seen him at all since I took up the helm at the end of your shift. I’ve been waiting for him to come up here for a while now, actually.”             Starlight’s frown deepened and she wondered where else the changeling could possibly be. “When you got up for your shift, do you recall seeing if he was in his bunk then?” she asked, trying to rule out possibilities.             “I do not,” Ember admitted. “I didn’t look as I was passing by.”             Starlight sighed. “I didn’t either, really,” she admitted, recalling she was so tired and focused on getting back in bed that she had walked right past the bunks without it registering who were in them at the time. “Hmm,” she hummed to herself, puzzled. “Well, he’s got to be around here somewhere…guess I’ll check again to see if he’s downstairs.”             “I’ll shout if I see him up here,” Ember offered as Starlight headed back below deck.             Starlight checked the two bunks Thorax was supposed to be sleeping in one of again for any clues, but again only found Spike sleeping in the lower and the upper still vacant. In fact, the upper looked like it had been barely used. She decided to check the head again after this, this time more thoroughly, but the little restroom was clearly vacant. She stopped to survey the mid-ship room again in puzzlement before recalling the changeling Julius and his cocoon contained in the closet in that room. The door to said closet was closed, and Starlight suddenly had a fear that perhaps something with Julius had gone awry during the night. Cautiously, she pulled open the closet door and peeked at the faintly glowing cocoon inside, half-expecting it to be either broken open, empty and vacant, or Julius having been replaced with Thorax as its occupant instead. She was relieved, then, to see that the cocoon was intact and unchanged from when she last saw it, and Julius still safely inside and still in a deep sleep suspended within the cocoon’s nourishing fluids. But there was still no Thorax.             By then, the water she had put on came to a boil and she paused to tend to it, proceeding to make herself a cup of hot chocolate to thoughtfully sip, pondering the matter. Finally, she could only shrug. The changeling must be somewhere aboard the ship as she could think of no reason why he’d leave. She decided to check on Trixie in the stateroom, see if she was up yet. Maybe she would have an idea, or at least would be willing to help…assuming she was even awake yet. Trixie wasn’t exactly an early-riser. Regardless, Starlight went to the stateroom door and quietly pushed it open so to peek inside.             She then immediately paused in the doorway, surprised by the sight before her.             On the upside, she found Thorax. He was lying on his side on the stateroom bed, peacefully asleep.             Stretched out mostly atop of him was Trixie, also asleep.             “Hmm,” Starlight hummed numbly to herself, the most response she could give at first.             Otherwise, she just stared at this sight for a long moment, both trying to figure it out and not figure it out, with consideration for the implications. Thorax and Trixie were both oblivious to this, continuing to sleep on. Thorax seemed especially asleep still, doing little moving except for his chest rising and falling with his breathing and his gossamer wings occasionally twitching in his sleep. Trixie, however, seemed like she was stirring slightly. She might be waking soon, leaving Starlight wondering what, if anything, she should do now.             But finally she decided she did indeed want to see how this was going to play out. So since it seemed Trixie might wake soon, she was going to assume that was the case and retreated out of the room, latching the door again, and went back to the saloon to sit at the airship’s little dining table, positioned so she could look back down the length of the air yacht and at the stateroom door, just barely within her sight. She passed the time by sipping her mug of hot chocolate, the warm, sugary, drink slowly shaking the cobwebs out of her mind and only making her all the more intrigued by this new development.             Luckily, her assumptions proved correct and she was not left waiting long, for soon, the stateroom door opened again and Trixie came stumbling out. She had clearly just gotten up and as such wasn’t fully awake…though the squinted and tired eyes she was using to blearily look at her immediate surroundings made that perfectly clear. Half-heartedly pulling the askew sleeping cap from off her head and blindly tossing it back behind her and into the stateroom, she pulled the door shut with her magic and slowly shuffled through the airship into the main cabin where Starlight was. She didn’t seem to notice Starlight at all though, and instead upon entering the cabin turned and proceeded into the head, shutting the door behind her. When she emerged again a few minutes later, she still didn’t notice Starlight as she then turned as if to head back for the stateroom, but she did seem a little more awake now.             So Starlight decided to announce her presence. “Good morning, Trixie.”             Trixie jumped at the sound of Starlight’s voice and spun around to stare at the unicorn, noticing her for the first time. “Starlight!” she declared in surprise. “I didn’t see you there!”             “I noticed,” Starlight said with a grin and took a sip from her mug. She hefted it up in Trixie’s direction afterwards. “Would you care for a drink to help wake up with?”             Trixie studied Starlight hesitantly for a second then pointed her hoof at her friend’s mug. “Please tell me that’s coffee, then.”             “Unfortunately no, it seems Thorax and Spike only have hot chocolate onboard, but it is still hot at least, and it still kind of jolts the sleep out of you.”             Trixie debated to herself for a moment then moved to join Starlight at the table. “Eh,” she shrugged as she approached. “The sugar rush is better than nothing, I suppose.”             Smirking, Starlight took that as an approval and, using her magic, mixed together a second mug of hot chocolate then levitated it over and into Trixie’s waiting hooves as the magician sat herself across the table from the unicorn. Trixie immediately accepted it and started drinking the hot beverage as much it would permit her to do without scalding herself. Immediately, she did seem to perk up a little, the lingering sleep in her eyes starting to fade away as she became more awake.             Starlight let her enjoy a few sips from the mug in silence for a couple of moments. “So…did you sleep well?” she then asked Trixie casually.             “Yeah, actually,” Trixie replied. She seemed a little surprised by this. “All things considered, I really can’t complain to that.”             “I suppose not,” Starlight relented, pausing to take another sip from her own mug. “But there wasn’t anything else…unusual to mention? Nothing out of the ordinary?”             “Not…really…” Trixie admitted, brow furrowing a little as she didn’t understand why Starlight would ask. “Just…me getting a good night’s sleep.”             “Mm,” Starlight hummed to herself, looking pensive.             Trixie studied Starlight in faint confusion for a second. “Did…you sleep well last night?”             “As well as could be expected, I guess,” Starlight relented, thinking about Ember’s mumbling during the night, but figured Trixie didn’t need to know about that in the fear there would be trouble should Ember find out. “It really wasn’t that eventful of a night though…was it for you?”             “…no?” Trixie replied uncertainly, still not following why Starlight was asking. “Why, should it have been?”             Starlight made an exaggerated shrug. “I’d thought it might.”             “I really don’t know why you would.”             “Mm.” Starlight nursed her mug of hot chocolate for a moment. “Well then, that does leave me with a pressing question I want to ask you.”             Trixie motioned for her to continue as she raised her mug to her lips for another sip. “Shoot.”             Starlight took another sip from her mug as well before setting it down on the table between them and pushing it to one side, folding her hooves on the tabletop and leaning closer. She made a knowing smirk slightly. “What’s it like to sleep with a changeling?”             To Trixie’s credit, she managed to keep her reaction from showing on her face a great deal, clearly forcing herself to remain calm and nonchalant at this sudden question. Nonetheless, she still froze, her pupils shrinking slightly as she stared at Starlight for a moment. “…I-I wouldn’t know.”             Starlight feigned surprise. “Oh really?”             “Nope…why would I?”             “Just thought you’d be the one to ask.”             “Well…Trixie isn’t the mare to be asking.”             “Hm.” Starlight leaned back in her seat before nodding her head knowingly in the direction of the door for the air yacht’s stateroom. “Guess I’ll just have to ask Thorax when he leaves your little stateroom too, then.”             Trixie stared at her for a long moment, frozen in the middle of sipping her drink again. Her eyes darted to the closed stateroom door for a moment then darted back to Starlight. Starlight, meanwhile, kept her gaze level, but raised a knowing eyebrow at Trixie after a second. Trixie’s eyebrows pulled together slightly in barely concealed frustration, before finally she closed her eyes in defeat and sighed. She set her mug down on the table with a gentle thud. “It’s not what you think.”             Now both of Starlight’s eyebrows went up in teasing doubt. “Oh, it isn’t now?”             “No, it isn’t! Nothing happened—we just stopped to talk, and as it got late, we eventually just…fell asleep.”             “Both of you.” Starlight concluded.             “Yes.”             “…in the same bed.”             Trixie winced to herself. “…yes,” she admitted reluctantly, knowing what it sounded like.             “…all sprawled out on top of one another,” Starlight continued on with a renewed teasing smirk.             Trixie blushed. “We were not sprawled out on top of each other,” she hissed.             “You so totally were!” Starlight cried out with jesting glee. “You were practically draped all over him! It was actually kind of adorable.”             Trixie just groaned and pressed her hooves to her face. “You saw,” she bemoaned into the azure appendages in conclusion.             “I think I’ve already made that abundantly clear by now, yes,” Starlight reminded gently as she picked up her mug to take another sip from it.             “Starlight, I swear to you, absolutely nothing happened,” Trixie pressed firmly, removing her hooves so to look her friend in the eye. “I know how it looks, but we really just fell asleep, chatting. Nothing more.”             “Okay, okay, I believe you, but you have to admit, you’ve totally set yourself up for this,” Starlight remarked with a wave of her hoof, but still wearing her teasing grin.             Trixie groaned. “All right, all right, fine, I didn’t mean to and neither did he, but yes, maybe I have set myself up for this,” she relented reluctantly. “But let’s still not go distorting what really happened, mmkay? Which, for the record, was nothing.”             “Okay, then. If nothing really happened, then I believe you, Trixie.”             “Good.”             The two went quiet for a moment, the pair sipping from their respective mugs sporadically.             “So…just what were you and Thorax talking about when you two…fell asleep?” Starlight inquired abruptly.             Trixie frowned and narrowed her eyes slightly at the unicorn, but she nonetheless blushed a bit again. “None of your business.”             Starlight raised her eyebrows knowingly again. “Mm-hmm,” she hummed as she sipped from her mug.             “It’s really not, and anyway, it’s nothing like what you’re thinking at the very least,” Trixie continued to insist. “We’re still just friends after all…I can certainly confirm that much.”             “And the parts you’re thereby implying you can’t confirm?”             “…are still none of your business. I don’t know what you’re trying so hard to prove, Starlight, but whatever it is, Trixie asks you at least respect her privacy.”             “All right, all right,” Starlight conceded, backing down. She couldn’t help but smirk. “It’s just…when I found you two like that when I got up…it did get me wondering.”             Trixie grumbled something inaudibly to herself for a moment. “I suppose it would, out of context…”             “Right. So really, all I’m wondering is just what the deal actually is between you and Thorax.”             Trixie set down her mug heavily, gaze turning distant as her frustration transformed into one of unease. “Honestly, Starlight?” she admitted finally. “I don’t really know anymore. Things have gotten…” she trailed off, searching for the right word.             “…strange?” Starlight offered.             But Trixie shook her head. “…deep, more like.” She started to blush. “You’re probably going to think this sounds totally bizarre, but…the more I get to know Thorax as a changeling now…the more I’m finding myself…not bothered by the fact that he is a changeling.”             Starlight frowned, not following. “But isn’t that a good thing? If there’s any lesson to be learned from all of this, it’s that being a changeling doesn’t affect who someone is…a lesson we all probably should’ve learned well before now.”             “Well, yeah, obviously, it’s just…I mean we’re friends, but…” Trixie trailed off and averted her gaze, embarrassed. “…it just feels all awkward now…like different from before…and I don’t know if I know why. We’re just friends, so…I just don’t know why…why it feels like this.”             Starlight started to catch on though. “I’ll tell you why, then.” She set down her mug again, smirking. “It’s because you say you don’t know what’s going on, but I think the only one you’re fooling here is yourself. I think it’s plenty obvious what’s going on between you and Thorax.”             Trixie’s eyes narrowed, but her brow also furrowed slightly in concern. “And just what is going on, if you’re so sure?”             “That’s just it, I think you already know, Trixie, you just haven’t been willing to face it yet. But while I can’t vouch if the others have figured it out yet themselves, at the rate things are going, it will only be a matter of time before they do. So whatever is happening…you two are going to need to figure it out soon because ponies—like me—are only going to be starting to ask more and more questions about it like this.”             Trixie frowned. “Dare I ask what sort of questions?”             Starlight sighed. “Trixie, let’s not beat about the bush on this anymore,” she said and leaned closer. “You and Thorax are not just friends anymore…are you?”             Trixie winced. “I don’t know…maybe…” she swirled her mug in her hoof, watching the hot chocolate inside spin.             Starlight turned sympathetic. “You want to talk about it?”             “I don’t know…probably not really…especially if you’re going to keep insinuating that there’s supposed to be something romantic between me and Thorax, because we don’t know if that’s actually the case yet.”             “You’re thinking it’s a possibility still though, aren’t you?”             “Well…” Trixie hesitated, not yet willing to give a definitive yes or no to the question. “If it is…I don’t really know what I want to think about it…and until I do, I’m not…comfortable admitting it…at least…not aloud.” Her wince deepened. “Maybe you’re right about me not wanting to face reality…but it just…seems really weird to be thinking about…this…in regards to a changeling…and worse, that makes me feel bad about it, because…well…it’s Thorax. He doesn’t deserve crap like that. He deserves better.” She harrumphed aloud before going quiet for a moment, mulling upon the matter. The longer she did so, however, the more concerned her expression became. “Even if there is something like that between us anyway, it’s not like it’d actually work, would it?” she said at last, giving voice to some of her inner thoughts. “I mean…I’m a pony, and he’s…” she winced almost apologetically, “…well…”             “…not?” Starlight offered, smirking to herself as she noticed this was becoming similar to what Thorax had said to her on the subject just yesterday.             Trixie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “…yeah,” she admitted. “I mean, sure…I certainly do like the guy—as a friend!” She added this hurriedly so to ensure Starlight didn’t get any ideas. “But…there’s still so much different between the two of us that I don’t know how to respond to…and besides, there are still so many ponies out there that don’t hold changelings like him in high regard, and not without good reason…plus Spike’s made it absolutely clear that he doesn’t approve, and that he feels that way so strongly about it bugs Thorax to no end. Look, assuming we even did try something like what you’ve been suggesting…wouldn’t it be…you know…problematic and…well…weird?”             “Why, because you’re not both ponies?” Starlight asked. When Trixie nodded sheepishly, Starlight went quiet as she considered the matter for a moment, swirling the remaining hot chocolate in her mug. “Have I ever told you that I dated a griffon during my last two years of high school?”             She clearly hadn’t, as Trixie looked up at her in surprise. “Really? You and a griffon?”             “Yup…we were going pretty steady for a while there, too.”             Trixie needed a long moment to process this to herself. “Well…clearly it didn’t work out, because you aren’t now,” she observed pointedly.             “Yes, but that didn’t have anything to do with him being a griffon and me a pony,” Starlight explained. “Actually, it only ended because I eventually realized that he was in it more just for the…benefits, and…I wanted our relationship to be more than that.” She shrugged somewhat sadly. “More than he was willing to give me, unfortunately, so by the time we graduated, we ultimately decided to break up…otherwise it’s easily possible we would’ve been still together even now.” She made a whimsical sigh as her gaze turned distant, recalling the experience. She smirked a little. “A pity too, I suppose…he was a bit of a looker…”             Trixie regarded Starlight for a moment, taken aback. “I didn’t know you were into griffons.”             “It’s more that I’m just not that particular about what he was,” Starlight corrected. “What I’m more interested in is finding the right significant other for myself one day, and as such that could be a griffon, or a stallion, or something else altogether, maybe. It doesn’t really matter to me, so long as he’s someone I like and think he’s right for me, all on who he is, not what. That’s why I got involved with a griffon in the first place, because at the time I thought he might’ve been the one. Sure, it turned out that he wasn’t…but the important thing was that I didn’t let the fact that he was a griffon stop me, and it very nearly did work out. I wouldn’t have known all of that for certain if I hadn’t tried to find out for myself, though. That’s the point I’m making with all of this.”             Trixie let out an exasperated sigh, nodding her head slowly. “And you think it’s going to be the same sort of thing for me and Thorax,” she concluded.             “I’m positing that it could be a very real possibility that you shouldn’t rule out recklessly or too quickly, at least. Not without being absolutely certain that doing so is really what you want first. So you’re a pony and he isn’t…stranger things have still happened. So long as it feels right for the both of you, then what else matters, really?” Starlight stopped to sip from her mug again before continuing. “Look, I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Trixie, but I am trying to give you what I think is good advice and what might be worth your while keeping in mind.”             “So you really think something like me and Thorax could work?”             “Do you?”             Trixie bit her lip and didn’t reply right away. “That’s the thing Starlight…even if that is true…and I’m not saying it is…I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the idea of it right now.”             “Then don’t pursue it for now,” Starlight said with a shrug. “The choice is yours and yours alone. No one is forcing you into anything with Thorax.”             Trixie frowned, lowering her gaze. “You make it sound so…impersonal, though. And no matter what’s happening, the idea of treating Thorax like that…just doesn’t sit well with me.”             Starlight raised a knowing eyebrow at this. “Well, then, if it’ll make you feel better and if you’re not going to do anything to pursue it, since that’ll all leave Thorax available…maybe I’ll try my luck with him.”             Trixie’s head snapped up at this, her expression a mix between incredulous and annoyed. “You? What interest could you possibly have in Thorax?”             Starlight shrugged, raising her mug to take another sip from it. “He seems like a nice enough changeling, so…”             “Yeah, but you barely know him! Hay, barely just a week ago, you still thought he was a flipping national enemy! How could you possibly be able to give him the treatment he needs, huh? Before you go making any moves on him you need to be in a hay of a better position first, make sure you actually can respect for who he is, and I highly doubt you’re in anyway capable of meeting that right now, at least certainly nowhere near the sort of respect I probably could give him, seeing I know him better than you do, and if I have my doubts about me doing it, you ABSOLUTELY do not have that ability yet, and…” she trailed off, noticing the knowing look Starlight was giving her over the rim of her mug, and frowned, realizing what was going on. “…and you weren’t actually serious about making a move on Thorax, were you?”             “Nope,” Starlight admitted with a shake of her head, moving to continue taking a sip from her mug. “I just said it to see what your reaction to it would be.” She lowered her mug again, smug. “Got my answer, too.”             Realization started sinking in on Trixie, and her expression turned genuinely shocked. She dropped her head into her hooves with a groan. “Oh Celestia,” she cursed. “This is for real, him and me, isn’t it?”             “Well, there’s certainly something there. Now I’m just curious if either of you are actually going to enact upon it.”             Trixie raised her head slightly, just enough to glance up at her friend. “Do you think I even should?”             Starlight set down her mug again and folded her hooves. “Do you think you should? What others think isn’t what’s going to change things, Trixie, that’s all what you and him think about it, because that’s ultimately the only two who can make it happen or not. The ball’s in your court, Trixie. What will your next move be?”             Trixie hesitated to answer, biting her lip as she debated for a second, nervously tapping one hoof on the edge of the table. “At any rate,” she finally said, shirking the question, “I’m not so sure there’s actually anything to consider right now. I at least know we’ve both been thinking that we’re just friends right now and…and we’ve not said much more on the matter beyond that, so just that much leaves me thinking there’s nothing more to it than that…”             “But…” Starlight prompted.             “But…” Trixie continued, and again she hesitated. “…that’s just for right now…and maybe that’s what bothers me about it…I don’t know if that’ll still be the case later, and…I just don’t know what I want to think about that…the future’s blank either way, and…and I guess the not knowing bothers me a little.”             Starlight hummed to herself as she gave the matter a bit of consideration before replying. “Well…at least you’re giving the matter careful thought,” she relented finally. “It’s not a matter you’re taking lightly—you appreciate the weight of the situation and know the outcomes can be serious.” She tilted her head a little and gave Trixie a sympathetic grin. “But you should also consider that, whatever the outcomes are, they can still be positive ones. This needn’t be the worst moment of your life. On the contrary…it could be the absolutely greatest time you ever experience…if there really is something…we’ll say big for now…between you and Thorax.” She looked into her mug briefly, but the unicorn’s attitude was still bright. “I know I might seem like I’ve been prying a little bit, Trixie…but it’s mostly because…I can’t help but feel a little excited about the possibilities this could mean for you.”             Trixie mulled upon that for a second, then glanced up at Starlight, grinning a little. “You really think so?”             “I do.”             Trixie brightened a bit by this positive comment, but the glow in her face was soon dampened again with misgivings. “I just wish I knew how the hay to proceed from here…I…I don’t want to mess this up.”             “Understandable, but perhaps you just need to look at this from another perspective.” Starlight went quiet for a second as she considered her words. “Trixie…just how do you feel for Thorax? Truthfully?”             A poignant silence followed. Trixie went back to her mug for a second, taking another sip from it, as did Starlight, who wasn’t surprised at the lack of an immediate response and wasn’t really expecting one. She instead moved her gaze and thoughts to other things as promised. But Trixie kept eyeing her closely like she hadn’t, shifting anxiously as if uneasy. Then finally, Trixie sighed heavily. “All right fine,” she groaned. “You remember when we were discussing what we were all dreaming while we were in the cocoons?”             Starlight raised a questioning eyebrow, but understood Trixie’s line of thought with this. “You never did say what exactly you dreamed about while in the cocoon, Trixie,” she reminded. “But…I’m guessing I wasn’t far off with my guess it was of a stallion…wasn’t I? It’s just that stallion…also wasn’t technically a pony.”             Trixie nodded slowly, starting to blush again.             “…so I’ve now also got a pretty good guess as to who…don’t I?”             Trixie didn’t respond for a moment, but then she sighed. “Okay, okay,” she said, lifting her head again. “I admit it…I…don’t know how it happened, but…Thorax is…” her blush deepened, “…kind of growing on me in a way…more than just…as a friend.”             Starlight set down her mug and pumped her hoof victoriously. “I knew it!”             “But don’t tell him that!” Trixie urged in an anxious hiss. “I’m still trying to figure out just what this all means to me, let alone him! I don’t want to rush into this without having at least thought it through some more a little, so for now let’s just keep this between ourselves!”             Starlight set down her mug once more and gave Trixie a wearied look. “You know, while I can understand why you’d want to do that, you’re still going to have to actually talk to him about it eventually.”             “And I will! When I’m ready to.”             “And when do you think that might be?”             “I don’t know…I’ll figure it out, but for right now, I don’t want to talk about this anywhere within his earshot until then.”             Starlight’s smirk suddenly returned. “Hmm,” she hummed, to Trixie’s annoyance. Then, as she lifted her mug up to her lips for another sip, her eyes moved to look in the direction of the stateroom door. “Good morning, Thorax.”             Trixie’s eyes suddenly shot wide and she twisted around in her seat to look back at the door in time to see Thorax, realizing he was caught trying to sneak out of said room, timidly close the door and take a few steps towards them. He did so avoiding Spike, still asleep in the bunk that stood between him and the saloon, and he didn’t speak until he had at least passed the sleeping dragon. That was when he locked his eyes on the two mares, his wince deepening. Unlike Trixie, he saw no point in trying to shirk directly addressing the matter. “This, uh…this isn’t what it looks like,” he said softly, motioning one hoof back at the stateroom door.             “Yes, Trixie was just telling me about that,” Starlight remarked before taking another sip from her mug.             Trixie and Thorax exchanged glances, both wincing greatly at each other. “So that I’m clear,” Thorax continued, “the truth is that we just fell asleep while chatting during the night and nothing more…right?”             “While you were both in the same bed, yes, like I said, Trixie has already gone through all of that with me,” Starlight confirmed with a nod.             This didn’t help to reassure either of the two, though. Trixie anxiously turned to face forward in her seat again, starting to blush again and fearing what Thorax had overheard before Starlight acknowledged he was there. “How long were you there within earshot, Thorax?” she finally asked, afraid to directly look at the changeling.             Thorax rubbed the fin on the back of his head for a second, still wincing as he considered the question. “Not especially long actually, I only just got up and exited the room,” he admitted slowly while he grabbed with his magic his jacket from where he had left it hanging and slipped it back on. “I wasn’t really listening until Starlight said good morning.”             Trixie visibly relaxed, relieved. “Oh good,” she mumbled to herself.             “…but um…I guess I did maybe hear a…thing or two still.”             Trixie tensed right back up again, and paled a little. “Oh.”             “So, uh,” Thorax coughed to clear his throat and strolled up to the table, brow etched in concern as he opted to focus on the greater issue. “At any rate, I’ve got the feeling that maybe this is a conversation I should still be a part of,” he mumbled aloud.             “Probably,” Starlight agreed with a nod, and held up her mug. “But before all that…do you want some hot chocolate too?”             “Yes please,” Thorax said immediately with an eager nod. “The chocolate might at least help calm my nerves a little.”             “Don’t bet on it,” Trixie muttered under her breath, who hadn’t gotten such a benefit from the drink in her own mug.             Nonetheless, Starlight made a third mug for Thorax with her magic, much the same way she did for Trixie, and levitated it onto the table near where the changeling stood. “Go ahead and have seat then, Thorax,” she urged politely.             Thorax hesitated, looking at Trixie, unsure. Seeing what the issue was, Trixie scooted over in the bench seat until there was a nice comfortable gap for Thorax to fill and the changeling took it, though he stayed as close to the edge of the seat as he could without falling off. Nonetheless, despite the attempt to grant each other as much space between them as they could, Thorax and Trixie still ended up pretty much sitting side by side to each other. Starlight watched this all with an amused look, clearly seeing the anxious and nervous tension between the two.  Trixie noticed and shot the unicorn an annoyed look.             Thorax, meanwhile, had turned his attention on his mug of hot chocolate, downing easily half of the mug in one long swig. He let out a satisfied exhale as he lowered the mug again. He shuddered slightly, as if acclimating to a new temperature, looking more content now. “That definitely helped me, at least,” he murmured, pleased.             “So I’m guessing the fact that there’s only hot chocolate on this tub and not a proper latte to be seen is your doing, then?” Trixie observed, shooting a stiff glance at the changeling beside her and still faintly miffed her preferred drink could not be had despite everything else.             Thorax wrinkled his nose at the very thought, though. “I don’t know how you ponies stand that coffee stuff, honestly,” he objected. “Just the smell of it makes me nauseous after a little bit. Back in Vanhoover, Miss Fly didn’t make it too often, but I could always tell when she did from the smell alone.” He shuddered. “I’d much rather have the hot chocolate…though, admittedly, any changeling probably would. Chocolate is probably one of the extremely few solid foods a changeling can safely eat in large amounts without much ill effect. Plus it tastes good.” He took another swig from his mug, again halving its contents. He smacked his lips a little afterwards.             This drew an involuntary giggle from Trixie, who had been watching him. “Chocolate in high demand in the hive, then?” she surmised.             “Acorns, there’s a whole black market for it,” Thorax replied whimsically. “It causes enough trouble that Queen Chrysalis keeps trying to ban it from the hive…except rumor has it she has a soft spot for it herself, so it keeps getting in anyway.” He winked at the two mares. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”             Trixie snickered again, but her grin fell as she turned back to her own mug and noticed Starlight giving the both of them that amused look of hers still. “What?” she demanded flatly.             “It’s just funny how much you two can’t see how obvious it is,” Starlight replied.             Trixie rolled her eyes and instead focused on taking another sip of her hot chocolate.             “Anyway, glad the hot chocolate has your approval then,” Starlight continued, nodding her head at Thorax. She then leaned closer to the two. “But…we weren’t talking about that, were we?”             “I wish we were…” Trixie muttered as she sipped nervously from her mug. “I’d feel a hay of a lot better if we were to just talk about hot chocolate all morning instead of…well…”             “…things that feel a bit…personal and…uncomfortable to talk about,” Thorax summed up aptly.             “Yeah, yeah, in fact, you know what?” Trixie said as she latched onto that thought. “Thorax is right. Let’s not go any further into this, on the grounds that it’s personal, and neither of us really wants you prying into it, Starlight.” Trixie smirked determinedly, inspiration striking her suddenly. “Or shall I start prying into things you don’t want to talk about either?”             Starlight regarded Trixie for a second, unintimidated. “Oh really? Like what?”             “Well, how about that box Spike was talking about him finding under your bed yesterday, hmm?” Trixie teased, now her turn to lean towards her friend smugly. “You wanna to tell us what’s really in that box?”             Starlight blushed only slightly, but she otherwise furrowed her brow together. “Why, what do you think is in the box?”             “Something you didn’t want everyone else finding out about, and something Spike clearly thought you wouldn’t want brought up, so I’m guessing something scandalous,” Trixie surmised with a growing smirk. “So if we all must do some prying, do tell…what’s in the box?”             Starlight gave Trixie a leveled look. “Kite blueprints.”             Thorax couldn’t help but snicker a little while Trixie pulled back in surprise. “Kite blueprints?!” she repeated, incredulous.             Starlight nodded, and made a sheepish grin as she tapped her hooves together. “So you know how I like kites? Turns out I really like kites, and like to keep an archive of all the blueprints for every kite I ever build.” She chuckled self-consciously. “But it seems like such a…nerdy thing to do, so I don’t really like other ponies knowing about it and I try to keep it to myself. Spike’s known that after he found out about the box as I asked him to keep it to himself, so that’s why he brought specifically it up, because he knew I’d squirm over it being mentioned in public.” She rolled her eyes. “He thought it was hilarious I was getting so worked up over blueprints at the time, though.”             Thorax was grinning politely. “It actually kind of is, no offense,” he admitted.             Starlight chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”             Trixie just shook her head in dismay that her attempt to end the matter backfired and instead used the chance to get back on subject “Look, the long and short of it is this…Whatever is going on between me and Thorax right now, it’s not going to just suddenly become a thing because you keep prying, Starlight, no matter how hard you try. Isn’t that right, Thorax?”             Thorax blushed and tapped his hooves together awkwardly. “Well, admittedly, it’s…not a subject I’m very keen to openly discuss like this, no,” he admitted truthfully. “Frankly, I-I don’t think it’s right time or place for it right now…”             “Exactly!” Trixie agreed. “Starlight, you’re basically assuming too much, too soon! We’re not ready to discuss this openly.”             “Okay, fine!” Starlight said, putting her hooves into the air to convey innocence. “So what you’re both saying is that despite everything, you two currently don’t have that sort interest in each other, no current interest in possibly changing that someday, and no interest at all in trying to pursue it between the two of you further right now, correct?”             Absolutely silence followed. Thorax and Trixie just looked at her blankly for a moment, turned to glance at one another, before looking back at Starlight, both unable to reply.             Starlight’s smirk returned and she rapped one hoof on the tabletop between them. “And see, that’s why I bring the subject up—because even though neither of you want to admit it…there clearly is an interest, isn’t there?” she concluded as she scooped up her mug again to take a drink. But before she did, she licked the tip of her hoof and marked out a point on an imaginary board for herself. Trixie groaned, leaning her head back on the bench seat she sat in with dismay. Thorax, meanwhile, awkwardly sat beside her and continued to tap his hooves together, avoiding eye contact. Starlight patiently remained silent, waiting for one of the two to make the next comment.             Finally, Thorax sighed and glanced at Trixie. “Actually, I changed my mind.  To be honest…I don’t really want to talk about it…so…can we…if possible…not go into this at all right now, if I may ask? I mean…I thought we had agreed to…to leave it alone for now anyway.”             Starlight blinked at this as she set down her now-empty mug and met Trixie’s eye again, who realized what Starlight was going to say and averted her gaze, sheepishly. “What did you two talk about last night, anyway? You still haven’t told me.”             Thorax and Trixie exchanged glances briefly. “Should I…?” she prompted the changeling, nudging her head in Starlight’s direction.             Thorax sighed again, but shrugged his shoulders and nodded. “I guess you might as well.”             “Right.” Trixie nodded her head and turned back to Starlight, but she still hesitated for a second longer before she resumed talking. “Look…as it happened, we did talk about…things a little last night, me and Thorax…” Starlight’s eyebrows went up at this, but Trixie motioned for her to keep quiet and not interrupt. “…but we both decided that, whatever is going on…it was a path we didn’t want to go down just yet and so we’re…gonna back away from it for now.”             Starlight’s eyebrows went up even higher now, this time in genuine surprise. “You friendzoned yourselves?” she asked.             Trixie nodded slowly, lowering her gaze. “It’s for the best, Starlight.” She took a deep breath. “We…I…need more time to…figure this out first. We’re not…ready…yet.”             Starlight nodded her head to herself. “Yet,” she repeated aloud, observing that was a critical adverb.             Thorax fidgeted with his mug uncomfortably. He took another—smaller this time—drink from it. “I…guess we’ve left the possibility of it open to us still…” he side-glanced at Trixie, “…haven’t we?”             Trixie swallowed heavily. “Guess so,” she replied softly. She turned her head to look at Thorax, yet kept her eyes turned so they were still glancing at Starlight, as if wary of her unicorn friend. “Are…you comfortable with that possibility?”             Thorax fidgeted with his mug for a moment again. “I…I don’t really know,” he admitted. He made a weak chuckle. “Honestly…this is all sort of…new to me. But…”             “…but you want more time to think about it, the both of you, don’t you?” Starlight finished knowingly.             Thorax nodded, and seeing a possible end to the uncomfortable conversation, Trixie jumped in, trying a different approach. “Look, Starlight, I know you don’t mean any intentional harm and all that, but there’s nothing more to really talk about, and, well…” she trailed off, looking at Thorax beside her, who patiently looked back, before she decided to change her approach. “…the point is that, for right now, we see us as simply friends. And…I think…that’s all we want for right now.”             “And there’s nothing wrong with being just friends either,” Thorax added, turning to Starlight as he proceeded to back Trixie up. “Especially considering that it wasn’t so long ago that I didn’t really have friends of any type.”             Starlight sighed, grinning a little sheepishly as she saw Thorax’s point. “True,” she conceded. She made a sad sigh. “And I daresay you need them at this point.”             “And even if we are becoming more than friends…” Thorax continued.             “Not saying that we definitely are,” Trixie quickly added, which Thorax nodded in agreement to.             “…it’s probably not likely to work very well anyway,” the changeling went on to finish. “I mean, I like Trixie, I do…but, I have to acknowledge that…well…she’s a pony, and I’m a changeling, and…and we still don’t have especially much in common.”             “Yeah!” Trixie agreed.             Starlight snorted at this. “No offense you two, but I can think of quite a few things you have in common. You’re both masters of illusion, fans of Sky Trek, can clearly relate to each other…”             “Yes, but that’s not everything,” Trixie reasoned.             “It doesn’t have to be.”             “I know, but my point is that we’re bound to have different tastes in plenty of other things that just won’t mesh, like…like music!” She motioned to Thorax with one hoof. “I mean, I’m more of a classic rock fan, and he likes…uh…” she began to trail off, realizing she didn’t actually know.             “Disco,” Thorax offered helpfully as he saw Trixie get hung up.             “Yeah, dis—wait, disco?” Trixie regarded Thorax in surprise. “Really?”             Thorax shrugged casually. “It sounds cheery to me.”             Trixie gave him an incredulous smirk. “You think disco sounds cheery,” she repeated.             Thorax regarded her innocently for a moment. “Yeah, why?”             Trixie thought about it for a second, still smirking. “It’s just not a term you’d think to describe disco with, not to mention I never took you to be a disco fan.”             “Is there a problem with that?”             Trixie’s grin turned genuine. “Well, it’s maybe a bit of a dated genre of music, but other than that, no, I guess not.”             Thorax returned it. “Oh, well…good.”             They grinned at each other for a second then slowly remembered Starlight was still present and turned to look at her again, seeing that she was eyeing them both with a knowing smile once more.             “You two really are adorable, you know that, right?” she quipped.             They both blushed and avoided eye contact with the other. Trixie took over the conversation again. “Starlight, assuming he and I were to do this…”             “Which we aren’t saying we are,” Thorax added.             “…think about just how weird it’d be, for everypony! What would others think? Would they even be willing to accept such a thing?”             “They ought to,” Starlight retorted.             “Yes, but if there’s anything I’ve learned from the past four moons, just because one ought to do something, doesn’t mean they actually are going to do it,” Thorax responded resolutely, staring distantly into his mug. He thought of Spike. “And I worry there will be those…who don’t.”             “And I mean, seriously, a changeling and a pony?” Trixie went on. “Is that even done?”             Thorax suddenly coughed and shifted awkwardly. Both mares noticed and looked, surprised, in his direction, even though he had suddenly found something very interesting to stare at on the wall on the other side of the room, keeping his gaze on it instead of them.             “Thorax…” Starlight began slowly in a knowing tone, recognizing what the changeling didn’t want to come forward on. “…has that actually happened before? A changeling and pony getting into a relationship?”             Thorax winced, but now that he had been asked directly, he felt obligated to reply, even though he clearly didn’t want to. “Sort of,” he answered with much reluctance and without turning around to face them again. “It’s…something that’s not really encouraged in the hive, for obvious reasons. But…I have heard of instances of changelings working out in the field that were getting…shall we say…intimate…with some of their, uh, prey?” He blushed. “I mean, it works out in the end…the changeling gets well fed, and the pony is often either none the wiser or can be trusted not to sell out and safeguard the changeling’s cover for whatever reason…but…yeah, basically it’s happened before.”             “It’s…not a long term thing, though, right?” Trixie asked with a little trepidation. “I mean, they just have their fun for a one-time fling and that’s it, right?”             “…only a few do keep going back for more, actually,” Thorax admitted quietly. “I mean…I don’t know if it’s out of actual romance per se, but…I guess it does suggest it might still be possible now that you’ve mentioned it…so…” he trailed off, leaving the rest of his thought only implied.             Trixie stared at Thorax for a long moment, slowly processing this. Then she pressed her hoof to her forehead. “So wait…you’re telling me that a changeling and a pony can still get it together entirely without issue? No…compatibility issues or anything like that?”             “Well…” Thorax shrugged awkwardly, feeling a little more uncomfortable. “…yeah, not…not for the actual…uh…act of it at least…”             Trixie tilted her head at him, turning skeptical. “But how? I mean…aren’t you…well…I mean, a pony and a changeling are two entirely separate species!”             “Well, yes, but ah…” Thorax tapped his hooves together as his face heated up, and he avoided eye contact with both mares, unable to look them straight in the eye as they continued to talk about the awkward subject. “…anatomically speaking, all the uh…required parts are still there…it’s ah…just uh…” Embarrassed as he was, Thorax started stumbling over words and coughed to try and clear his throat.             Meanwhile, Trixie’s brow wrinkled as she struggled to comprehend this. “But…”             By now, however, Starlight had realized what Trixie’s confusion was about. “Uh, if I may…?” she butted in then, and focused her attention on Trixie. “Yeah, so from what Thorax has explained to me the other day about changeling culture, unlike ponies where it’s all visibly there and we just choose not to look, they see it as more proper to subtly use magic to hide their, uh, gender-specific parts from public view entirely. That’s why you’re a little thrown off because you haven’t noticed any visible signs of said parts, Trixie.”             Thorax, slow to make the connection, blinked and his gaze turned distant and confused. Trixie, meanwhile, shot Starlight a glare, one that lost power due to the fact that her face had also turned bright red. “Are you insinuating that I’ve been peeking?”             “Yes,” Starlight replied without hesitation, and couldn’t help but smirk a little as she moved to take another sip from her mug.             “Now…wait…” Thorax interjected here, his confusion growing. “…slow down for a second, I, uh, I think you two have lost me here…”             “Thorax,” Trixie said gently, placing a hopeful hoof on his shoulder. “Please do me a favor, and, for just this one instance, stay lost.”             He did, though not intentionally as his brow only furrowed in confusion further. “…huh?”             Trixie, meanwhile, noticed Starlight was giving her that knowing look of hers again. “And don’t you give me that look!” she snapped. “This still doesn’t mean it’s a smart idea to even pursue it! Thorax said it himself that the other changelings don’t try to encourage, and when you think about it, it makes sense! For the changelings, that’s probably like you or me making out with a hayburger!” Starlight had to laugh at this analogy, but Trixie ignored it. “And anyway, assume for a second we were to take this pony and changeling deal all the way to the logical conclusion. Consider the implications that would ultimately follow it! I mean…what the hay would the eventual foals look like?”             “But that’s the catch, there wouldn’t be any foals, ever,” Thorax injected suddenly, twisting around to face the pair again.             Trixie and Starlight regarded him in surprise for a moment. “What do you mean, Thorax?” Starlight asked. “You just said that a pony and changeling are clearly compatible enough for it, so…”             “Well, in the sense that they could mate as many times as they want easily, yes, but that doesn’t mean anything would ever become of it,” Thorax replied, being straightforward despite it clearly making them all feel the more awkward. “It wouldn’t matter whether the participating changeling was the male or the female, no offspring would ever be produced from the relationship. The female just wouldn’t ever conceive. There have been enough instances of it that we changelings can be absolutely certain of that much.”             An awkward silence fell during which Trixie and Starlight spent most of it staring at Thorax, processing this.             “Oh,” Trixie finally said, blushing once more.             “Huh,” Starlight hummed, then, of course, started to think about it analytically. “I suppose it probably has to do with the fact that changelings lay eggs and ponies do not…” she mumbled aloud, not helping with the awkwardness of the matter. “Still, though,” she turned and restored her gaze on Trixie, “I should remind you that there’s much more to a relationship than all of that anyway.”             “Well, of course there is,” Trixie agreed curtly, as if this didn’t even need saying. “Assuming Thorax and I pursue any sort of relationship such as that, I want it to be about more than just the physical aspects of it, anyway.”             Starlight nodded in approval. “And that’s a good perspective to have. I know from experience that focusing just on that one aspect can only leave things feeling…shallow. Remember what I said about the griffon had I been dating?”             “You were dating a griffon?” Thorax asked, intrigued by this idea.             Starlight seemed ready to relate the whole tale again for the changeling. “Yeah, for the last two years of high school, but then…”             “No, no, please don’t repeat that whole spiel again,” Trixie interrupted in exasperation. She sighed. “Starlight, look…I get what you’re trying to do, and you’re just trying to help…but really…you’re starting to feel a bit…pushy…now. It’s really not helping anything, and it’s just making this all feel even more awkward.” She gazed pleadingly at her friend. “Can’t we please be left to figure this out on our own, at our own speed, now?”             Starlight looked at the pleading look of her friend softened, half-grinning in sympathy. “Fair enough,” she conceded with a nod, waving her hoof as if she was sweeping the matter away. “Consider the matter dropped.”             “And can we keep all of this just to ourselves?” Thorax asked, and jerked his head without turning to look in the rough direction of Spike’s bunk. “I…don’t really want all of this…you know…getting around just yet.”             Starlight hummed thoughtfully to herself. “Well, as I was telling Trixie earlier, if the others haven’t noticed that something’s going on yet, they’re going to start here very soon…you are quite likely going to find yourselves getting asked these sort of questions whether you’re ready to answer them or not, you know.”             Trixie and Thorax exchanged side-glances. Neither of them seemed to really like the idea of this, but at the same time they seemed to recognize that Starlight had an undeniable point, and there was only so much they could do to try and control it. “Well then,” Thorax relented, tapping his hooves together as he considered the matter, “I guess maybe we’ll just have to be prepared to explain it the best we can still anyway.”             Starlight grinned. “Oh good,” she said.             “But,” Thorax went on, turning urgent. “I have to insist that we keep Spike out of the loop on what we’ve discussed here for now…he’s…not been taking this well, and I worry…I worry him finding out might…make it worse…the very last thing he needs right now.”             Here, Starlight winced a little. “That…uh…might be a problem.”             Trixie raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”             Starlight replied by turning her eyes in the direction of the doorway leading into the saloon. “Good morning, Spike.”             Thorax and Trixie’s eyes both shot wide and they quickly twisted around in their seats to look at the door they had been keeping their backs to, seeing Spike sleepily yawning as he clambered out of his bed, stumbling towards the door separating his cabin from the saloon.             “Morning,” he mumbled back in response to Starlight, stretching and popping his back before pausing in the doorway, realizing with a frown that everyone was looking at him, Thorax and Trixie with notable alarm. “Were…you guys talking about something?”             “No,” Thorax and Trixie immediately and anxiously answered in near perfect sync with each other.             “Okay…” Spike said, giving them a wary look for a second. He pressed on despite his apprehension. “It’s just I thought I heard an ongoing conversation there as I was getting up, so…”             “Did you actually hear anything of that conversation?” Trixie asked hurriedly, her alarm growing.             “Huh? Oh, no, not really, actually, wasn’t really paying much attention.” Spike rubbed at his tired eyes before placing the false eyeglasses he still perpetually wore as part of his disguise onto his snout again. “I mean, I just woke up and all…it wasn’t really high on my attention, you know?”             Thorax abruptly let out his breath in an almost exaggerated sigh of relief before proceeding to drain the rest of his hot chocolate down his throat.             Starlight noticed and focused her attention on the little dragon now entering the room. “Would you like some hot chocolate, Spike?” she asked politely and gently.             “Sure, I could go for some hot chocolate,” Spike mumbled as he stretched each of his arms in turn while walking up to join the rest of them at the table.             Starlight whipped together a fourth cup of the sweet drink with her magic and levitated it over into Spike’s waiting claws. “Here you go.”             “Thanks.” Spike blew on the hot liquid then took a grateful sip. “Mmm,” he hummed to himself, appreciating the drink. He then turned his attention onto the mare that had given it to him. “So, you sleep well, Starlight?”             Starlight shrugged, deciding again she needn’t get into too much detail about her night. “Well enough, I suppose. You?”             “Meh,” Spike grunted, seesawing one set of claws back and forth in indecision. “But I guess so long as I still got enough sleep altogether, that’s what’s important, right?” He took another sip from his drink, gave Thorax and Trixie, who were still watching him closely, a distrustful glance then suppressed another yawn. “Anyway,” he said, turning to leave again, taking the cup with him. “I’m going out onto the deck, get a bit of fresh air.”             He proceeded to walk off again, curiously without verbally acknowledging Thorax or Trixie. This struck Starlight as a little peculiar and found she couldn’t ignore it. “Aren’t you going to ask if Thorax and Trixie slept well too?” she inquired to Spike.             “Nah,” Spike answered with a wave of his claws while proceeding to mount the steps that would take him above deck. He rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. “From what I saw before I went to bed last night, the two of them looked like they were sleeping just fine.”             He then vanished up the steps while Thorax and Trixie eyes grew even wider in alarm as just what Spike was saying with that statement sank in, realizing they had already been caught.             Meanwhile Starlight, despite everything, nearly kneeled over trying not to laugh.