Thorax woke up the next morning to Fluttershy talking to Tree Hugger. She told the mare about her nightmare the night before. While the nature of the nightmare's subject matter wasn't related to the attack against Fluttershy, Tree Hugger still believed it was caused by the stress of the event. She again implored Fluttershy to leave early with her, but the pegasus refused.
"I still want to see the adoptions at least!" she protested. "I don't make all that many bits, but this expo is one of the few things I do every year and I don't want some mean stallion ruining it for me!"
"Shy," Tree Hugger countered, "I can't force you to leave, but I really think it'd be good for you to get back with your friends, especially after that nightmare."
Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't want to leave yet!"
Tree Hugger let out a breath. "Okay," she relented, "but I want you to tell me the minute you start feeling uncomfortable. Whether you want to or not, we're gonna leave. I don't want my friend making herself worse."
"I won't," Fluttershy declared, then went into the bathroom to prepare for the day.
"I didn't know she had such a strong will," Thorax commented, "or grip."
The changeling rubbed at his sides where Fluttershy had held him. They were sore from being hugged so tightly during her nightmare.
"Shy's an amazing mare," Tree Hugger told Thorax. "In the most desperate times, she can find strength inside herself that would make even the legendary Rockhoof look weak. The problem is that she can only keep it up for so long."
Thorax nodded in understanding. What Fluttershy had experienced the night before was something he'd never wish upon another creature, no matter how badly they wronged him. It pretty much was on par with being drained by Queen Chrysalis; she was far more forceful in her feeding than any of the other changelings.
"We should get ready," Tree Hugger announced as she walked over to a dresser against a nearby wall. "I'm checking out and leaving from the expo. I'm gonna make Shy leave with me. You can certainly tag along my new bug friend."
Thorax thought on the offer. He definitely wanted to visit Ponyville while in Equestria, and for many reasons. However, he still wanted to experience the other cities and towns in Equestria.
"I'll make my way to Ponyville eventually," Thorax finally responds, "but I still wanna see what's out here on the western side of Equestria. I hope Fluttershy won't mind."
"She'll get it," Tree Hugger reassured him. "We're all leaves in the wind, floating which way and that. Your two leaves will touch again soon."
Thorax smiled and nodded. He made a note to visit Hollow Shades sometime. Of course, he'd be extra careful; there was a reason the attack on Canterlot happened during the day.
Tree Hugger proceeded to pack up her belongings. Fluttershy came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, her coat, mane and tail all clean and combed. She packed up her belongings as well.
"Either of you two want a helping hoof?" Thorax asked the mares.
"Sure" both replied.
Thorax returned his form to his changeling self and helped both mares pack up their things. Before the trio left the hotel room, Thorax had one of his flasks of potion.
"What's with that stuff, dude?" Tree Hugger asked him.
"Is that Twilight's potion?" Fluttershy asks while examining the flask in his magic.
"It is," Thorax replied. "I packed this in my saddlebags as a just in case thing. She sent some of this for me to use on my journey, so I wouldn't have to... well, you know."
"Feed off of everypony's good vibes?" Tree Hugger posited.
"Pretty much," Thorax answered.
"Far out," Tree Hugger says as she eyes the vial. "Can I try a bit?"
"Umm..."
Thorax isn't quite sure how to answer.
"I don't think Twilight tested this out on ponies, so I don't have any idea what this would do. I'm not sure it's a good idea to try this. I wouldn't want you to get poisoned by accident or something."
Tree Hugger thinks about what Thorax has told her and nods in agreement. "Smart idea," she says to him, "and not good to do designers unless the pony that made 'em is there if it goes bad."
Thorax looked a little confused about the last comment from Tree Hugger but decided to let it slide. The mare was weird, and trying to understand that weirdness likely invited more weirdness, so he elected to apply Twilight's advice about Pinkie Pie to the green mare and just accept it for what it was.
Looking up at a clock, Thorax frowned. "If we really are going back to the pet expo, I think we should probably get going soon."
"I'm ready," Fluttershy said to them, a pair of saddle bags on her back and a small case rolling behind her.
Tree Hugger was ready a few minutes later, and after redisguising as Crystal Hoof, the trio left the hotel and headed for the expo hall.
The expo hall where the seminars were held was now cleared of chairs, though the stage was still set up. In place of the chairs were sectioned off areas where various fenced off areas, kennels and cages were on display, and in each one were various kinds of animals. One fenced off area had puppies in it, all of them jumping on top of one another and yipping in play. Another section had some kittens in it, with about half of the group play-fighting with one another while the other half were asleep on the various pillows and inside some of the boxes scattered around.
Some of the cages on the floor had various lizards, including one large yellow snake that a sign said was called a python.
Tree Hugger, Fluttershy and Thorax walked to and fro, stopping at each enclosure so Fluttershy could fawn over the small creatures. Thorax could feel the joy the pegasus was feeling, and the feelings that he would have expected her to feel were either pushed aside for the moment, or even more bizzarely, were not there at all anymore.
"The pets here seem to be doing wonders for Fluttershy," Thorax told Tree Hugger.
Tree Hugger nodded. "She's still gonna need her friends, but the animals are a nice distraction. It'll give us something to talk about when we head back to Ponyville."
Thorax frowned upon hearing that. He felt like he should go with her, but he also wanted to see more of Equestria before he went to Ponyville. He was conflicted between wanting to be supportive and wanting to pursue his own desires.
In truth, he was afraid that going to Ponyville now would mean ending his trip sooner than he would've liked.
"Something buggin' ya, dude?" Tree Hugger asked.
"I'm still deciding if I should go with you two to Ponyville or not," Thorax replied. "I know I'm gonna go there anyway, but I wanted to see some more of Equestria before I did. The whole situation with Fluttershy has me questioning whether I should or not."
Tree Hugger smiled. "Ask her."
Thorax looked at her questioningly. "What do you mean 'ask her'?"
"Ask 'Shy if she wants you to come with her," Tree Hugger explains. "Fluttershy will tell you if she wants you to come with her or if she wants you to go enjoy Equestria like you wanted to originally."
"Really?" Thorax responded in amazement. "She won't be offended?"
Tree Hugger shook her head. "Just tell her you want to see more of Equestria, but if she wants you to, you'll gladly go with her back to Ponyville. Besides, you need to go there to get more of that juice you're drinking, right?"
The mare had a point. Asking Fluttershy if she wanted him to come along was the right thing to do, and Thorax was gonna need to go there and get more of the love potion if he was to sustain himself without feeding naturally.
"Alright," he decided. "I'll ask her, but not right now. Let's let her enjoy seeing these animals first. Even if I end up not going with you guys, I'll still want to catch a train there to my next spot."
"Where would that be?" Tree asked him.
"I'm thinking San Fransiscolt," Thorax replies, "but I might actually go to Seaddle first. Haven't decided one hundred percent for sure though, and not just because of the Fluttershy situation."
Tree Hugger nodded. "I'd do Seaddle first. Ponies there are max jumpin' right now. Gonna have a time and half."
Thorax thought over the point Tree Hugger had made. One of the trains he was riding on had pamphlets talking about Equestrian cities and one mentioned the new trend in music in Seaddle, claiming that it 'cleaned up the city with a filthy good sound'. He wasn't sure what that meant, but the ponies in flannel shirts on the one for Seaddle seemed very passionate about their music, as many were shown playing instruments.
"I'll definitely consider it," Thorax said to her as he returned to watching Fluttershy interacting with the animals in the expo hall. He knew without even guessing that, if given the opportunity, the mare would adopt every single animal here that could be adopted and take them home with her.
Once the trio had seen all of the pets available for adoption, Fluttershy finally agreed to heading back to Ponyville. The group took a wide arcing path back to Thorax's hotel so that they could avoid the alleyway where Fluttershy was attacked. Once back there, Thorax went up and gathered his belongings, telling the two mares to simply wait for him until he came back down. After checking out and turning in his room key, the ponies and disguised changeling headed to the train station to purchase their tickets.
"Did you enjoy the expo Tree Hugger?" Fluttershy asked the mare.
"It was groovy," Tree Hugger answered. "Those ponies were mad chill at my seminar. So many chakras falling into place."
Thorax looked at the mare as she once again had a zoned out look on her face. If he had to guess, she had another half pan of her brownies. Looking at Fluttershy, she looked much more relaxed than when she was walking back to his hotel, which led Thorax to wonder if Tree Hugger had offered her a brownie to help her if she was feeling like she did yesterday.
"I always enjoy the pet adoption," Fluttershy commented, "but it always makes me feel bad when not all the pets get adopted." Her mood soured a bit upon thinking of the animals that didn't get adopted that day.
"It'll work out for them, 'Shy" Tree Hugger told the pegasus. "Just because they don't get adopted today don't mean it won't ever happen for them."
Fluttershy looked at Tree Hugger and smiled. "You're right," she replied. "Just because things didn't go well this weekend doesn't mean they won't ever go well again."
Thorax looked at Fluttershy after she said that. A part of him wondered if she was talking about the animals or herself. Her feelings were positive, but the walk around the alley where her attack took place had brought back some of those fearful feelings. Hopefully she would be able to move past them and be able to feel safe again.
After another few minutes of walking, the trio finally reached the train station. Walking inside, Tree Hugger turned to speak to Fluttershy.
"I'm gonna get our tickets," she told Shy. "Why don't you stay here with Thorax while I grab them?"
Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "Sure."
"Alright" Tree Hugger replied, then looked at Thorax, giving him a subtle nod before turning and going to the ticket booth. The changeling took the hint and looked towards Fluttershy.
"Hey, I wanted to ask you if you wanted me to come with you and Tree Hugger to Ponyville."
"Didn't you want to see more of Equestria before coming to Ponyville?" she asked him in return. "I overheard you and Tree Hugger talking at the hotel and I thought I heard you say you wanted to see the western part of Equestria."
"In all honesty, I do," Thorax admitted, "but with what happened, I'm wondering if I shouldn't come along with you."
Fluttershy put a hoof on his withers and gave him a smile. "You don't have to worry about me, Thorax. I know what happened to me was... unfortunate, to say the least, but I've been through worse. There's been plenty of times doing things with my friends where I could've died, and even during the attack on Canterlot there was a time or two when I thought the changelings were going to win and do to me what that stallion tried to do, or worse."
Thorax winced a bit, remembering that day in a bit more detail. Seeing her surrounded by his hivemates and some of them getting ready to pin the mares down to drain them brought back bad feelings for him. He wished now that he had done more to help Fluttershy and her friends. Perhaps if he did, he would have made friends with them that day.
"Don't feel bad, Thorax," Fluttershy told him. "I know you're thinking about that day and what all happened. You were scared like I was, and sometimes when we get scared, our bodies just freeze up and it keeps us from doing what we need to do to protect ourselves."
"I still feel like I should've done more back then," Thorax responded, his head hung low.
"Please don't be sad," Fluttershy said to him. "I don't like seeing my friends like that."
Thorax's head shot up at her in surprise. "F-Friend?" he stuttered out.
Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, friend. You are my friend, Thorax."
Thorax looked at her a bit guilty. "I'm happy to hear you say that, but I don't want you feeling obliged to be my friend-"
Thorax is cut off by Fluttershy placing her hoof to his mouth.
"Thorax, that stallion was going to do a very, very bad thing to me, but you stepped in and stopped him before he could do it, and I am forever grateful to you for that, but that's not why I want to be your friend."
Thorax looked at her with wide eyes. The mare removed her hoof and continued speaking.
"Despite what happened, I had a good weekend here at the expo. In all honesty, I think spending the time I did with you was the most fun I've ever had being with a stallion by myself. I got to share something that I love with another pony, even if that pony isn't completely a pony. Plus, getting to learn a little bit more about you and changelings in general was fun. I kinda have an idea of what Twilight feels when she is learning new things for the first time."
Thorax looked at her with a smile. "It makes me happy to hear that, but I still feel like you're just doing this because of what I did to stop that stallion."
"I'll be honest. What you did to stop that stallion did have an affect on me wanting to have you as a friend, but not in the way you think."
Thorax looked at her with confusion before she explained what she means.
"Friends are ponies that will do whatever they can to help each other, keep each other safe, and help each other grow. You protected me from that stallion, made sure he couldn't hurt another pony, and made sure I was safe."
Thorax looked at her guiltily. "I scared you when I dropped my disguise. Even worse, I almost fed on that stallion."
"But you didn't," Fluttershy interjected. "You came back to your senses and stopped yourself."
"Thanks to you."
Fluttershy smiled. "Friends help each other, Thorax, and I do think of us as friends. I care about your wellbeing as much as you care about mine. I'm not a very outgoing pony, but I understand how important friends are."
"Thorax, you are my friend because I've seen the kind of pony you are. And it's because you are that kind of pony that I want to be your friend. Will you be mine?"
Thorax looked at her with tears in his eyes and nodded. The two then embraced in a hug, and Thorax felt a wave of love so strong washing over him that his body just naturally drew it in. The feeling made him smile wider, knowing that what he was feeling from the mare was for him and him alone. Nopony would feel love from Fluttershy like what he was feeling from her now.
FLASH!
Thorax and Fluttershy both blink as they looked to the source of the bright light. Tree Hugger had returned from the booth with the tickets for Fluttershy and herself, and upon seeing the two in such a way, decided to capture the moment with a photograph.
Fluttershy and Thorax both backed away, slight blushes on their muzzles. Tree Hugger laughed.
"Your chakras fit well together," she commented as she gave Fluttershy her ticket.
"How long were you standing there?" Fluttershy asked.
"Long enough to take in the scene and get a picture."
Thorax just blinked at the mare. He must've been so overwhelmed by Fluttershy's feelings that he didn't pick up on the mare approaching them.
"We got about twenty minutes before our train leaves," Tree Hugger told Fluttershy, "so how do you wanna pass the time?"
Fluttershy puts a hoof to her chin in thought before her grumbling stomach gives its own suggestion. Sheepishly, she replies "We could get a bite to eat."
"Far out," Tree Hugger smiles as she pulled out a bag with several brownies in it.
"Not those!" Fluttershy said a little more loudly than she had intended.
Tree Hugger frowned a little before she offers the bag to Thorax. "Wanna try one, bug boy?"
Thorax went wide eyed and looked around nervously. Of all the times for Tree Hugger to let on that she knew what he really was, the middle of a train station that had the headquarters for the royal guard post for the city iniside it was the last place he really wanted that tidbit revealed.
"No, thank you," he told her as politely as his fear-addled mind would allow him.
"Nopony ever wants one," she said under her breath as she took one from the bag and scarffed it down greedily. Fluttershy decided to ignore Tree Hugger for the moment and faced Thorax again.
"I think you should go see Equestria and come to Ponyville when you're ready to," she told him. "Like I said, I've been through worse before, and I'll get past what happened here this weekend. I'll just make sure not to travel by myself next time."
Thorax looked at her for a moment with surprise, then smiled. "I had fun at the expo too. If you can't find anypony and I'm not busy, I wouldn't mind going with you again."
Fluttershy smiled. "I'd like that."
Fluttershy and Tree Hugger boarded their train about a half hour later; the engineers needed to do a quick servicing of the engine, so the train was delayed for a little bit. Thorax came to the platform with them, wishing both mares safe travels and giving each of them a hug.
As he hugged Fluttershy again, he felt another wave of love wash over him, and a question began to form in his mind. As he pulled away from the hug, he looked over Fluttershy, he took in her appearance and tried to notice if there was anything different, whether she looked weak of if she was trying to avoid looking at lights like one would do if they had a headache.
The mare looked no worse for wear, but she also noticed Thorax's concerned look.
"Is something wrong?" she asked him.
Thorax shook his head and smiled at her. "I'm still a bit worried about you. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?"
Fluttershy nodded. "I will. I have Tree Hugger and my friends, and I have you now too. With all that support, what happened here will become nothing more than just an unpleasant memory that I won't dwell on too much. I love this expo, and I'm not about to let a stallion trying to hurt me ruin that."
Thorax noticed the conviction in her eyes and smiled. "I'll make sure to look for you in Ponyville when I get there."
"My cottage is just outside of town. It's far enough away from the Everfree Forest that most of the really bad creatures won't bother me, but it's far enough from Ponyville that my animal friends are still comfortable. I can't wait for you to see it."
"I can't either. I'm gonna miss you."
"It's goodbye for now, not forever."
Thorax smiled again. "It's sure gonna feel like forever."
Fluttershy smiled and the two shared another hug, where another wave of love overcame him. At this rate, he wouldn't need to use any of the love potion for a whole week.
Eventually, the two separated and Fluttershy boarded her train. Thorax stood on the platform and watched it go. The pegasus and Tree Hugger both looked out the window and waved to him as the train left the platform and made its way towards Ponyville and Fluttershy's home.
Thorax waved until they were out of sight. He smiled as he thought of Fluttershy getting home and greeting all of her friends, then winced a little as he realized she would have to tell them about what happened here in Van Hoover.
She would also tell them about the time she had spent with him and what he did to protect her from that stallion, which he hoped would go a ways to convincing the rest of her friends there to give him a chance at being friends with him.
Thorax decided it was time to get his ticket, and after a quick visit to Imperial Gold, who gave him a word of warning about Seaddle's guard commander, he boarded his train and left for his next adventure.