//------------------------------// // Wind Swept // Story: Little Memories // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Much to Thorax’s relief, Wind Whisper showed a remarkable amount of mercy in regards to his sudden and unexpected display of affection with Fluttershy. She didn’t utter a single word about it or even cryptically hint about what she had seen. This was both deeply relieving and more than a little terrifying. The evening became something of a blur for him after they left the theater, though. He exchanged pleasantries with Rainbow Dash’s friends and endured more than a few questions from Twilight Sparkle about the Changelings, ranging from their history to their physiology to their magic to their written language. It was nostalgic, in a way. She had run through a very similar, albeit far more skeptical and suspicious list of questions when they had first met in Ponyville. But more than that, he was just happy to be with his friends again. The genuine affection they all held for him after their shared struggle against Chrysalis was delectable, and more than once he found himself openly snarling and hissing at the air as he drank it down. Luckily, such a display was little distraction, thanks to Wind and Squall hardly reacting at all. They were used to it, he supposed. Especially Wind. Sadly, as the old saying went, all good things must come to an end, and Thorax’s time with his friends was no exception. As Celestia began the descent of the sun for the horizon, Squall pointed out that he and Wind needed to get home for some sleep, seeing as one had school in the morning, and the other had to prepare for his shift up in the castle. “Can’t Thorax stay?” Fluttershy had asked hopefully, having been close to the drone for much of their time together. “Even just for a little while?” Thorax had so wanted to agree with her, but Squall’s immediate counter silenced any words he had. “I’m sorry, but it’s not a good idea for Thorax to be out on the streets on his own… especially at night.” There had been some confusion from the visiting mares and dragon, save, of course, for Twilight. The amnesiac alicorn had offered Thorax a sympathetic glance, and the emotion itself was radiating off of her in copious amounts. A bittersweet taste that Thorax cringed from. In the end, after a few shared hugs and the promise of seeing them again tomorrow, Thorax left the castle behind with Squall and Wind. The filly in question had curled up on Squall’s back, allowing herself to rest for the duration of the trip home. Thorax glanced at her every now and then, taking some degree of comfort in how peaceful she looked. As they emerged out onto the streets, he turned his eyes up to the heavens. There were only a few clouds in sight, and the moon appearing from the distant horizon was a waning crescent. The last rays of sunlight were quickly fading, leaving the world to slowly fall into darkness. “Did you have fun today?” Squall’s voice came from the side, drawing Thorax’s gaze. The thestral was looking at him with a level, thoughtful look. Thorax smiled immediately, not even having to think about his reply. “Definitely. It felt really good to see all of my friends again!” he stated before looking ahead and continuing to trot down the street, the snow crunching beneath his hooves. “Especially Fluttershy.” From Squall’s back, Wind opened one eye to look at Thorax before her lips curled into a wicked smirk. Squall kept by Thorax’s side with a warm smile. “I’m glad,” he said simply before unfurling one of his wings and draping it over the changeling’s back. “And you get to see them tomorrow, too.” “Yeah… I can’t wait.” The trio fell into a companionable silence at that point, allowing the quiet atmosphere around them to set in. Before long they had left the regal and magnificent mansions surrounding the castle behind and emerged into a far more mundane neighborhood. It was still splendid, of course, this being Canterlot, but the buildings were smaller and less smothered in decorations. Eventually, the house came into view. Thorax relaxed somewhat on seeing the simple two-story home, having not realized how tense he had gotten from being out and about at such an hour without any disguise on. Already his hooves were itching to have the weight taken off of them, and his back yearned for the softness of the living room couch. Squall moved ahead of Thorax and, after a moment of fiddling with the lock, pushed open the door. As Thorax stepped in, he briefly swept his eyes across the familiar surroundings.  Off to his right was a long sofa with a few old blankets and pillows resting neatly on the end cushions. A window sat behind the couch, curtains perpetually drawn. In front of the couch stood a coffee table with a glass surface and wooden frame. A few potted plants from Hollow Shades adorned the corners of the room, gently glowing blue flowers sprouting from them. Lastly, against the left wall was another, taller wooden table with a collection of framed photos resting on top. A door that led to the kitchen and dining room rested beyond it, and a staircase that went up to the bedrooms was against the back wall. Wind Whisper leaped down from Squall’s back and onto the couch with a relieved sigh. “Whew! Home!” she chirped before spinning in place a few times and settling down onto the cushion. Thorax chuckled and meandered over to sit next to her. He let out a quiet sigh of relief as soon as he sat down, the couch welcoming him and easing tension in his muscles that he had not noticed. As soon as he was comfy, he looked down at Wind just in time for her to scoot closer and cuddle up to his side. The sight was adorable, and he couldn’t help but stroke her mane with his hoof and smile at the sight. Squall watched them from the bottom of the stairs, briefly catching Thorax’s eye. He didn’t say anything, he simply smiled before making his way up. Thorax watched him go before returning his attention to the filly snuggled up to him. She had cracked open one eye and was now smiling up at him. “Hi,” she whispered up to him. “Hey,” he whispered back, giving her a quick nuzzle. “You sleepy?” “Nope,” she denied simply, followed shortly by a cute yawn. Ignoring the contradictory evidence, she snuggled a little closer and hummed quietly. “I had a lotta fun today…” “So did I.” Wind’s smile grew. “I know. You were smiling a lot…” she looked directly into his eyes, her expression becoming more solemn. “It was really nice. It’s no fun seeing you sad so much.” Thorax winced, his ears drooping out of reflex. He wanted to quickly assure her that he wasn’t sad, that he was totally happy, but stopped himself even as his mouth was opening to say it. “I’ve told her enough lies,” he thought before looking up and giving off a quiet sigh. “Yeah… today was nice. And they’re staying for another few days, so we can go see them tomorrow.” “Yeah?” “Yeah. You looking forward to it?” Wind’s smile returned in full force, her eyes shimmering with anticipation. “Yah-huh! Can’t wait,” she declared before sitting up and grinning at him. “I bet you’re excited to see them again, too.” Thorax chuckled and nodded his head. He leaned back in his seat and looked up at the roof again, his own smile returning at the thought. “Yeah… yeah, I am,” he said in a low voice, briefly closing his eyes to better imagine it.  Due to his closed eyes, however, he completely missed the predatory look that Wind got on her face. She slowly crept up on him until her mouth was right next to his ear. “Especially Fluttershy, huh?” Thorax’s eyes snapped wide open, an impressive shade of red blossoming on his chitin cheeks. With a noise akin to a high pitched cricket chirp, Thorax sprang away from the mischievous filly, coming to a hover a few feet away. “Wha?! Wind! No, don’t say things like that!” She tilted her head, her smile oh-so-innocent. “What? I thought she was your friend?” Thorax cringed, backing away a few inches. “T-that’s not what I mean and you know it! She is my friend! You know what you were implying!” he shot back, trying to sound stern and disapproving, but not really succeeding. That actually gave Wind pause. Her head tilted the other way while her predatory smirk was replaced with a confused stare. “...What does ‘implying’ mean?” “Saved by foalish ignorance,” Thorax thought before touching down and latching onto the distraction. “Oh, uh, ‘implying’ something means, uh… it’s kinda like a hint or a clue. So, like, uh…” he looked around before gesturing at a jagged pattern along one of his shoulders where the chitin was discolored, a scar left over from the battle for Canterlot he had participated in. “This patch of my chitin would imply that I got hurt here, once.” “Ooooh…” Wind nodded her head along before grinning. “So, is Fluttershy your girlfriend or not?” Thorax withered in place, inwardly scolding himself for daring to think Wind could be so easily distracted. “Wind, come onnnn, stop it,” he whined pitifully, trying to look at anything but the foal. Wind was relentless, however. “You’re not saying no~” she teased, hopping down from the couch and stalking after him like a cat playing with a mouse. “NO!” Thorax belted out in complete indignation. “She isn’t my girlfriend! I don’t even know how ‘having a girlfriend’ works! I’m still trying to figure out so much of pony society!” Wind was not deterred, giving him the look of a filly who was having way too much fun. “Okay, so she isn’t your girlfriend. But do you like her?” “Well, yeah, of course, I like her! I just said we’re friends, didn’t I?” Wind leaned up and booped his nose, one of her fangs poking out from her lip. “Do you like, like, her?” Thorax paused and tilted his head. “Er… what does adding an additional like to it mean?” he asked in confusion, trying to wrap his head around it. Was this another pony social cue he hadn’t picked up yet? “Just answer me~” “Uhh… yes?” Wind grinned even wider before backing away, a bounce in her step. “Thorax has  girlfriend, Thorax has a girlfriend!” “Oh, that’s what ‘like like’ means,” Thorax realized with the metaphorical color draining from his face. “Wind!” he protested helplessly, sitting down and covering his furiously blushing face with his hooves. “What’s the little devil done this time?” Squall’s voice cut through Wind’s song, making her go silent. Thorax briefly looked up and spotted the Thestral standing at the base of the stairs again, now adorned in his Night Watch armor. He had a knowing, if confused, look on his face. “Something embarrassing and teasing, if I had to hazard a guess.” “Thorax has a girlfriend, Dreamy!” Wind proclaimed while jabbing a hoof at him. “Fluttershy!” Thorax allowed himself to fall face-first into the floor. “I should have gone back to the hive. The other drones would have been more kind to me,” he grumbled in despair. Squall openly laughed at that. “Ha! Oh, that’s what’s going on?!” he asked before trotting over and helping Thorax up. “Heh, don’t you worry about it. She’s just giving you a hard time.” Thorax whimpered, giving the unrepentant filly a spiteful glare. She blew a raspberry back at him. With another chuckle, Squall thumped Thorax on the back before turning to face his devilish little sister. “Alright, little miss, you need to get to bed. You have school in the morning.” Wind’s playful demeanor immediately vanished, replaced with a morose pout. She scuffed the floor with a hoof, her ears drooping. “Aaaaw… do I have to go?” she asked quietly. “Yes, you do. You’ll be okay,” Squall said in a reassuring voice. He trotted up to her and sat down before ruffling her mane. “Remember what I told you? About what you do if somepony picks on you?” Wind hesitated before a tiny smile appeared on her face. “Um… ignore them and tell the teacher?” she tried, earning a nod. “Yup. Now go get ready for bed. If you’re nice and stop bullying him about Fluttershy, maybe Thorax can read you a story with the voices?” Any reservations Wind had left were washed away by that offer. She lunged up to hug Squall before offering Thorax and apologetic smile. “Sorry, Thorax! I didn’t mean to be mean to you. Will you read me a story?” Thorax, finally emerging from fort humiliation, gave her a crooked smile. He made a show of thinking it over, giving off exaggerated hums for a seconds before finally nodding at her. “Sure. Head on up, I’ll be there in a minute.” The little bat squealed, shot over to hug him too, and then flew up the stairs to vanish from sight. Thorax watched her go before turning to Squall, who was looking back at him with a more intense look. “That applies to you, too, by the way,” he suddenly said, making the changeling blink. “Huh?” Thorax questioned, trotting up to him. “What do you mean?” “What I said about ignoring the bullies,” Squall clarified before nodding towards the window. “Wind playfully teasing you like that is fine. Trust me, I’ve suffered through more than a few of her ‘tree’ songs since we moved here.” “But… I’m not being bullied,” Thorax protested quietly, his head tilting. “I don’t even go to school. I’m a grown changeling, and-” “Thorax,” Squall cut him off in a lower, firmer voice. He looked directly into his eyes, making the bug fall completely silent. “...Bullies don’t just come in the shape of kids picking on kids…” Thorax blinked, leaning back somewhat. Squall smiled at him and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Just remember that,” he said in a more friendly tone before brushing by him and heading for the door. “Now then, I believe you and Wind have an arrangement?” That got Thorax to come out of his momentary stupor. “O-oh! Right! Uh, I’ll see you later, Squall!” he called over his shoulder. Squall gave him one more smile as he stepped back out into the night. “Later, Thorax. Goodnight.” And with that, the door swung shut with a resounding thunk. Thorax stood there for several moments, alone and in the quiet. He went over what Squall had said to him a few times before shaking himself and heading up for Wind’s room. It didn’t take him long to get there, and upon arriving, he saw that the thestral filly was already situated in her bed, sitting up on her pillow with her blankets held up to her neck. She beamed at him. “Hey, Thorax! What story are you reading tonight?” Thorax hummed thoughtfully as he scanned the shelves. Eventually, he pulled one of the thicker books out with his green magical aura and showed it to her. “Does this one sound good to you?” he asked hopefully. Wind’s smile grew. “Oh, yes, please! I love that one!” Thorax smiled and opened it up, getting comfy on his haunches. “Okay, then. Settle in,” he instructed, watching as she did as she was told. Once she was still and listening with rapt attention, her ears standing tall, he began to read. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…”