Hope and Fear
The night wore on and hours passed, with Thorax and Trixie were still making friendly chatter in the Vergilius’s control cabin, though now their conversation had moved on to more inane topics.
“All right, Mr. Jar Catcher,” Trixie remarked with a smug grin. “Let’s have you try…uh…Hope and Fear.”
“Oh, uh,” Thorax murmured as he worked to recall the details while still mostly focused on steering the airship. “Let’s see…isn’t that the one where they come across the super advanced airship with the high-tech and super-fast new type of propulsion system that they think is one of theirs at first, but only to later discover it was actually an elaborate trap to catch and eliminate the crew?”
“Yes!” Trixie said with a nod. “And it was a pity, because that new airship sounded actually kind of cool.”
“It really did,” Thorax agreed with a nod. “All right then, my turn…let’s see…how about…A Private Little War.”
“Ooh, ooh, what was that…that was one of the early ones again, wasn’t it?” Trixie mumbled to herself as she sought to recall the entry in the Sky Trek series. She then smirked, having noticed a trend in the entries Thorax named. “You do like those early entries in the series, don’t you?”
Thorax simply shrugged nonchalantly and instead motioned for Trixie to continue.
Trixie nodded and resumed thinking. “Right, let’s see…uh…A Private Little War…wasn’t…wasn’t that the one where the griffons are providing some primitive natives with weapons more advanced than what they were supposed to have…?”
Thorax nodded in confirmation, glanced at her slightly without turning his head away from the forward viewport he was facing. “And how did it end?”
“I believe with, seeing that some of the natives were using the weapons to make war against those who did not have them, the crew providing them similar weapons of their own despite their better judgment, in hopes that would restore something of a balance of power between the natives,” Trixie said with hesitation. “Or something like that. One of those really cerebral things, really.” She tilted her head at Thorax. “You seem to have a soft spot for such tales.”
Thorax shrugged again. “It makes me think,” he replied simply, before motioning at Trixie. “Anyway, your turn again.”
“Okay then,” Trixie said, considering her options. Having caught on that Thorax was a little more fluent in the whole series than her (probably because he was a more recent fan and thus had the details of the many books in the series fresher in his mind), she sought an entry that was a little more obscure. “Let’s see if you can sum up…Desert Crossing.”
Thorax’s brow furrowed, and Trixie smirked a little as she quickly saw that the changeling couldn’t immediately recall it. “Desert Crossing,” he mumbled aloud to himself, taking one of his holed hooves off the ship’s wheel to rub the underside of his chin thoughtfully. “Desert Crossing…Desert Crossing…well, I assume that has them crossing a desert at some point…”
“Obviously,” Trixie replied, her smirk growing.
Thorax frowned, shifting his gaze off the forward viewport fully as he lowered it, eyes distant as he thought on it further. “Crossing a desert…crossing a desert…” he then rapped his hoof on the ship’s wheel suddenly, perking up. “That one…that one was the one where the crew assists this one guy…I forget his name…but they assist this one guy with his little airship and help him get back home, and he invites some of them to a…I think it was a sports event…only for them to learn he was actually a rebel and something of a terrorist fighting against his government, and was trying to rope them into aiding him. The crossing the desert part came into play when the encampment is bombed, and they end up having to cross through the treacherous desert in search of safety while with few supplies.” Thorax shook his head. “I had almost forgotten that one…it wasn’t especially memorable, honestly.” He glanced at Trixie. “But that’s the one, isn’t it?”
Trixie nodded. “Completely,” she said. “But for a second there, I thought I had you stumped.” She gave Thorax a smug look. “Let’s see if you can do the same for Trixie.”
Thorax thought for a moment, then named the title of his selected entry abruptly. “Contagion.”
Trixie blinked, but was immediately struck by the sense she knew which one that was. “Oh! Uh! Uh!” she cried to herself as she attempted to recall enough details to actually speak them aloud. “Ooh, ooh, that was the one where they, uh, they find the really ancient magic portal thingy!”
Now Thorax smirked. “And…?” he prompted, searching for additional details.
“And…and…” Trixie muttered, bouncing eagerly on her hooves as she worked to force the remaining details off the tip of her tongue. “…and because the airship was exposed to some corrupted data or something related to it, they were suffering from a whole bunch of system problems that were risking their safety!”
Thorax laughed at Trixie’s eagerness. “Close enough!” he declared. “Your turn again.”
“Okay, what’s another good one…” Trixie said aloud, letting her gaze wander upwards in search of an answer. “How about…For the Uniform.”
“Oh, that one,” Thorax said flatly. “That was the one where the captain relentlessly chases after the former crewmember who had gone rogue, to the point it became something of a personal vendetta.” He frowned. “I actually didn’t like that one so much…it was a little…too close to home for me.”
Trixie frowned herself, realizing the eerie similarity to his and Spike’s predicaments. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that. I suppose it would make you uncomfortable given everything that’s happened.”
“It’s okay, I wouldn’t expect you to make the connection,” Thorax assured her.
Trixie wasn’t assured though. “I’m just sorry there has to be any parallel at all.”
They both fell silent for a moment, a solemn lull falling upon them that distracted them from their little game for a while. Trixie’s gaze turned thoughtful as she gazed out the forward viewport and up at the starry late night sky. Thorax, meanwhile, kept piloting the airship while mulling upon things, turning them over in his head a few times and debating whether or not pursuing the subject further was going to be worthwhile. Deciding he wanted to be involved in cheerier things though, he was just beginning to come up with a new entry to name and continue their game when Trixie spoke again.
“Do you think we’re actually going to pull this crazy plan of ours off?” she asked suddenly.
Thorax glanced at her for a second. “I don’t think we have any alternatives but to do the crazy plan,” he reminded gently.
“I know,” Trixie replied, clearly distressed as she played with her forehooves. “But do you think we’ll pull it off?”
Thorax returned his line of sight to the forward viewport, and sighed. “I don’t know,” he confessed, deciding to be truthful.
Trixie bit her lip for a moment. “…and if we don’t?” she prompted next.
Thorax considered the question for a grave minute. “Then at least we tried,” he concluded.
Trixie frowned and averted her gaze, involuntarily shivering. “Thorax, I’ll be honest with you,” she admitted finally and with clear dread. “I’m absolutely terrified…if not flat-out petrified…of what might be waiting for us in that hive of yours.”
Thorax nodded slowly. He kept his gaze on the forward viewport and not Trixie, as if respecting the fact she didn’t like letting this frightened side of herself show. “I know,” he murmured aloud nonetheless. “I can sense it.”
“Of course,” Trixie said, rolling her eyes at herself. “You’re a changeling…you can probably read me like an open book…” she then made a weak snort of a laugh, “…and considering how fast you read…”
Thorax chuckled, but then he shook his head. “Emotions are not as telling as one might think, though,” he pointed out. “They are merely more…clues that at best only suggest one’s state of mind…but they rarely reveal it perfectly. You’d be surprised how often one’s emotions don’t match up with what it is that they are thinking or doing.”
“But I’d imagine I’m still pretty straightforward to figure out at the moment,” Trixie persisted, gazing out the forward viewport at the dark night outside the airship, the night appearing more ominous suddenly. “Because I’m not joking, Thorax…I’m so scared right now, and it hasn’t been getting better. The closer we get to this hive, the more scared I feel.” She shook her head, her face etched with concern. “Frankly, I’m stunned that I haven’t had a flat-out panic attack yet, or tried to bail from the ship in terror.”
“You’re afraid of heights,” Thorax reminded matter-of-factly. “I’d imagine that fear is more than enough to keep you from trying such a reckless feat while the Vergilius is in flight and currently maintaining an altitude of…” he paused to check the relevant gauge on the helm, “…about six hundred feet.”
Trixie winced as she thought too hard about just how high up that was. “Not helping.”
“My apologies, Trixie,” Thorax atoned. “But if you are really that terrified,” he glanced at her with a knowing look, “then why did you come at all?”
Trixie shrugged half-heartedly. “I guess…because I still wanted to help,” she admitted. “I mean…no matter what I feel about this kooky plan of ours, the idea of just rolling over and letting the bad guys win seems even more terrifying.” she shrugged again. “So I guess I’m going with the lesser of two terrifying things. If that makes any sense. Still scared out of my wits, though.”
“You’ve been hiding it reasonably well, then,” Thorax noted aloud. “Outwardly, it doesn’t show very clearly most of the time.”
Trixie made a weak, frightened, chuckle. “That’ll probably change once we’re there,” she assured. “I’m actually very concerned I’m just going to freeze at the mere sight of that hive…” she glanced at Thorax. “What does it look like anyway?”
“Probably not unlike what you’d expect,” Thorax admitted. “Best way to describe it is it appears as a cluster of blue-green spires with…holes.” He held up one of his holed hooves as a reference.
Trixie peered at his hoof for a second then let her eyes focus on Thorax’s face seen through one of the larger holes in his hoof. “So…like swiss cheese after it’s melted a little and then gotten all moldy?”
Thorax laughed at the comparison. “I suppose there is a passing resemblance to that, yes,” he relented, lowering his hoof back down to grip the ship’s wheel. “But appearances aside, it’s still home for most changelings.” A pause, then he added, “myself excluded, of course.”
Trixie kept watching him for a moment, watching his facial expressions and trying to read his mood like he clearly could do for her. “Does it scare you to be heading back like this?” she asked.
“Completely,” Thorax replied without any hesitation.
His blunt and quick response surprised Trixie, and she took a step closer to him. “You don’t seem like it,” she admitted, brow furrowed.
Thorax grinned slightly, but it was a sad and false grin. “I’ve had more practice controlling it,” he said.
Trixie’s gaze wandered back to staring out at the darkened lands they were sailing over, envisioning the changeling hive rising up from over the horizon. The thought sent a chill down her spine. “I know it’s not going to help any asking this,” she began by way of a disclaimer. “But assuming our plans do fail…what happens to us then?”
“Depends on whether or not we still escape capture.”
“If we do?”
“Then I guess we either go somewhere to regroup and try again, or, absolute worst case, go and find someplace peaceful to live out our lives in defeat.” Thorax frowned. “I doubt Queen Chrysalis would allow either, though, after trying to jeopardize her plans like that. She would hunt us until she deemed the threat we presented was properly…neutralized.”
Trixie winced at the thought, but in some ways was grateful for Thorax’s blunt honesty. It told her precisely what to expect and what she would need to do to prepare. “And if we don’t escape?” she prompted. “What happens to us then?”
“Well, you and the others would be more useful to the hive alive than dead,” Thorax pointed out. “So most likely you would simply join the princesses in captivity.”
“…Until?”
“Until you’re no longer useful anymore. But…truthfully Trixie, you most likely would no longer care by that point.”
Trixie gulped. “And what about you? You excluded yourself from that.”
“I would be considered a traitor, likely of the highest regard, to changelings everywhere in the hive,” Thorax replied simply. “And Queen Chrysalis has no tolerance for such traitors.”
Trixie felt her face pale a little as her heart skipped a beat in fear of what Thorax was implying. “No wonder you’re terrified too.”
Thorax nodded slowly but did not comment further.
Trixie studied him for another moment, amorous of his lack of outward reaction to this threat, quite confident she was in no way coming even close to mimicking it. “You’re being very brave coming along like this then.”
Thorax sighed. “I have to, Trixie,” he assured. “Someone has to stand up and show the others of my kind that there’s another way.” He turned his head to look at her seriously. “If I don’t…who will?” He returned his gaze to the forward viewport. “Besides…I am a changeling just as much as they are. We are all of the same species. Thereby I feel just as responsible for their actions too, even if I had no part in it originally.”
“So even if Starlight and I hadn’t come along, would you have still gone back to the hive to protest once you found out about their plans?” Trixie asked, curious.
“I would’ve gone back eventually even if they hadn’t carried out this plan, or anything like it,” Thorax assured determinedly. “That was always my intent, Trixie. I had always planned to go back and share what I had learned of living a life with friends, to introduce them to the good that friendship could bring, something I’m afraid they sorely lack right now.” He shook his head, sadly. “But not like this. I had wanted to get myself settled and accepted into Equestria first, build as strong an argument for my side as I could, and then gradually distribute what I had learned with changelings in passing until I had made my presence and intents clear enough in general to the hive…then I would return to make my case in person…hope they listen to me this time. Sink or swim.”
He sighed, and Trixie saw he was disappointed this plan didn’t get to come to fruition. “But everything that’s happened has only forced you to make this move before you were ready to…didn’t it?” she guessed.
“Quite,” Thorax agreed. He shook his head. “I don’t feel ready for this Trixie…I don’t feel like I can convince them of anything at this time, and if we are caught…” he trailed off, letting the implications hang in the air, unspoken. “But…there’s not any other choice that I can see. Equestria at large may have been slow to accept me as a changeling…but it still deserves a better fate than what my queen has planned for it, and so does my hive. I owe them that I at least try. So I will.”
Trixie thought about his words for a long moment then looked up at him again, giving him a warm smile. “You really are being very brave about this,” she said again. “I…admire that.”
Thorax glanced in her direction, returning the smile. “You’re being pretty brave coming with yourself, Trixie,” he assured her softly, but with meaning. He clearly believed this.
Trixie didn’t quite herself, but she was both touched and heartened by the changeling’s show of faith in her abilities. “I’m trying at least,” she relented. She considered the matter for a few moments longer, but finding this wasn’t helping her to steel her nerves any, and knowing that and wanting to, she opted to start thinking about other subjects. Eventually, she started thinking positively about the rescue plans they had all helped to devise and the hoped outcomes that would follow. “What about if and when we do succeed at this rescue attempt?” she asked next. “What happens then?”
“Then Equestria is saved, and we all go back to our regular lives, I suppose,” Thorax conceded. “Simple as that.”
“No, not simple as that,” Trixie argued. “And you should know that. If we do pull this off, we’ll…” she winced, aware this was going to sound brag worthy, “…we’ll be heroes.” She looked intently at Thorax. “So what would be our ‘regular’ lives at that point if we’re pretty much national heroes?”
“You assume you would actually receive such strong recognition for that,” Thorax reminded, his way of urging her to not be too optimistic.
“And why wouldn’t we?”
“I’m not saying our efforts wouldn’t be recognized in some manner,” Thorax clarified. “But even Twilight and her friends did not achieve much of a celebrity status after saving their country single-hooved on more than one occasion. As I understand it, they all go back to their normal lives after such events as if little had changed. Even Princess Twilight lives much as she always had before since her ascension, or so Spike has conveyed to me. But most importantly, they seem perfectly content with that.” He glanced at Trixie. “So should we.”
Trixie harrumphed faintly, but silently conceded to his point. “I guess what I’m really trying to say then, is…after saving Equestria from invasion from the changelings…what do we all do with ourselves then? I mean something would still have to change.”
“I’m counting on it,” Thorax agreed. “It is my hope that by aiding in this rescue attempt, Spike and I can prove our loyalties once and for all to the princesses, or at least enough of them that they will choose to leave us in peace at last.” He was quiet for a moment, before adding, “That’s the most I’m hoping for at this point.”
Trixie watched him for a moment, agreeing that if anyone deserved such a thing at this point, it was him. “And if you get it? What are you two going to do then?”
“I suppose that depends on whether or not Twilight Sparkle is swayed sufficiently too,” Thorax deducted. “At which point, I’d imagine Spike would return to her company as before, the two hopefully having made peace again, and I will be permitted to visit as a friend.”
“Which would be wonderful,” Trixie agreed. “Though, knowing Twilight…”
“Spike would be in agreement with you on that,” Thorax said, interrupting, though his tone made it clear he did not approve of that negative attitude to the problem. Regardless, he knew better than to deny it as a possibility. “It would be an uphill battle for the two of them to resolve either way, no doubt.”
“But what will you do with yourself at such a point?” Trixie asked. “You really haven’t made that clear yet. I mean, assume things do work out, and you’re accepted as the friend and ally to Equestria as you always should’ve been…that’d leave you free to do…basically whatever you wanted with your life.” She tilted her head at him. “So what would you do with it?”
Thorax thought about it, but then shrugged, having not really thought about it yet. “Go back to Vanhoover and work for Miss Fly, I suppose,” he admitted. Seeing Trixie’s look, he added, “I’d be more than content with that, Trixie. I don’t wish to ask for much from life. Just…a little friendship and happiness, is all. Things I haven’t been able to find very well elsewhere.” Now he tilted his head at her. “Why, what do you plan to do after this is all over?”
Trixie shrugged. “Go back to show-business,” she stated. “Hope saving the world generates a lot of new interest in my act. Maybe get a formal, high-profit, tour deal out of it. Beyond that, life as I was living it before, I guess. I’m content enough with that, and performing for the world has always been my one, true, calling in life.”
Thorax grinned. “You’re certainly better at it than I am,” he admitted.
Trixie averted her gaze for a moment, sheepishly rubbing her forehooves together. “…you could come with me,” she said then glanced over at him again. “Join my act…then I could teach you.”
Thorax glanced back at her, a little surprised, and raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
Trixie shrugged, but stood her ground. “I meant it last time when I offered you joining my show, Thorax,” she said. “You have a knack for the illusionary magic that my show’s all about. And now I know why, and I’d guess that, if anything, you were holding back before so to hide your true nature. So you’d be quite welcome to come with.” Her tone softened as she continued in a meaningful tone. “I’d think you’d be great at it. Besides…Trixie could use a travel companion.”
Thorax gazed at her for a long moment. “This all assumes I do make peace with the royal family and am exonerated of their charges, you know,” he pointed out finally, needing to ensure this is clear. “If for some reason they don’t, and they still continue to chase me, with the hope of arresting me, then me going with you would only rope you with a criminal changeling which being around would only incriminate you as well, if we were ever caught.” He paused, then added, seriously, “That was one of the biggest reasons why I declined last time you offered me this, Trixie.”
Trixie only nodded. “I know,” she said. She then smirked. “And I don’t care. Outcast or not, you’re welcome to come with. Hay, Spike can come too, if he has nowhere else to go either.”
Thorax narrowed his eyes a little, but he smirked too. “I’m not certain Spike would get along very well with you,” he confessed.
“Probably not,” Trixie relented casually, having not forgotten the dragon’s apparent grudge against her. But she didn’t seem to mind that…and she was a little surprised at herself for it. “But…I don’t care about any of that Thorax. I…really don’t. You could be Tirek reincarnated for all I care at this point, it really doesn’t matter to me.” She shrugged. “Besides, life as a traveling performer isn’t so bad. You make your own hours, see the land…there’s rarely a dull moment. And you’d be constantly moving around, be hard to track, so if you were still on the run by that point, you’d be less likely to be caught by surprise like what happened in Vanhoover.” She dared to take another step closer towards Thorax. “Look, what I’m getting at is this…I…know that when I first came aboard this ship I was being a little…hesitant around you, not knowing how to behave, but…after talking with you all this evening and gotten not just to know you again, but know you even better than before…you being a changeling doesn’t matter so much to me. It’s really not the important thing about you. I like your friendship, Thorax.” She nodded her head out the forward viewport, motioning in the direction of the changeling hive they were traveling towards. “And no matter what happens out there…” she took a deep breath, “…I’d like that to continue.”
Thorax gazed at her for a long moment, quiet as the gears in his mind slowly chewed on all of this. Finally, he grinned warmly. “So would I, Trixie,” he agreed, and nodded his head. “I will have to keep your offer in consideration then.”
Trixie brightened considerably at that, and, grinning, she went quiet as she turned her gaze to look out the forward viewport almost eagerly. Amused by this reaction, Thorax returned his gaze to piloting the Vergilius onwards through the night, and a long moment of silence fell during which they merely enjoyed the company of the other. Eventually though, Thorax noticed the high position of the moon in the sky and realized the late hour of the night.
“You know,” he commented aloud after the silence had gone on for several minutes, “I believe it has gotten late enough now that my watch piloting the ship has long ended, I should be in sleeping, and you should be manning the helm now Trixie, as was agreed earlier.”
“Really?” Trixie asked, appearing surprised at this. She didn’t think it had really been that long until she leaned forward to note the position of the moon through the forward viewport and realized Thorax had a point. “Huh…guess you’re probably right. The time really flew by.” They exchanged glances for a moment then Thorax, grinning warmly, stepped partly to one side and offered the ship’s wheel for Trixie to take. “Oh no, no, no, you can keep at it yourself,” she told the changeling. “It’s probably for the better you keep piloting the yacht anyway.”
“I already explained how to fly it earlier,” Thorax reminded. “And Starlight assisted you even—you had said afterwards that you thought you could keep the Vergilius in flight on your own.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I still feel that confident flying the darn thing,” Trixie remarked, running her hoof along the edge of the ship’s wheel, but still not moving to take it despite Thorax still offering it to her. “You’re the one with the more experience.”
“Yes, but seeing it’s my airship, I have an unfair advantage in that regard,” Thorax reminded. “Besides, I had to learn how to do this once myself, and the only way to do that is through experience.” He gently wrapped one hoof around Trixie and pulled her into position in front of the ship’s wheel. “Besides, it will be easy. The terrain’s going to be quite level for several miles still, so there will be little to risk running into. All you need to do is keep her on course and level. And with this fair weather this evening, you should have no trouble doing that. I’ve barely had to do much to keep her on track.”
Trixie winced, but at Thorax’s prompting, she gently reached out and took ahold of the ship’s wheel with her hooves. “If you say so…” she mumbled as she did this. Her eyes wandered over the complicated gauges and controls that made up the helm. “Don’t remember what half these things are or do, but…”
“This controls the rudder and thereby the ship’s heading,” Thorax reminded, patting the ship’s wheel Trixie now held with a death grip in her hooves. He then pointed a hoof at the other controls on the helm surrounding the wheel. “That is the compass, and as you can see, I’ve already marked a little note indicating the direction we need to be pointing in, so long as the compass is still pointing in that direction, you’re doing fine. That lever controls altitude, that one controls pitch, and the gauges above them tells you what each presently is, respectively. That gauge tells you our speed, which should remain constant at near her top speed, but if that changes, this lever controls the engine throttle. These gauges to the side here tell you how much lifting hydrium gas there is in each of the envelope’s gas cells, and the switches under each gauge control venting the gas from each cell if need be. Those levers adjacent to them control the ballast and how much is dropped or taken in at a time. One on the left controls the water ballast, the other controls the air valves for the air ballonets inside the envelope. I’ve already got her at static equilibrium for the evening, so you shouldn’t need to worry about any of these unless the gas levels suddenly and drastically change, in which case, I will probably need to take over. That gauge tells you the magical charge remaining in the engines, those two the amount of ballast aboard, and that one the amount of spare gas in the ship stores.”
Trixie’s eyes blankly went from each control and gauge back and forth, already losing track of which was which. Even though they were all labeled, not all of them were labeled in terms she understood and even when she did, she wasn’t sure she understood how to interpret the data they were giving her. “It’s a bit of an information overload,” she muttered then glanced incredulously at Thorax. “How do you keep them all straight in your head?”
Thorax laughed. “Practice,” he admitted. “Look, for right now, focus on just the ship’s wheel, the compass, the pitch and altitude gauges, and what’s directly outside the airship. For now, that’s all you should need.”
Trixie mentally picked out the relevant controls and gauges in her head, memorizing their locations, then with a nervous gulp, turned her head up to look out the forward viewport. She gripped the ship’s wheel tightly as she kept the air yacht on course. She tensely jumped if the needle on the compass before her even so much as wavered and was quick to jerk the wheel in the needed direction so to shift the needle back to the desired spot. She tended to overcompensate in these jerks, leading to the airship to wobble on its course a little, but she’d quickly get it restored back on course soon enough.
Nevertheless, she was incredibly tense about it. Wanting to reassure her, Thorax gently placed a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to jump. “You’re doing fine, Trixie,” he assured her quietly but approvingly. “Just relax.”
“Trying,” Trixie replied in a staccato manner through clenched teeth, “Can’t.”
“Yes you can,” Thorax assured her, starting to rub his hoof into the tense muscles of her shoulder, trying to coax her into unwinding a little. “Don’t think of her as a fallible machine. Think of her as a big bird that you’re riding on the back of. Feel her shift and move under your hooves…feel her lift as she floats through the air, as she sails through the sky. Trust her, and she’ll trust you if you let her do her part of the job.” Feeling Trixie unwind a little, he leaned closer so to keep whispering advice to her. “Let her feel like a light feather floating in the sky…know how a feather in the air will go out of control when hit with sharp motions? It’s the same here. Don’t jerk the controls. Nudge. Gently. Just tap her into the directions you need her to go.” Trixie suddenly let out a soft sigh as the tension wound out of her and she started to relax her grip on the ship’s wheel to more natural levels. “Yeah, there you go. Just relax Trixie, and breathe easy. There’s nothing to panic over.”
He trailed off, letting Trixie quietly fly the airship while he stood just behind her, his head leaning in close to watch over her shoulder while one hoof continued to rub circles into her other shoulder in hopes this would still help to keep her calm. It did, but eventually Thorax started to become aware of the mare shifting awkwardly, and warmth as first her body then especially her face started to heat up. He noticed her ears had turned red and turned his head to glance at her curiously.
“What?” he asked innocently, not seeing what the problem was.
Trixie, meanwhile, was finding it hard to look him in the eye. “…you’re awfully close,” she murmured softly after a brief pause.
Thorax looked down at himself and Trixie and realized with a start she was absolutely right; he had begun to lean awfully close to the mare without even realizing it, and blushing a little himself, saw how that would be awkward. He removed his hoof from her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, embarrassed and starting to straighten so to correct his lack of consideration. “Is that a problem?”
Trixie didn’t reply right away. She twisted her head around to look at him, which wasn’t hard considering how close they already were, and studied him for a moment. Thorax could see she was debating how to respond. “…you know, oddly, I don’t think so,” she admitted finally.
They continued to look at each other for a few moments in silence as they stayed in this particular position, both wondering what the other was going to do. Trixie’s head started to lean closer, inching ever so gradually closer to Thorax’s. Noticing this and seeing that their snouts were already almost touching as it was, he pulled back faintly at first, thinking Trixie was doing this accidentally. But Trixie gradually kept moving her head closer, and gradually Thorax slowed his own actions and kept his head still, letting her come closer. That telltale ache in his chest was back suddenly, and it left his mind a flurry as he began wondering just what this was building up to, and if Trixie was doing this unknowingly or not. Either way, they really were getting awfully close now.
“Ahem.”
Trixie yelped in a loud and startled squeak, literally jumping into the air before immediately backpedaling away as the two promptly pulled apart, the mare backing into the Vergilius’s gas board that sat next to the helm while twisting around to face the unexpected new speaker. Thorax, likewise, jumped back, only to quickly lean back and grab the ship’s wheel when Trixie’s sudden release of it started it spinning freely, not wanting to let his airship fly far off course. That done, he then whipped his head around so to face the new speaker too.
Spike, fully dressed in his usual disguise, was standing in the doorway of the steps that led below deck. Naturally, he was eyeing the pair closely with a neutral, but clearly knowing, expression. “Am I interrupting something?” he asked calmly once he saw he had the attentions of both of them.
“No,” Trixie and Thorax quickly assured him, chorusing together while they both blushed in embarrassment.
Spike slowly nodded his head, his expression not changing and making it hard to tell just what his thoughts about what he had walked in upon were. Thorax, however, who until then had his whole attention on Trixie and was now scrambling to include Spike as well, started to pick up conflicting emotions from him and feared that he might press the matter. “What are you doing up, Spike?” he asked. “I thought you would be asleep by now.”
“I was,” Spike responded simply. “But now it’s time to change shifts, so I got up to replace Trixie at the helm.” He nodded his head at the showmare, who was hyperventilating and had one hoof to her beating heart, trying to calm down again. The dragon then glanced at his changeling friend. “Didn’t think you’d still be up too, bud.”
“Uh, no, I suppose not,” Thorax mumbled, rubbing the grey fin that ran down the back of his head as he sought an adequate explanation to use as a cover. “But uh…uh…I was…”
“I, uh, got up early to ask Thorax where some heavier blankets were at,” Trixie suddenly offered, the idea just springing to her.
“Right!” Thorax said, jumping on the idea. “And I told her where to find them in the cabinet above the stateroom bed, but then we…uh…”
“We were talking,” Trixie added.
“Yes! And…uh…”
“…lost track of time?”
“Right… and then…I was helping Trixie…fly the airship.”
Spike kept nodding his head slowly. “…Right,” he said slowly, not sounding convinced.
“Well, at any rate, I got my answer, and my shift’s up anyway, so here I go, off to bed!” Trixie remarked quickly and marched for the steps heading down below. Spike stepped aside to let her through. “Wish the great and powerful Trixie a good night!”
“Good night, Trixie!” Thorax called as she vanished through the doorway then winced as he saw Spike’s eyes fall back on him. Shifting uneasily as the dragon strolled up to the helm, he quickly changed subjects. “So you remember how this all works, right? What works the rudder, what works the altitude…”
“I remember, Thorax,” Spike assured him as he, being the shortest, pulled a stool in front of the ship’s wheel so he could stand on it and see clearly over the top of the wheel before taking control of the helm.
“You sure? Because I can give you another run through real quick…”
“I’ve got it, Thorax.”
“Of…of course you do.” Thorax forced a grin before deciding he’d better leave while he had the chance then. “Well, good night then!”
He got as far as putting his hoof down on the first step leading below deck when Spike spoke again. “So…you and Trixie, huh?”
Thorax winced and squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment and dread. “It’s not what you think,” he said.
“Mm-hmm.” Spike sounded less than convinced, and worse still, his neutral tone from before was rapidly fading now that Trixie had left.
“Look, I’m sorry for not saying anything to you about it,” Thorax said, turning to face the dragon again. “But you hadn’t been very approving of Trixie, especially today, so…”
“Bah!” Spike interrupted sternly with the wave of his claws. “You’re right, I don’t approve, and I won’t lie, Thorax, I don’t particularly like Trixie, and I still think any business with her is going to end in trouble whether she actually meant to cause it or not…but you also told me to back off and trust you…and it’s also not my business to judge anyway, now is it? It’s your choice, not mine, so since you’ve clearly decided to pursue it anyway, I’m certainly not getting myself involved now.” As Thorax, surprised by this, just stared at him blankly for a moment, Spike then turned his head to look back at him. “At the very least, I just hope you’re prepared to deal with that massive ego of hers.”
Thorax blinked at him silently for a few minutes. “Actually, I think the ego’s just an act.”
Spike’s eyebrows went up. “Oh really?” he asked, and to Thorax’s even greater surprise, he made a slight nod of approval. “Well…maybe there is hope for her yet, then.” His gaze turned strict though. “But you be careful, Thorax. I want you to be able to be happy, and to live a happy life, so I’ll be greatly miffed if Trixie in some way messes that up, okay?”
Thorax was hesitant for a second. “…and if that doesn’t happen, and things go smoothly?”
Spike gazed at him for a second, his eyes suddenly turning slightly but inexplicably sad to Thorax. “Then do what you need to, Thorax.” He then turned back to the helm and didn’t speak further.
Thorax continued to stare at him for several moments then slowly he nodded to himself as he turned and continued for bed. He assumed he was to take this to mean that Spike had more or less relented into giving him permission to proceed then. If so, Thorax thought he should be relieved that this sticking point between them was getting set aside finally.
So why was it he felt he should be very bothered by this?
More Thorax and Trixie stuff, mostly. In case you haven't caught on, my intentions behind most of this is more to give the reader a better idea of what Trixie thinks of all of this, seeing we already know Thorax's stance on the matter fairly well.
This chapter was originally planned to be titled "Terrified," but I realized later that there was also a tone of optimism mixed in, so I opted for the title "Hope and Fear" instead (getting inspiration for this from the same title of the corresponding Star Trek episode [Voyager, if you don't already know, and one of my favorites] referenced in this chapter), as that seemed more fitting.
Speaking of Star Trek, excepting the animated series and the new Discovery series of course (as it hadn't aired yet by the time I wrote this, and as it happens, I still haven't actually watched an episode of Discovery yet, so no spoilers for anyone that wanted to discuss it), every entry of Sky Trek Trixie and Thorax reference is referencing an episode from each television series of Star Trek. For Deep Space Nine's, I originally was intending to use some other episode (I can't remember which, might not have actually settled upon one yet, but probably one from somewhere in the Dominion War storyarc), but then a reader observed some chapters back that the DS9 episode "For the Uniform" had a strong similarity to aspects of Spike and Thorax's situation, and I thought it'd be amiss if I didn't squeeze it in as a result.
While I'm thinking about it, apologies to anyone that is getting tired of all the talking and are wanting the gang to just get to the hive and get on with things already. With precisely that in mind, I had wanted to get through this section of the story as quickly as possible and not get too drawn out with the talky-parts, but found as I was writing it there was a lot more that I wanted or needed to address first, and this is the absolutely last chance I have to get it addressed in the story, so bear with me as I tie up these remaining loose ends and scene-setting. If it helps, I am trying to get them out in as large of chucks per chapters as I can, where it is logical to do so, while also trying to avoid too many super-long chapters like "Breaking the Ice" was (which, again, I made an exception for only because all of its material happened to relate to each other nicely in theme).
For those that are enjoying the talky chapters though, or at least the subjects they're bringing up, well...thanks, I suppose. 
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Darn it Spike, why'd you interrupt them?! WHY?! Grrr....now I wanna see more Thorax and Trixie! Blasted author, why did do you that?! Why did you make these characters so good?!?!?!
I really like the story, but i cant help but feel that the last few chapters are slowing things down a bit too much. There has been so much talk i just want them to finally reach the hive and get on with it.
Love the connection building for Thorax and Trixie, I really hope we get to see more of them together. Though I'm interested why Thorax feels weird about why spike feels like that now. Oh well, I guess we will see next chapter, keep up the great work.
8457011
Yeah...I have to agree with this one. I honestly can't see Twilight ever giving Thorax a chance if the last chapters she appeared in are anything to go by.
You’re doubling down too hard again. I didn’t say anything about it last chapter as many people pointed out that it was obvious that Spike was writing essentially an autobiography, but it went a little too far this chapter. Throughout the entire Thorax Trixie exchange, we got two new details (Trixie still keeping the assistant position open and her being fine with Spike coming). Everything else, we already knew and most of the chapter felt either like filler (where it wasn’t needed as we already had plenty of fluff to lighten the tone earlier) or bashing us over the head with things you thought we missed. This chapter could’ve easily started at the end of the conversation (bleeding in the two details) and Spike walking in on the kiss. Still, it was fun.
Anyways, wow, Thorax, do you even know Spike? Why would you think that he wouldn’t stick with you after everything’s over? And then there was
Umm, negativity? He was 100% right on how she acted last time and has been essentially emotionally abused by her and her actions for four moons... I really hope Thorax realizes how hurt Spike is soon. He’s become so self righteous and dense that he doesn’t even register Spike’s pain or painfully obvious actions, only focusing on his attitude. Heck, he hasn’t even realized that short of memory wipes, things literally can not go back to the way they were between Twilight and Spike, even if they do make up (after what would probably be a very long and very difficult climb).
Edit: I do prefer the talky chapters. I would prefer them to go on for awhile and have more after the climax, though preferably without too much filler.
I'm waiting for Thorax to suddenly realise that he is influencing Spike unconsciously in some way. I've seen ideas about Changeling pheromones before, allowing them to control a conversation. Though that idea is also very familiar..
8456977
Because he's evil. Duh.
8457004
Yes, PLEASE. I agree!
8457042
I wish I could write as detailed dialogue as the author, BUT if I did, I would scale it back it with the pacing in mind. I mentioned it back a few chapters and while I got a few negative votes for it, she herself admitted her pacing suffers. Sorry Scyphi, but the next chapters I am going to skim for lengthy dialogue and skip them. It just doesn't seem like you've learned to cut them down and balance them out yet. You don't NEED to address everything you think will be missed, y'know.
8457042
You are a pessimistic one.
8457198
How so?
This string of ship chapters is starting to give me renal cancer.
And I'm not talking about the airship if you know what I mean.
I see Spike's main goal is to keep Thorax relatively safe and unharmed. Plus, given Thorax's track record of major risk taking, Spike has a pretty decent reason to be wary of any ties to Trixie. And coupled with his previous history with her, his reasoning would be strengthened. Though I'm pretty sure that neither of them has the full story on each other's thoughts.
8456977
The Author is Flash Sentry:
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/991/732/2cf.png
Either you think that Spike isn't okay and he's going to show he isn't at the worst possible time, undermining you or getting into a fight...
Or you think that Spike is basically rolling over because he's already given up and he's putting you too far in front of his own needs, and you're worried on his behalf because it seems like the reason he's okay with this is because he's given up, not because he's actually alright with it.
8457093
Oh shit, or that. Thorax didn't ask for that.
I really enjoy character development, but at this point I have to admit that things have slowed down a bit too much. I would and do enjoy any of the past chapters on their own, but we have a grand climactic espionage-cross-potential-battle up ahead that was set up for a while back, and we're getting a string of long character moments instead. Like, I did really like seeing Thorax and Trixie connect here, and Trixie overcoming her apprehension. But the story's losing its urgency, or feels like this segment's dragging on too long; this isn't a good time for this volume of character interactions, even if in terms of causality this was the first time you could get these characters together. That's not feedback I like to give, but at this point you might want to reconsider your pace.
Great story but this really is dragging on, i enjoyed their time in vanhoover but this is just non stop character development.
No offense just my thoughts
8457509
I agree
Sorry if it sounded like a mean comment Scyphi
8457011
At this point, I have four guesses for the ending
Best ending - Celestia and Luna annex the hive and Spike, Fly Leaf, and Thorax move back to Vanhoover to a hero's welcome!
Second best ending - Thorax becomes King of the hive and Spike either stays with him or stays with Fly Leaf (while keeping close contact with Thorax, of course)
"Ok" ending: Thorax becomes King and Spike moves back to Ponyville, either in his own house or with another of the Mane 6.
Worst ending: Spike moves back in with Twilight. Nothing would make me rescind my upvote faster than "I forgive you for horrifying racism, trying to start a war to justify said racism, deliberately abandoning me in the snow to freeze to death, trying to blow up my airship, forcing me to live in constant fear for months, and manipulating most of the country, including the Royal Sisters, to go along with this simply because I was a bit of a dick at the royal wedding."
Maybe they can have a friendly relationship a few years down the road, but no way in hell should Spike even consider moving in again.
I going to echo what has already said: the pacing is getting bad. You were ramping it up nicely but now you are dragging it on way too long while waiting for the climax. Sometimes less is more...
yeah it dragging on dude this should been cut out or shorten I mean pacing is getting worse dude and I'm guessing next chapter will end with them actually making it there which will annoy most really
8457302
From a guy who likes Flash Sentry and hates Sunset Shimmer, (I'm not kidding) I disagree. But that's my opinion. I don't know why people are against my comment, as I really like the TrixieXThorax stuff going on right now, but uh...eh, whatever. I'm just waiting for the next chapter now.
8457687
I so hope that's the ending. That is definitely the one I want.
I love the talky parts!
Also curses, we almost had some cheesebug-on-smokebomb-wielding smooches!
Another great feelings chapter! Xd
From this point on the climax of the story starts to reach bursting point. I'm so EXCITED!!!!
8457706
Guess that picture might have been too vague compared to what I was trying to get. There wasn't a good picture about it with ponies, let alone spike. Basically, the Author was Cockblocking them. That's all there is to it.
8457687
My only issue with that is that Fly Leaf ends up alone again. She literally put her life on the line and risked years of prison to save Spike and Thorax. I would be very disappointed if she doesn't have a happy ending with the boys.
On an unrelated note, I would like to break the routine a little and say that I have no problem with the pacing whatsoever. For me, all of the buildup and character development makes it all the more critical when things get heavy. Being involved in all of the waiting and idle conversation makes us identify with the characters more and makes it really seem like we're along for the ride instead of just reading about it. It's what makes this story so unique and it's why this story makes me stressed and giddy with anticipation every Friday. (In a good way) Also, Considering how long we all have been waiting for this finale, the last thing I would like to see is it being rushed.
too be honest well ember had a point about spike going with whatever thorax says to be unhealthy, i find the flaw is equal on both sides. thorax kinda flatly considers only his side of things as of late, he places his opinions and ideals above spikes entirely and it comes across as a bit... ungrateful? i mean spikes no angel here but thorax's lack of perspective is getting slightly to the point of worrying.
8458059
Why are you reading this story if you hate the decisions the author is making? I think it's clear he is doibg his own thing.
8457004
What the heck are they even supposed to do when they get there? Chrysalis has sewn things up very tightly for her subjects. She has captured their most dangerous enemies and transformed Equestria from a terrible threat to a rich feeding ground that should ensure Changeling prosperity for the foreseeable future.
Thorax, on the other hand, has nothing to offer as an alternative. He's there to destroy the ancient artifact protecting them, unleash a pack of vengeful adversaries into their midst, steal their food, and metaphorically sow their fields with salt, all in the name of embracing a philosophy that his own personal experience has shown to be wildly impractical. If it comes down to a debate, all Chrysalis would have to do is point at his backstory and ask her subjects if they want to live like that, in hiding under constant fear of capture.
8459088
That's completely besides the point.
8459088
That's part of the point, though. The changelings have artifically made Equestria a threat when it doesn't have to be a threat at all to them, and Thorax has more or less proven that by sowing the seeds of eventually getting that acceptance. It's true, he's not there yet, but he's getting closer, especially if he has allies like Starlight and Ember that will stand up and oppose the deniers like Twilight. and the fact he's just gotten that far when most changelings believe it wasn't doable testifies to a lot.
Chrysalis and the others, however, prefer to keep demonizing Equestria and keep themselves continuously fighting for survival. And conquering Equestria is only a short-term gain; they will still be left with threats to themselves, those that oppose their actions, and still have to live in fear of it all coming undone just the same. Thus the counterargument to that is that do you really want to constantly fight for food, or have the food be freely given to you in peace, so you don't have to fight?
Besides...I firmly believe Chrysalis was never in this for some "greater good" of the hive, and was only using that as a convenient and slightly thin excuse. She's just in it for the power this would naturally give her and only her.
8458990
I... Don't hate the story? I posted a meme picture in response to someone else's dislike of the cockblocking to be funny? Did you even mean to link my name and not someone else's?
Sorry Thorax, but Spike already mentioned he has no intentions to return to his life in Ponyville or either forgive Twilight, her friends, not even Armor or the princesses. If all ends well, he'll either return to his new life in Vanhoover or either return to the dragon lands with Ember.
8459261
I've been seening a lot of your previous comments from previous chapters for while and from the way you comment certain characters being represented, you certainly sound like it and not one of them seems to be positive.
8459264
Ah, my older posts. Hmm. Honestly, I can't remember most of them.
8457042
On Spike's writings...apparently it was obvious to all of you readers after all, but to be fair, I have no way of knowing that if none of you actually comment on the matter in any way at all, so I think I could be forgiven for assuming otherwise and reacting accordingly at least a little on that.
As for the rest of the chapter and it being either redundant or filler-ish...I thought you might be on to something after reading your comment, and if that meant I could speed things along, I was game to go through and cut things out, maybe even thin this chapter out enough I could justify combining it with the next (
). But in reviewing the chapter and comparing it to past chapters, I'm not finding it all that redundant, actually, and only found one small segment that was basically repeating past material, not enough to really make a real difference. A key part of this chapter is Trixie and Thorax discussing their misgivings and fears about their plan and what might happen if those fears became a reality. Spike and Ember voiced some similar misgivings last chapter, but Trixie herself only hinted to the matter in passing herself, never going to any great detail like we do here, and Thorax has up to now voiced little about his own fears in returning to the hive...and personally I felt it pertinent to discuss all this and the point of views of these specific characters, both then when I wrote it, and still now. And that's a fair section of the chapter right there.
As for it being filler-ish, the only really especially filler-ish moment is the beginning few paragraphs where Thorax and Trixie are playing their game namely Sky Trek entries, which true isn't in any way critical to the story, but it is still fun, demonstrates the sort of relationship they've developed, and above all shows they've basically looped back to where they had started before--past obstacles brought up with Trixie finding out Thorax is a changeling have largely been set aside. I felt it important to convey that for the reader. I'll grant that, because it's all a big reference to Star Trek though, something I do have a soft spot for, I probably carried it on longer than I needed, but, other than that...
The rest of any and all filler is more just transitional fluff when shifting from one subject to another, which has always been present in the story, and helps make those transitions feel more like natural conversation. Removing them, by my count, wouldn't have shortened the chapter or sped things along all that terribly much, and frankly I'm not sure how I would without making the chapter more...clunky.
So in the end, I'm not finding terribly lot that would be worthwhile cutting out, at least not for me. I mean, I suppose I could cut out about the first half the of the chapter and not have it mess with my plans for the story too terribly much, but I still feel like it'd be losing something that you wouldn't get anywhere else in the story. So at the moment I feel more inclined to leave it as is.
But I did seriously consider it, and I agree with you and several other commenters...things are dragging on longer than I want them to. Heck, I, too, am pretty much done with this section of the story myself, as I've been stuck editing and editing them continuously trying to get them right, and I've just about reached the point where I just say "screw it, I'm just proceeding with what I've already got and that'll just have to be good enough." I'm so ready for the more dramatic and climatic scenes awaiting once they arrive at the hive, and I just want to get on with it too...it's just I know I can't overlook some of this other stuff too, not if I want to get the full effect I'm shooting for. If there's a better way to present it all, I'd love to find it and exploit it, but thus far I haven't found one.
I could cut out the next two chapters without compromising the story...but that's not final yet, and I'm reluctant to do so for the same reasons I'm reluctant to cut out anything in this chapter--I feel it'd loose something in the process.
You know what's ironic about all of this, though? All the continuous editing on this section of the story and part of what has made it drag on for far longer than planned...pretty much all happened in direct response to your previous criticisms on the story and me responding to try and resolve them.
I'm not blaming you in the slightest, though, and in fact have come to be very appreciative of the criticisms--it was stuff I needed to hear and at least try to address. And to be sure, next story of this type that I attempt, I will be keeping all of this in mind so to try and avoid putting myself in this sort of situation again.
Honestly, I think my biggest error in this whole story was that I didn't plan it out quite as well as I could've. But, you live and learn.
As for the bit on Thorax's reaction to Spike's negativity...that's more a lingering relic that got missed in editing from an older approach to this section of the story that I've since mostly abandoned. I suppose it's still loosely relevant to the story?...But I wouldn't read too much into it, or at least not too literally.
8459276
No duh.
Then cut them out! or condense the next chapter to halve the length of the current length of the two and combine into one
This is your biggest flaw as a writer you have no idea when to cut... you are too close to the material to see make objective decisions... so your pacing can suffer
While this story remains in SOL territory your fine... this flaw is easy to mask in a SOL story... The moment it goes Adventure... you are a complete wreck the climax and the immediate build up to it is not the time for world building and long winded character development. Your pacing prior to the 'beginning' of the season finale was to the most part spot on(bit too heavy on thorax but still good) but then you pulled a reverse LOTR:ROTK which botched the ending (don't get me wrong the series is a masterpiece but that last book really should have cut out everything from the crowning of the king to when Frodo departs for the Undying Lands... we didn't need the burning of the shire nor the long winded goodbyes for.... every... single... character...)
Show not tell... a really bad useless cliche... Sometimes it better for the story for us to need to fill in the blank ourselves. You should have been asking, especially the past few chapters, does this advance the plot in a meaningful way? When you did the trek bit in breaking the ice, yes... Trixie was legitimately having issues with is it all a lie and having her doubt Thorax now would be a very bad thing. But doing that same bit again this chapter, no. It was filler when we don't need it.
The huge section in Breaking Ice that had starlight and thorax taking about the biology of changelings is nice but is that really necessary especially now? Sure it would be nice for all of to know these things but leave most of that out for a companion book or something... You know where the writer writes an encyclopedia on all the little tidbits that build the world but would end up being info dumping pacing dragging boring in the story... You should have cut that all out and started right when starlight apologized for coming on board yada yada... I know you meant to do that earlier but it's too late now...
you worry that if you don't stuff it in all now that the ending won't have the impact you need. That's crap... total crap. that line of thinking is what cause so many sequels to great stories to fall flat. Let's compare spider man 2 to 3? spider man 1 and 2 had one villain 1 1! but spider man 3 had lets see... 1...2...3... possibly 4 depending on how you view 'emo spiderman' there is no time to develop these characters properly! you either need more time to develop them and no one wants to watch a 5 hours movie to do that or you rush it and it losses the impact it could have had... This is a story about spike and thorax spike and thorax not ember, starlight, trixie, star trek, changeling biology... keep it focus on spike and thorax. Yes you need to touch bases with the other characters but don't lose focus. Not now. Not at the end.
There are inherent flaws that comes with any story that is released and written in pieces like this even if planned out in advance(pacing being the biggest, followed by the premise shifting dramatically for good or bad)... Some writers/stories do better than others.... you are one of the better ones I have read.
8459276
Yeah, the natural transitions worked very well earlier in the story, but the current part is on a deadline. One place where I think you hamstrung yourself is having the hive be a day away, as it basically forces everything to be settled in a short period of time without being able to break it up. With hindsight, I'd say either have the trip take multiple days (with them running into the changelings in the middle, maybe have them need to stock supplies) or have the planning stage take place before heading towards the hive would’ve helped. Maybe having the ship have a malfunction and them needing to detour (maybe with a tense scene trying to get the parts with potential changelings or guards in town) would help spread the scenes and add some tension/action to break it up.
As for Trixie, for me it seemed like everything we learned about her this chapter was stuff we already knew, as it was hinted at very strongly, to the point where I thought it was already stated (hence the beating us over the head comment). Then again, I’m probably a little bit more invested than average, so I may be off on how much of it the average reader got.
One thing you need to be very careful with is tone management. Fluffy scenes can be great for breaking up the tension in longer build ups, giving the audience time to catch our breath before building it back up, but too much can desensitize us to other attempts at tension. We’ve already had it broken up quite a few times (the custom Thorax scene, Starlight interrogating Trixie, Trixie and Spike, every time Ember shows up) to the point where I didn’t even feel any tension when Trixie and Thorax were discussing their fears (though part of that is because I felt as though we already knew almost everything there).
My recommendation going forward is either have something go wrong on the way to give the characters more time to breath (and add some tension and/or action to help break up the talky scenes, plus adds more tension as the hive would potentially be on higher guard as Julius didn’t arrive), or cut some (not all) of the lighter parts to have tension gradually build towards the rescue. Think of which conflicts you want resolved or continued before the rescue and try to balance the tone around those (and a final psyche up before the rescue or however you plan to lead into it included). Space out the comedic and light scenes when the tension is thick so that it still feels like progress is made without pushing things too far in either tension (becoming too dramatic) or too light (feeling like fluff and filler). At this point, we already know the characters very well, so more of the focus pre rescue should be on conflicts. That’s my two cents anyways.
8459470
I agree 100% with this recommendation(and its written better then mine
)
8459276
I would like to say that there are readers here, like myself, that do like these chapters though. I like the chapters where you just have characters interact and grow with each other compared to the tense, action chapters. I'm just saying that you don't have to rush because a bunch of commenters want you to rush. Take your time author. If these next chapters of talking are important, then we'll read them before things go sideways in the story.
8459201
I'm not saying that Thorax is wrong, but that the circumstances are not lending themselves to his favor. There's still a wanted poster out for him in Pony Land. He was banished and had to live in hiding. Cooperation requires a willing partner and he has next to no evidence that Equestria would be that partner.
8459757
It’s not a case of liking this style of chapter or not. Personally, I enjoy them a lot more than action, but this is very poor placing. It’s been less than a day since Starlight and Trixie arrived. Since then, we had Spike getting pissed, the changelings being tricked by Thorax, the planning, Starlight interacting one on one with everyone, Spike doing the same, and 4 Thorax and Trixie conversations. We still have the Spike Thorax conflict to progress as well (unless that’s being saved for during the rescue), plus anything else that may come up (more Spike and Trixie seems likely, as does Spike and Starlight).
The issue is that the planning scene happened the day before the rescue, and the rescue is in the morning. We had the rescue built up and ready to go, most of the conflicts being resolved (or as resolved as they can get) during the wait, and everything ready to go (sans maybe a final psyche up or dread build up), the rescue only hours away, and we get more fluff, killing the tension and pacing. A lot of the focus on the character drama also lacked the background feeling of tension for the rescue (with how terrified everyone is, very little of it bled into the interactions except when directly talking about it) and some is even redundant information. Heck, we have three shifts left before morning (presumably when Thorax has to navigate the last bit and land, they need as much rest as possible after all) with Thorax and Trixie off to bed. What can you even put in two chapters to fill that timeframe? Spike and Ember could interact some more, as can Starlight with the two of them (maybe a small scene with Thorax and Trixie cuddling), but how much of it would push the characters forward? We’ve already gotten enough tension lightening fluff (arguably too much as it didn’t convey background tension) so any more feels like filler, especially since we’ve been primed for the rescue.
8460041
I know, trust me. But, this is how the author has written it. I know it feels like filler, but if this is what the author is writing right now and in this order, then that's how its gonna be. And I'm fine with that, unlike others. I just did the comment because I want the author to know that we still support what he's writing. Its kinda hard to see support for this when there's nothing but complaining over this in the comments.
8456977 8458059
You know, it was actually you readers that gave me the idea for that...way back in the chapter where Thorax and Trixie were first meeting, there were several comments predicting that Spike was going to walk in on the two making out, or about to. And I thought to myself "eh, not ready to go that far just yet here in the story...but I do know a good spot later on where I could..."
I guess that just goes to show your guys' comments do indeed get read and considered as I continue to write.
8457093
An interesting idea.
8457135
Apparently, yes, it does seem to keep coming back to that.
8457541
It will be interesting to see your reaction to the actual ending, then...
8460039
Well at any rate, never fear...I already have plans for addressing all of this in due time.
8460160
The thing is that a majority of readers have been commenting on it, and I've found when the majority are in agreement, they're usually right. And they are, there is a pacing problem, and I've been aware of it for some weeks now, but have already took all the means I could think of to speed it up where I could...or so I thought. Having been reviewing all of these comments has made me see that what happened was that I was probably too stubborn to really consider all the options I could've taken so to improve all of this...and now it's too late to come up with a "clean fix."
8459456 8460041
The other problem is not just disputing over what is or is not relevant to the story, though but also the fact that these next two chapters that I could or could not cut from the story entirely I have spent literal weeks writing and fine-tuning to try and get right, and have finally got them where I want...just in time to face the prospect of not using them at all after all...which naturally feels like I just spent all that time and work for nothing, and have nothing to show for it.
Worse, is that it'll leave me with pretty much no buffer of completed chapters to work with as well, as assuming I did cut those two chapters, that'd only leave one left that's in anyway written, and it's not even complete yet. So I also have to consider that choosing to cut out these could also very well mean goodbye to regular posting schedule and in all likelihood, a greater gap between chapters that are probably only going to get posted more irregularly.
So it sort of boils down to the question of--what do you really want more?
That's where I am at at the moment.
I have decided for the moment to leave this new chapter alone, since it's already posted and been read and all that. For now, I'll instead review the other chapters following it, see what I can trim out without defeating the point of that chapter's existence, and go from there.
As I said before, a large part of me is about ready push it all aside and just keep posting as planned, regardless of criticisms, because I've spent weeks tweaking this section of story and am frankly ready to just be done with it, push it aside, sink or swim, and just get on with writing the rest of the story now, because I'm eager to get to the parts with the hive and beyond too.
Sorry if that sounds short-tempered or unappreciative, because I do appreciate the criticisms, I'm just frustrated at the unfavorable position it's left me, and I'm coming to realize I could very easily have no one to blame but myself.
8460041
*cough* *cough*
8460335
Please release those chapters. If you spent a ton of time on them, go ahead. Don't ever throw away a ton of hard work, especially if they're important to your story. Unless you know that they're completely unnecessary, then release them. Don't ever sacrifice important plot points because others want you to get to what they want. Do what you want.
Also, you could always combine the chapters if you want. That way you show that the stuff is happening faster.
8460358
Oh, I would love to see that.
First off all a good chapter. Too many people only say what they don`t like and miss to indicate that this are only small parts of a big and great story like in this case.
At the beginning of their airship escape I feared that you would drop too much of the slice of life and would finish too suddenly. As some people already have said the pacing is now more slowed down again maybe even a little bit too much. But I personally prefer good character development. Better a good character development than just rush everything.
In regard of the relationship between Thorax and Spike I have to say, that personally I would not have thought that Thorax would just plan to walk away from Spike that fast if he gets the chance. I mean they had the most time of their trip only each other, and now he would rather stay at the book shop or travel with Trixie instead of sticking together with Spike if he should go back to Ponyville. I mean his main objective was to make friends and now he would rather join a moving show who will stay not long in any place. That is hardly a good chance to really befriend any ponies besides Trixie.
Well maybe I am just a little bit biased I was not that much of a Trixie fan from the beginning and it feels a little bit as if she does more or less cause these friends to drift apart. Like in these cliché groups where suddenly one of the long-time members is gone after he got a girl-friend.
I mean after the rescue Thorax should be accepted, and then there is only Spikes problems left with Twilight and the others which will not just fly suddenly away. And Thorax will surely help him at the beginning but eventually he will probably move on with Trixie. Or Spike follows them and is more or less like a fifth wheel on the car. But maybe I just look at it to negative. I am curious how you will continue and of course how it will end.
I believe that is one of the longest comments I have ever written here on this side.
8461101
Celestia clearly means equal in terms of social rank. Even Luna isn't truly equal in terms of authority in Equestria, and Celestia would have to be incredibly stupid to give Twilight anything resembling that sort of partial-absolute authority given her repeatedly demonstrated lack of maturity and poor judgement. Twilight is a young adult at best, brave and good-hearted but also naive and inexperienced, prone to snap judgements and in her case also dangerously obsessive-compulsive.