Refreshments
Of course, this unexpected event completely disrupted the services, but Fly Leaf, thinking quickly as always, announced that the services were now a wake in Thorax’s honor, and they all adjourned into a nearby dining room where refreshments were already planned to be served. There, everyone, pony and changeling alike, continued to mingle. At first it was done very hesitantly and cautiously, with both sides generally sticking with their respective group. No one was entirely sure still how they should be proceeding. But gradually as they started to warm up to the idea, they began to interact more and more freely and increasingly intermix. It wasn’t long before they had evenly spread out across the room, looking like any other pony gathering, except now there were changelings mixed in as well.
It was such a surprising sight that Fly Leaf, Spike, and Trixie still couldn’t help but stand to one side and stare once they finished ushering everyone into the room. Trixie, in fact, had done nothing but gape in silence ever since the changelings had revealed themselves, looking so stunned that Spike was starting to think her brain had become incapable of doing anything else.
At last, she broke the trend, though far from impressively. “Somebody pinch me,” she muttered aloud.
So Spike quietly reached over and pinched the furry flesh of her foreleg between his claws.
“Ow!” Trixie yelped before holding up her leg to look down at it. She then looked back up at the crowd filling the room before holding the leg out to Spike. “Do it again—Trixie’s still not sure she’s actually awake.” Spike obliged immediately. “Ow!”
While Trixie proceeded to rub at her sore leg, Spike surveyed the mingling changelings and ponies before him and shook his head, understanding Trixie’s disbelief. “If I weren’t seeing this take place with my own two eyes…” he murmured aloud.
“It’s a miracle is what it is,” Fly interjected, moving between them and wrapping a hoof around their shoulders. “Personally, I wouldn’t question it…just cherish it happened at all.”
Spike had to grin a little at that. “Yeah,” he sighed peacefully.
Fly then pulled Trixie aside to assist with bringing all of the refreshments out of the attached kitchen, leaving Spike free to drift aimlessly through the room, taking in this sight more up close. The changelings were, naturally, quite eager about this opportunity to both portray themselves in a better light and work to befriend and get to know the ponies better—of the latter, Spike saw a number of changelings engrossed in discussion over the finer traits of pony society and it made him realize there was plenty the changelings still didn’t know or understand very well about Equestria despite having had such a close association with it for so long. On the other hoof, there was still a timid sense among the ponies as they, much like Spike, worked to grasp that this was actually happening, but Spike saw plenty of them were in deep conversation with a changeling (sometimes more than one) and actively learning more about the changelings too, just like the changelings were learning about them. A spark of intrigue was a common sight in many of their eyes, like they were only just now realizing there was far more to either side than they previously thought…something Spike knew was a distinct possibility. It made Spike wonder if he had ever had a similar spark in his own eyes whenever Thorax conversed over changeling culture, which in turn made him reminisce about bygone times.
“Aw, Thorax,” Spike had to mumble under his breath not for the first time, “I wish you could be a part of this too.”
Of course, those weren’t the only things being discussed. As Spike filed through the group, several were quick to pull him into the conversation, eager to learn more about Spike’s time with Thorax and more details of about the changeling’s life than the brief summary Spike gave at the podium earlier. Though he wasn’t eager to delve too deeply into the story for fear of the emotions it’d only dredge up, Spike initially worked to humor those who asked with a few additional details. At least up until a nearby changeling, trying to be helpful, piped in with a detail Spike had overlooked and made him realize the changelings present were all mostly aware of the full story themselves, so Spike thereafter started to direct those who asked to the changelings, partly in an attempt to promote friendly interaction with them, and partly so to avoid having to get into the nitty-gritty details himself.
Along the way though, he did inquire to a trio of changelings as to what made them all decide to publically reveal themselves like this. He quickly assured that he didn’t have any problems with it, especially since it appeared to be working out for them, but the fact they all chose to do this and all within fairly quick succession of each other left Spike wondering if it had been planned in advance, or at least was an action that was already being heavily considered. To his surprise though, he was assured that wasn’t the case at all.
“The idea of putting ourselves out in the open like that had to have been the furthest thing from our minds at the time,” one of the changelings explained to Spike. “None of us came here with the intention of doing anything…daring or profound. We just came because we wanted to…show support.” The changeling then shrugged. “But I guess it didn’t turn out that way, did it?”
“It’s just…everyling else was standing up to do it,” another changeling added and shrugged too. “There was some part of me that thought we were all mad, exposing ourselves like this. I mean, I hoped we can make friends with the ponies too someday because there are clear benefits to it, but I didn’t think it’d be today. Yet in that moment…it just…just…”
“…felt right,” the third changeling finished simply.
Spike turned this all over in his head. “Miracle indeed,” he mumbled under his breath then studied the three changelings before him. “The idea just came to you all that suddenly and out of the blue?”
“Well, I don’t know about out of the blue,” the first changeling remarked, and with a grin, gave Spike a playful nudge. “What you were saying up there certainly helped. At least it sure was…inspiring.”
“Yeah, but when I said I wanted to see an audience where changelings didn’t have to hide to be in it, I didn’t mean right that second,” Spike retorted back, but then averted his gaze, feeling put on the spot. “At least…I didn’t think I was being…that profound…”
“Sure seemed like it at the time,” the third changeling noted aloud.
Spike had to grin a little at that. “Well…I guess I can’t complain, either way,” he conceded finally and motioned to the three undisguised changelings standing in a crowd with ponies. “I mean…just look at you all. I’m glad that whatever brought this about…it seems to be working.” His grin grew a little. “And yeah…this was something I wanted to see…thank you for making it happen.” He wiped a claw over one eye to hide the tear that was trying to slip down his cheek. “It’s…it’s helped.”
They didn’t just discuss about the events of the day though, as present affairs back at the hive also came up, which Spike was pleased to learn were more or less stabilizing. At the very least, the changelings had fallen into a new routine adequate enough to get them through day-to-day business since the Enlightenment. The rate had slowed considerably, but there were still lingering changelings that were becoming reformed even now. And they had all been managing without a queen directing them on everything, starting to piece together something akin to a replacement form of government…though there was still debate on whether or not any one changeling would be proclaimed their overall leader. Spike also learned that Princess Celestia was still at the hive, assisting with all of this, and was told she was being very helpful. This pleased Spike to hear a little, as it told him that Celestia was still taking all of this seriously and was truly trying to make it up to the hive for what had happened.
He additionally found out why there were so many changelings here in the first place. As there were still as-yet unaccounted for and unreformed changelings out there in the world that weren’t present at the hive at the time of the Enlightenment, there had been changelings sent out to discreetly search for them in hopes of bringing them peacefully back to the hive. It was while one of these operatives was in the area searching that he learned that additional services for Thorax were to be held, and sent word back to the hive. It reached the hive fairly last minute though, so there wasn’t enough time for every changeling to come, which was part of the reason why there actually weren’t more changelings here today—though everyone agreed that this was probably for the better, for a variety of reasons.
Because of how last minute it was for the changelings though, Spike was told, upon asking, that Thorax’s clutchmate Synthorax had remained at the hive. He had wanted to come, but he was too caught up in hive affairs to be able to pull away long enough to visit. Apparently, Synthorax’s eagerness to take up Thorax’s cause and aid the hive had earned him a role as one of a group of changelings serving as a sort of managing council in the hive, helping to fill in for the position of queen until something more permanent could be set up. The other changelings had taken to jokingly referring to this council as their “many-headed queen,” and to its individual members as “councilings,” but all wordplay aside, the changelings seem satisfied enough with the council’s efforts to manage the hive and their efforts to change it for the better (currently, the council’s biggest task was to finish weaning the hive off its supply of captured prey so said prey could be set free as part of their turning over a new leaf).
At any rate, though Synthorax could not be here in person, he had still asked that a message to be passed on to Spike giving his respects, which Spike returned by requesting the same be relayed back to him, as well as remind the changeling that he was free to send Spike a letter at any time.
Spike also met with a number of the ponies in the crowd, but most of their comments were largely the giving of the sympathy for Spike’s loss. Though some, like the changelings, expressed praise for Spike’s words earlier and would often wish him luck in his quest to fulfill those goals. Others simply wished to tell Spike of the mark Thorax had left on themselves too. Ragg was such a pony, who recalled how he nearly had gotten Thorax arrested, yet the two still had come to trust each other surprisingly well afterwards, leaving Ragg thinking of Thorax as a good friend himself and sad to see him gone. Spike also met with Monterey Jack, the cheese shop owner, and the two discussed Thorax’s love of cheese. When Spike mentioned how Thorax had devised his own cheese, Thornton Cheese, Monterey expressed interest in the recipe so to make and distribute the cheese himself at his shop, “as a salute to our friend.” Spike still hadn’t found Thorax’s recipe for the cheese, but certain the changeling had it written down somewhere in Fly’s shop, Spike promised to give a copy to Monterey as soon as he had found it.
By this time, the refreshments had been brought out and set up on one side of the room, and the group started migrating in that direction to see what the spread was like. Spike was especially curious, because while both Fly Leaf and Trixie had spent most of the final day of preparations in Fly’s kitchen cooking all of the food, Spike hadn’t been permitted to see or learn what any of the food was going to be at Fly’s request. She kept saying she wanted to surprise him, so Spike was eager to find out at last just what this apparent surprise was supposed to be. When he arrived, he found the food choices were divided into two groups on a long table with a white tablecloth draped over it—one half for a main course dish, and the other for a dessert dish.
The main dish was several trays worth of funeral potatoes, while the dessert was several homemade cherry pies, all fresh and hot.
Recalling that first dinner they had with her, Spike had to laugh at Fly Leaf’s tongue-in-cheek salute to Thorax, and was further amused to note that apparently Thorax wasn’t the only one who liked Fly’s cherry pie—several of the changelings present seemed to be quite taken with it, and Spike saw there were already some in line for seconds (if not more still). He briefly wondered if he should be concerned about any of the changelings overeating and giving themselves stomachaches like Thorax would’ve, but then saw there probably wasn’t enough pie to go around for that to be too much danger, and anyway, it seemed to be putting the changelings in an even better mood than they were before. So Spike cheerily shrugged his shoulders and let the changelings be. Instead, he helped himself to a heaping serving of the funeral potatoes onto a plate and snagged a slice of pie before it was all gone. While he proceeded to nibble on the food, feeling in good spirits, he started to turn and survey the room again, wondering where to head next.
It was then that he heard someone clear their throat behind him. “Hello, Spike.”
Spike paused for a moment, recognizing the voice. Slowly, he turned around to face Cadance and Shining Armor standing behind him, both looking uncomfortable and sullen—they were perfectly aware of how this might go.
Spike, however, just stood there for a second, chewing on his food as he quietly looked the royal couple up and down. He sighed. “I was starting to wonder if you two were ever going to come and do this.”
Cadance winced and averted her gaze. “We weren’t sure of when the right time to do it might be,” she hastily said, attempting to explain themselves. “I mean…a lot’s happened, and…we’re all hurting from it, so we figured it might be better if we instead backed off and let you be for a bit…after all, we do know what happened between you and Twilight…not to say you weren’t justified, of course, it’s just…well…”
“We’re sorry, Spike,” Shining abruptly interrupted, cutting right to the point in a very serious voice. “Deeply sorry…we…we messed up. Epically. And…we hurt you in the process, and…” Shining raised a hoof to rub the back of his neck, his eyes turning sad. “…we’re sorry. You were right. We weren’t.” He shook his head, looking disappointed in himself. “We should’ve listened to you. But…we were too caught up in our own fears to…to hear what you were trying to say, and…we chased away someone who, by the sounds of it, could’ve been a great ally and a friend.”
“He was,” Spike confirmed with a solemn nod. He gazed at his plate of food for a moment. “If it helps though…he never took it too personally.”
Cadance continued to keep her gaze averted, unable to look Spike in the eye. “I suppose he understood what we were thinking when we…acted as we did,” she reasoned aloud.
“Hay, even I understood what you two were thinking,” Spike admitted, looking up abruptly. “The last changelings you two met replaced one of you and threw you into long-forgotten crystal caves with scant supplies and poor treatment, while the other was tricked, brainwashed, and nearly overfed upon, and then, to top it all off, tried to invade the country’s capital on your wedding day.” He rolled his eyes, sympathizing a little. “After getting put through all of that, I’m not sure if even I could’ve been able to readily trust a changeling like that.” He hung his head, recalling the events that had gone down in the Crystal Empire. “Still…I’m sure my actions to try and force you guys to listen probably didn’t help.”
“I won’t hear any of that, Spike,” Shining interrupted and sighed. “All of that is no excuse. The fact of the matter was that we were the very last ponies to be trying to make any sort of judgment call on the matter. We should’ve, at the very least, simply held you there and turned the matter over to somepony else like Celestia or Luna to judge…but we didn’t.” He sighed, running his hoof through his mane. He was getting himself rather worked up about this. “And then I sent you both out on your own into the frozen wastes like an idiot, expecting nothing to go wrong with that…not only was that stupid tactics for me as a soldier, I was so convinced that Thorax wasn’t acting alone that I thought for sure there was a whole swarm of those changelings out there somewhere in hiding, who’d snag you both up while leading us right to them…or so I was thinking in my head at the time, so we were all thinking. I didn’t even really think about the danger that would put you in as a changeling captive even if that was true, then when we learned instead that it wasn’t, and I had just sent you out into dangerous territory where you could’ve frozen to death…” Shining averted his gaze, eyes squeezed shut. “…that still keeps me up at night to this day.”
A heavy silence fell between them for a moment.
“Spike…as horrible as it sounds, I honestly can’t blame you for hating us right now,” Cadance said, picking up the lengthy apology from her husband. “But…we still wanted you to know…we are extremely sorry for what happened, and…I don’t know if we can ever succeed, but…we do want to try and…right the wrongs we’ve made however we can.” She trailed off, watching Spike and awaiting his reaction. When he didn’t give one right away, she grew antsy. “Please say something, Spike.”
Spike ultimately could only shrug. “You know, I won’t forget your guys’ role in all of this,” he began. “But, you know…right now…I’m finding that I just can’t get all that mad at you two. Not with what happened today and we’re standing right in the middle of.” He motioned to the crowd of intermingling changelings and ponies filling the room and managed a small grin at the sight. “You just can’t take away this good mood I’m in right now.” He glanced over at them. “Would you really want to, anyway?”
Both Cadance and Shining shook their heads, but they didn’t seem reassured at all. “It’s still no excuse,” Shining insisted. “We still wronged you.”
“Yeah, so what do you want me to do about it?” Spike asked helplessly. “Repeat what I initially did with Twilight? Shout at you? Call you names? Throw rocks at you?” He studied them for a moment, watching them as they shifted awkwardly and kept silent. Spike sighed. “You know, I do have my issues with Twilight right now, but still I regret doing all of that to her,” he confessed. “It didn’t help anyone, didn’t help us get any closer to making anything even remotely better, and…it certainly didn’t make me the better dragon for it. No matter how mad I was at the time…I should’ve tried harder to keep it civil around her so we could at least talk it out. So no matter how much you two might think you deserve it…I don’t want to repeat that mistake again. I let myself get into a very dark place back then…and maybe I had good reason…but I sure as hay am not proud of it.”
Another long silence fell between them as they awkwardly stood about, unsure how to continue. Suddenly remembering his plate of food, Spike took a few more bites off of it. “Is this why you both are here, anyway? To apologize?”
“Actually, we came to Vanhoover because we were returning the Vergilius as requested,” Shining explained and jerked his head in the vague direction of the airship field. “We also made arrangements to have it be housed indefinitely in its own hanger at the airfield at no cost to you, kept refueled and ready to takeoff at a moment’s notice if you ever need it.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Spike assured them.
Shining gave Spike a long look. “Yes we did.”
Cadance cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Anyway, while we were here, we heard word that you were holding services for Thorax…so we thought we’d attend too, both to show support and so we could…talk afterwards.” She turned her gaze at the changelings intermixed with the other attendees. “Admittedly, we weren’t expecting…all of this.”
“Yeah, that was all sort of…unplanned,” Spike admitted with a sheepish cough. “But uh…the changelings had other ideas. I didn’t even know they were going to be here either until we all arrived, and even then I didn’t realize there were so many of them until I was literally up there at the podium, speaking.” He shuffled his feet for a moment. “Sorry if what I said is, ah, going to cause any political troubles by the way,” he added. “I know, because of that inquiry thing going on, we were all supposed to not be discussing what happened with the public like this just yet…”
“Actually…I’m kind of glad you did,” Shining admitted with a heavy sigh. “It…needed to come out. And if those stuffy nobles in charge of the inquiry have any problems with it…frankly, they can just—”
“Shining,” Cadance interrupted in a warning tone.
“—deal with it,” Shining amended at the last second. He shrugged. “At any rate, I’m just more hoping they actually do the job they’re supposed to and not let any of us royals off too easy.”
“You think they might?” Spike asked, who actually hadn’t been getting that impression, but he also wasn’t in any close circles with the political members involved anymore.
“It’s hard to say right now,” Cadance admitted in explanation. “Obviously, they aren’t saying too much to us about where things stand right now…but, yes, there is that fear, at least for Shining and I.” Seeing Spike wasn’t following, she continued. “You see, currently they’re debating whether or not the officials in Canterlot are in the right to be the ones ruling, or if the Crystal Empire has enough autonomy to deserve being the ones to have that final say on our case. As you may recall, the Crystal Empire enjoys notably more self-sufficiency than other city states within Equestria, seeing it used to be completely independent of it back before Sombra.”
“I remember,” Spike assured, but was frowning. “I don’t understand though, why is this an issue?”
“Because the crystal ponies, bless their hearts, aren’t much for holding grudges,” Shining explained. “They’re admittedly more just relieved that this is all over and things can go back, more or less, to normal.” He motioned to Spike with one hoof. “They’ve already gone back to referring to you as Spike the Brave and Glorious, for example.”
“And the crystal ponies traditionally put great faith in their heroes and reigning rulers, almost to a fault,” Cadance added. “It’s…partly how King Sombra was able to maintain power in the first place even as he was demonstrating an increasing downward slide into evil.”
Spike eyebrows went up as he understood. “You’re afraid that, if it’s left up to them, they’ll just sweep the whole matter under the rug.”
“We wouldn’t put it past them to exonerate us if given the chance, just because we’re their rulers,” Shining confirmed with a solemn nod.
“If they do try that though, I fully intend to overrule them and devise some sort of punishment for ourselves if I have to,” Cadance interjected determinedly while taking a more regal stance, outwardly conveying she was a princess and a ruler that had that sort of power. “It would be wrong for them to try and exonerate us of our wrong doing.”
“So just how would you ‘punish’ yourselves, then?” Spike asked with a critical eyebrow raised.
Cadance averted her gaze, getting the sense that Spike was unsure about this. “To be determined,” she simply shirked.
Yet another awkward silence fell between them. Shining coughed.
“Anyway,” the prince continued, “the point is that the ruling that no one should speak of this incident until after the inquiry is just…an attempt to downplay in my opinion…and it very much shouldn’t be. We messed up. Big time. It’s better we just be upfront about it and take the consequences that follow.” He leveled his gaze on Spike as he brought the somewhat ambling discussion back full circle. “And…I’m deeply sorry you had to suffer because of our mistakes, Spike…Thorax too.”
Cadance watched Spike as he averted his gaze sadly. “You must miss him dearly,” she observed.
Spike snorted. “That doesn’t even need mentioning at this point,” he pointed out, but then sighed. “You know, I do wish things could have been different, and that Thorax was alive and well and with us here now…of course I wish that…but…at the same time…I look back on what time I did get to have with him, and…even though it all ended entirely too soon…they’re still the greatest times of my life…ever. And I wouldn’t give that up for the world.” He played with his plate of food for a second. “You know, in a way, a small part of me could almost thank you two.”
Shining’s eyes widened. “Thank us?”
Spike nodded, grinning a little sheepishly, perfectly aware of how that sounded. “You have to realize…it’s because of you two choosing to banish us that gave me that kind of time with Thorax at all. If you hadn’t…well…maybe I wouldn’t have gotten to know him as well as I did…and I can’t even bring myself to think about that.”
Shining and Cadance both exchanged glances at this, looking vaguely touched, but still neither seemed reassured. “As moving as that is, Spike, none of that still makes what happened right,” Shining said pointedly.
“Of course it doesn’t,” Spike agreed softly. “But it does take some of the edge off of it.”
Shining went quiet for a second. “Look, what happened in the Crystal Empire was a grave mistake that never should’ve happened at all,” he pressed, not backing down. “And we were both very foolish to be so quick to not just let it happen, but fully support it too. You aren’t the only one we’ve managed to invoke the ire of in all of this…but you were the one who was right from the beginning to protest us doing it, and in a lot of ways…I have to admire you for being able to see what everyone else couldn’t or wouldn’t at the time.” He shook his head, taking in a deep and envious breath. “And what you said at the podium just now…that was especially impressive, and the results it’s brought about…” he motioned to the crowd around them with a sense of awe.
Spike just shrugged it off dismissively though. “I didn’t do anything too special,” he said. “I just spoke the truth. It was the changelings that ultimately made the deciding action. So all I did was…finish what Thorax had already started, I guess.”
“Yes, but the things it’s bringing about, the very idea of peace between ponies and changelings, I mean…what a bold move to make,” Shining repeated in awe.
“Spike,” Cadance spoke up patiently. “You do understand the magnitude of what it is that you’ve started here today, right?” She motioned to the crowd of intermingling ponies and changelings. “This is just the beginning. You’ve pulled the cork off of something far bigger than all of us and it’s only just starting. I can’t even begin to predict what all might be coming next from this. It may not all be good, either—there could still be pushback from this, those who’ll resist. The fight might be only just beginning…or it might already be over, for all we know. Whatever it is, it’s going to be one hay of a ride.” She looked back at Spike. “Don’t underappreciate your role in all of this. Surely even you have to acknowledge that you have, quite possibly, brought about a massive change for both of our cultures by pushing for such peace, good or bad, and there’s no turning back from that now. Tell me you do realize that, right?”
Spike, again, just shrugged. “I probably don’t,” he admitted patiently. “Like I said…I just spoke my mind.” He gazed at them both knowingly. “But do either of you know any better than I do?” He watched them both for a second, but neither replied. “Besides,” he continued, “even if there are downsides, isn’t what could be obtained from all of this in the end worth the risk?” He straightened to his full height, looking determined. “Either way, I frankly don’t care what happens next…so long as the end goal Thorax wanted is still obtained.” He looked Shining and Cadance over for a second, then, turning his attention back to his plate of food, started to turn to head off. “Thank you for coming to talk with me…I’m glad we’ve finally gotten that out of the way.”
He then walked into the crowd, leaving the two royals with a lot to think about.
The services-turned-wake proceeded on for some time, even well after the refreshments had run out and all there was left to do was continue hanging about and just talk. But talk they all did, and by the time it did draw to a close that late afternoon, both ponies and changelings alike had come to understand each other better. They walked out not just as equals, but several as budding friends.
And that was immediately put to the test when the changelings all decided that, now that they had revealed themselves so publically, they didn’t want to go back into hiding again. So they didn’t—despite the urgings of caution from the more hesitant in the group, the changelings all filed out of the building and back onto the streets of Vanhoover completely and utterly out of disguise, making no attempt to hide that they were changelings in any shape or form. In fact, if anything, they exited looking rather proud of who and what they were, and did so without fear of displaying that.
Of course, this caused an immediate stir as the city of Vanhoover quickly realized there were changelings among them. Crowds started to form, partly to gawk and partly to fret over whether or not this was cause for concern. Traffic in the streets was ground to a halt even by the swarms coming to witness the changelings and ponies that were both jointly filing out into the streets without hesitation. It grew to the point that the police were even called in to ensure the peace was kept, fearing that a stampede or a riot might break out if they didn’t. And there were certainly onlookers who took issue with the blatant display of changelings in the group.
But the changelings weren’t on their own—many of the ponies they had just spent so much time getting to know during the services were quick to come to their defense, back them up, and even stand with them. As ponies and changelings alike filed through the streets while the rest of the city looked on, it started to turn into something of an unplanned march or non-violent demonstration. Some even started to join in towards the end. Spike saw reporters arriving on the scene en masse too, and knew what would be in all of the headlines across the city tomorrow, and that it would only spread across Equestria from there.
But at the moment, he wasn’t too particularly concerned about it. What the changelings did about this he left to their judgment, trusting that they would make the right calls now that they had been reformed and already demonstrated they were so eager to turn over a new leaf. The most he did was agree, along with Fly Leaf, to give a statement explaining the situation to the police chief in charge of keeping the peace. Being surprisingly understanding, the police agreed to ensure the changelings all safely got to wherever they were going, in this case the train station. They later received word that this was indeed done successfully and the changelings all successfully exited the city without incident, never once putting on a disguise. From the mark they left on some of the ponies they got to know before leaving though, Spike suspected some of them would probably be coming back soon, an idea he supported and hoped would continue to go well.
For the moment though, his chief focus was getting back home to Fly’s shop, as it had been a long day of many surprising events and he was ready to bring it to a close. Their progress was hampered somewhat as word got out that he, Fly, and Trixie were the ones who had arranged the event that had drawn so many changelings to the city, compounded by the fact that many of the guests at said services cited Spike as a source of inspiration for the day’s events, so naturally there were many who wanted a word with them, if only to get the whole story. Spike had had enough of the public spotlight though, and shirked the attention. Fly Leaf, seeing this, backed him up and turned away many of the inquirers. Only Trixie let herself get caught up in the spotlight, falling back into her old attention-grabbing persona as she personally gave several statements about the day’s events, but she never once took credit for any of it.
“Trixie was simply a lucky mare in the right place and time to be a part of it,” Spike overheard her humbly tell one pony, a local reporter, as part of her statement.
Delayed though they were by all of this, they eventually succeeded in arriving back at the shop, which Fly Leaf decided to lock up early for the night just to be safe, and the three proceeded to settle in. Trixie and Fly retreated back into the kitchen to clean up from the refreshments, Spike assisting for a while. But as Fly’s kitchen was only so big, all three of them working in there at once started to get a little crowded. After bumping into Trixie for the third time that evening, Spike found there was little more he could do to help, and at Fly’s encouragement, proceeded upstairs to his room with the intent of unwinding a little from the day’s excitement.
He expected to see the usual underwhelming sight of a room that was more devoid of occupants than it should be, but when he opened the door, he was instead surprised to find Discord, dressed in a full and formal black suit and carrying a bouquet of black-colored roses in his arms, standing calmly in the center of the room.
Not at all prepared for this sight, Spike simply stood there and blankly stared at the draconequus while slowly closing the door behind him. Discord unhelpfully just stared back and didn’t speak, lacking his usual energy.
At a loss for words, Spike sought something to say. “I didn’t know there was such a thing as black roses,” he finally noted, nodding his head at bouquet in Discord’s hands.
Discord glanced down at the bouquet briefly. “The florist I got them from artificially colors them on special order,” he explained simply. He released the bouquet, which calmly floated over into Spike’s claws, and sighed as he got to the point. “Fluttershy explained to me what happened.”
Spike, who was examining the roses now that he had them up close, looked up sharply as he realized, perhaps slower than he should’ve, why Discord was here. He was again momentarily at a loss for words. “I…had thought you would’ve known all of that already, well before now,” he remarked slowly, awkwardly.
“If I did, don’t you think I would’ve been by already?” Discord asked rhetorically.
Spike shrugged. “No offense, Discord…but it’s not like you actually knew Thorax, and the last time you and I met, Thorax had no memory of the encounter. I just…didn’t think you would feel the need to make a personal visit.”
“Oh Spike, how little you think of me,” Discord remarked, looking genuinely hurt. “I know you after all…don’t you think I care how his passing might’ve affected you?”
Spike really didn’t, but already seeing that apparently wasn’t the case and knowing it would only offend Discord who was trying to be nice and supportive for a change, he saw no need to admit it. “Then…why didn’t you know sooner?” he asked the draconequus instead, simply being curious. “I mean…didn’t you say you were keeping an eye on the both of us?”
“I was,” Discord admitted, and here he averted his gaze, a little ashamed. “But…after Purple Smart chased you out of Vanhoover and then crossed paths with that dragoness friend of yours, you had someone else safeguarding the both of you now. That along with the realization that others were coming around to your view of things and Sunbutt kicking her protégée off the case in hopes of fixing things, I had figured you two were in good hands or hooves or whatever and weren’t going to need me watching over you anymore, because a resolution felt like it was near.” He sighed heavily. Spike could tell this was weighing heavily on his conscious. “So…I stopped.”
“Just in time for us to get caught up in Chrysalis’s plans for invasion,” Spike deduced, understanding.
Discord nodded his head sadly. “I didn’t even know any of this happened until I met up with Fluttershy earlier today for a little get-together we had already planned on doing,” he confessed. “Until then…I must admit…I had been busy doing absolutely nothing in particular.” Discord pulled such a sad face as he said this that Spike felt his heart go out for the ashamed draconequus.
“No one’s blaming you for what happened, Discord,” he assured him. “You didn’t know. No one can expect you to act on something you didn’t know about.”
“I should’ve though,” Discord stressed, not comforted. “And I quite readily would’ve jumped in and put an end to it all then and there had I known about it, especially knowing that poor Fluttershy was a victim in all of this too.”
“Because you would personally go to the ends of reality itself to protect her from harm,” Spike murmured, remembering Discord’s own words on the matter.
Discord nodded again and folded his arms smugly. “And that would’ve been the end of the matter too, of course. I’d like to see Chryssie try and pull off any sort of invasion on my friends when I’m around to fight back.”
“Except I’m not sure you really would’ve been much more help than the rest of us, Discord,” Spike admitted. “Queen Chrysalis had this throne at the hive that absorbed any and all magic that wasn’t changeling, preventing it from working. No one had access to their magic except Thorax while we were in the hive.”
Discord snorted, not convinced. “I doubt her plaything of a throne would’ve really worked to stop me though. My magic is on a whole other order of magnitude than, well, anything else on this planet.”
Spike wasn’t so certain of that. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway,” he remarked. “The throne’s destroyed and long gone. It’s part of what…” he hesitated, unsure how to say it. His first instinct was the say “saved the day,” but to Spike, it certainly didn’t feel like it considering it didn’t save his friend too. “…ended the matter.”
“Well, Chryssie brought it upon herself, regardless,” Discord hummed to himself, mulling over the matter. “A bit too smug and confident for her own good, her.”
Spike suddenly had a thought. “Do you know where she is?”
“Chrysalis? Unfortunately, no.” Discord sighed. “It was the first thing I tried to do, but unfortunately, wherever the bug queen is laying low at, it’s hidden good and sheltered. I can’t seem to find it. But I wanted to try and do something about all of this, so…” he motioned helplessly to the bouquet Spike held, as if suddenly realizing how pitifully inadequate that seemed, “…I brought flowers.”
Spike regarded the roses for a second. “They’re very nice flowers,” he assured gently.
“Well, I thought so,” Discord conceded, but he didn’t seem reassured. He sighed yet again. “Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to do. I admit, I’m not too experienced with death, y’know…thanks to me being immortal and incapable of dying and all. And other than Celestia and Luna who are obviously pretty immortal too, I’ve never actually associated with anyone long enough to ever be put in this sort of situation before, so…well…I asked the florist I got those flowers from for some advice, but now I’m wondering if it’s not conveying the right message I want to convey…what am I trying to convey? Whatever it is, the language of flowers seems grossly inadequate for it…maybe they haven’t invented the right flowers to convey my thoughts correctly yet…”
Spike understood what the draconequus was trying, but couldn’t quite bring himself to verbally say, though. “I forgive you, Discord,” he assured. “Circumstances just went outside of both of our controls…that’s not your fault any more than it is mine. I can’t possibly blame you for anything, and certainly not for what happened.”
“Oh.” Discord seemed taken aback by this and looked unsure how to proceed. He flustered about for a second trying to get his thoughts back on track. “It’s just I wish I could do more, y’know?” he finally said, looking sullen. “Which…feels weird admittedly, because…I’ve never felt like that before, but…” he shook his head, averting his gaze, “…it’s just there are some things even I can’t do, I fear.”
Spike thought about the action Discord was implying he wanted to do but couldn’t, mulling that non-possibility in his head for a second and pondering on what it might be like if Discord somehow could. “Honestly…even if you could do that…I’m not sure I’d want you to.” He sadly wrapped his arms tighter around the bouquet of roses. “As much as I miss him…I don’t think he’d want that…and in a way, I can see why…it’d cheapen the whole point of it all.”
Discord gazed at him curiously for a long second. “I’m not sure everyone is going to see it that way,” he admitted.
“I know. They don’t have to.” Spike shrugged. “Reality is just like that sometimes, though.”
“Pesky reality…you know, someone should really get around to fixing that someday.”
Spike chuckled a little. “I suppose so.”
A moment of silence fell between the two.
Discord then clapped his mismatched hands together and straightened the black suit he wore. “Well, I guess I’ve said my piece.” He turned to walk off as if he was exiting the room even though there was no exit in the direction he turned. “So, you know, all the customarily silly farewell and closing statements people are fond of saying.” He paused for a moment then turned to glance back at Spike, his gaze suddenly heavy and serious. He motioned a lion’s paw at the little dragon. “Is this what it’s like to lose a good friend forever?”
Spike lowered his gaze sadly. “I guess so,” he admitted before meeting Discord’s eye again. “I hope you don’t have to face that any time soon yourself, Discord.”
Discord gazed at him for a moment. “We’ll have to see.”
He then turned and proceeded walking for one wall of the room, vanishing in a brief flash right as he was about to run into it. Spike remained standing there in the room, clutching the bouquet in his arms tightly as he replayed the discussion over in his head.
Later that evening, Spike gave the roses to Fly Leaf. She put them in a crystal vase, cleared the display in the shop’s front window, and placed the flowers there, along with the picture of Thorax in disguise from the services earlier as well as a placard which simply read: “in loving memory of our friend.”
I know there were some readers expecting Spike to chew out Shining and Cadance more than this, but when it came to doing this scene, it didn't seem like the right approach to it. Not only was Spike going to be in such a good mood from getting the changelings and ponies interacting (meaning Cadance and Shining chose a good time to approach), he had also had time to come to terms a bit more with what had happened and had braced himself accordingly. Plus, from the beginning, Spike has always understood why Cadance and Shining acted as they did--it was always Twilight that he had the greatest issue with. But note he never once said or indicated that he forgave them. He just felt there was no need to be uncivil with them at the moment.
There was also some speculation on how the crystal ponies might have taken Cadance and Shining's actions in all of this negatively, due to how much faith they tend to put in their royalty, which is a valid argument to be sure...but I also thought that, because of that great faith, it wasn't unfathomable the crystal ponies would sooner give them the benefit of a doubt and overlook the mistake...if given the chance. So that's the route I'm taking for this, if only to make them stand out from the rest of Equestria (which will be more mixed). But as stated in the chapter, Cadance and Shining won't let themselves get off easy for this mess, no matter what happens.
As for Discord, I admit that scene was devised more for the readers who were wanting the follow-up on him and not much else, but now that I've written it, I am kind of glad I did it, because A: we see a more timid side of Discord in his fumblings to cope with death, and B: it strikes me that Spike is quite calm throughout that discussion, suggesting that Spike is coming to terms with what happened and is ready, at least now more than ever, to move on.
And the aftermath of the changelings revealing themselves continue, but it's an event-in-progress still. More details on that forthcoming next chapter and probably the final chapter after that...though admittedly...I'll probably have bigger fish to be frying next chapter. 
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That was a nice chapter. You did a great job here. It looks like things have turned a corner with Spike and his inlaws. Did spike ever apologize to Cadence about cutting her.
2 chapters left huh...
:pinkiesad:
No fancy critique here,i just liked it all. Also Discord having to contemplate mortality sounds like a touchy subject.
I think the talk with cadence and shining was very good.
The last part with discord surprisingly, while short, touched me more deeply, it filled me with such content seeing discord mourn with spike.
The self aware bit with Discord and Spike on the topic of 'it kinda needed to happen' was real good.
Also, it's crazy, but before this fic I really wasn't a fan of trixie on any medium, but after it it's like I see the character in a whole new light and it's great
I wonder if this fic will pass 600,000 words before it's over. Or reach 100 chapters. It's really close to both.
Given all the story this was a nice chapter... Except for two things and one of them is the whole theme that the story turned out to have half-way through it, so I'll not say anything about that again.
Now, what I can't ignore even with all the "good, we are all best mates" present in this chapter is the sneaky use of the Vergilius as a trading card to make Cadence and Shining better ponies than they really have been through all of the story. So, first the airship was for all purposes stolen by royalty to be given to other royalty for, in the end, giving it back to the rightful owner? We shoudln't forget that Spike was in a very hard place when they managed to convince him to relinquish one of the last things Thorax apparently truly cared for. That's not a very nice thing to do, isn't it? You can use prettier wording but that's what happened.
Masterful chess move right there. If it was just the author or planned by one of the two big princesses it's up to interpretation.
So who's next to be chewed out?
I really liked how this chapter played out. Great job!
8709230
But if Luna did as Spike requested of her, then she already conveyed his apologies to Cadance for him. Either way, Cadance doesn't hold that against him in any shape or form--if anything, she probably has been thinking to herself that it was just of her "punishment" for her role in all of this.
Not verbally, and admittedly that's partly because I spaced bringing up the subject here.
8709420
Yeah, it's probably not something he's really given much thought about before now. I don't know if it's so much a bad thing though--it just might make him appreciate the lives of the non-immortals a bit more.
8709660
I wasn't a big fan of Trixie either up until she befriended Starlight in the show and I saw there really could be other sides to her beyond her inflated ego, and my appreciation of the character has only gone up with writing "Grief." I'm rather glad I was able to fit in such a role for her into the story.
8709738
It's entirely possible it might still surpass 600,000 words, but if it does, it wasn't because I was deliberately trying to. I just write what I feel is needed for the story, regardless of length.
The story will likely fall short of 100 chapters though, but that's okay--I intend to go back and combine some of the shorter chapters together after the story's done, so the end chapter count will probably be even further under 100 after that anyway.
8709806
I don't know if I'd say they stole the Vergilius per se, as they all made sure they had Spike's permission first, which he readily gave, on the one condition that it came back unscathed. Cadance and Shining were simply fulfilling their end of that deal. Besides, Spike still sees himself as having no real use for the airship, and I'd think he'd rather see it be used then sitting in a hanger, gathering dust because he wasn't sure what to do with it.
But that all said, I won't deny that Cadance and Shining absolutely were trying to butter up Spike in various subtle ways throughout this whole encounter, in hopes of keeping him in good enough spirits so to avoid his wrath...but considering what happened with Twilight, which they'd be perfectly aware of, I can't say I'd blame them, just so long they're still genuine in their actions in the end, and they are for the most part. Spike knows what they're doing too, but he's too indifferent about it to really care at this point--in the end, to him, it's all still little things, not enough to replace the thing he really wants most, and he acknowledges that, right or wrong, no one can give that back to him now. So he's been (trying) not to sweat over it.
8709971
Well, we have a few loose ends to tie up still on the Twilight front, but I wouldn't say she gets chewed out over it, exactly...guess we'll see.
frankly the crystal empire autonomy is a moot point here, they gave up that right when they gave a verdict spanning all equestrian territories, i hope someone points this out to the crystal ponies. frankly well spike might not be petty enough to do it someone should add to the ttitle and the statue. 'spike the brave and glorious.... betrayed by us'
8710548
Appreciate is one outcome. Other people have written things were he tries making flutters immortal and other ways to avoid accepting reality.
8710784
But something to explore in another story, perhaps. 
A thought that came to me almost immediately after posting that previous comment.
A great chapter as always. The end is nigh, I can feel it. Yet we still have some revelations with Twilight, Soike’s book, and Changeling-Pony Relations as well.
This was beautiful, but hasn't Discord lost a friend at all? He's been around for a long time.
8711753
Yeah, but since his reformation in the show, it's been clear that he's not familiar with the concept of friendship, like, at all, which suggests to me he's had very little previous experience at it. So I find it doubtful he's ever really had any friends before his reformation, at least of any great important (he might've at most had passing acquaintances) excepting possibly Celestia and Luna...who wouldn't count in this instance anyway as they, like him, are immortal (or at least long-lived) and thus he's never had to face them dying...and they weren't on very good terms it seems until, again, his recent reformation (though Discord has, at times, conveyed a since that the rivalry between he and them was friendly, or at least he considered it as such).
8710030
Fair enough.
8710548
Works for me.
this story just keep impressing me at every turn.
this chapter is just so good, but, the last question from Discord just sold the hole chapter 1000%.
yes Discord some day you will lose Fluttershy.
I'm not surprise Spike didn' chew them out, there no need to. They know they totally FUBAR as bad as Twilight has, and I really hope what punsihments they get is harsh.
Twilight has taken leave of being the Princess of Friendship, good, seems she really needs to take a step back, she caused alot of damage, and it thanks to spike that war won't happen. Not Twilight.
Wodner if she visit Sunset and explain what happen ona extended vacation.
8713108
This has much heavier implications for Discord, giving him a small taste of what is to come. Now putting his immortality in contrast against Fluttershy's mortality, he might just truly go to the ends of reality to keep her forever.
8713685
he will try but some how i feel Fluttershy will talk to him about this and in the end Discord will understand.
8713965
That, and I also like to think that, try as he might, this is one thing not even Discord can change.
Ponies have a reboot-button:
Just boop their nose.
Yup. If you ever get bored and have nothing else to do...
I think you made the right choice by doing it the way you did.
One thing I they could have discussed was the part where Spike accidentially hurt Cadance. Something like he saw the wound, apologized and Cadance claimed everything was alright and she kind of deserved it, living with the scar (figuratively and/or literally).
For those coming in and noticing that a new chapter hasn't been posted this Friday evening like normal and wondering why, see here.
The next chapter will hopefully still come soon, but no exact time table on when. If not this Friday, then I'm shooting for next Friday.
8728769
In Spike's defense, he didn't intentionally give them that idea.
8728852
True, but he should still be held accountable.
8728369
Yeah, English isn't really a clear language.
8728967
It really isn't, and I majored in it.
8729156
I couldn't agree more.
You know, just from the comments below, it looks like this story is gonna got right up there with The Conversion Bureau & Cupcakes in terms of controversy.
That being said, this story is much more enjoyable than either one of them.
8732859
I'm only familiar with one of those two fics (guess which one), and I have read neither.
Of the one I am familiar with, I can at least safely say that it's reasons for controversy are notably different from that of "Grief's".
8733383
I agree. And as I've said before, this one is lightyears beyond the other two in terms of quality. Don't get me wrong, it's a really well written story. It's just the part where Thorax dies that got everyone all in a tizzy.
You know, you could write a series of "alternate ending" chapters where that doesn't happen, but that's up to you.
8734013
I have had an idea for a follow-up fic that is basically that--a series of what-ifs for "Grief" and how things may have played out differently instead--but the readers hoping for a happier ending probably still wouldn't be satisfied, because in thinking through how many of those alternatives would end, most of them wouldn't end much better than "Grief" does.
In fact, some would end considerably worse, so much so that if I were to write it (probably not anytime soon), it absolutely would have a dark tag on it. And considering that "Grief" has never had such a tag itself...
8734153
Interesting. But I still think you should do at least one alternate ending where everything works out.
8734160
Oh, it would--it'd end establishing that the way to have gotten a "good" ending was largely as how it played it in canon...where Twilight believed and supported Spike in his choice to support Thorax from the beginning instead of turning against him.
The point of this hypothetical fic is to show that how "Grief" played out all hinged on the actions of Twilight, and if she didn't make that choice to support Spike in beginning, then something was always going to go awry sometime following...no matter what happened after that.
It'd also show that how "Grief" did play out actually wasn't as bad as it could've played out in the end...relatively speaking, of course. It'd show that, despite Thorax's passing in this instance, considerable good still came from it that could not have happened in most other scenarios.
You know, as a sort of counterargument to the naysayers.
8734153
I do have a genuine question about that; why is it, when some authors do alternate endings to bittersweet stories like this, they seem to go out of their way to make sure the endings either aren't much happier or worse than what originally transpired?
8739963
I mean, sure, it's a perfectly valid point to make, of course (I actually am sort of surprised more readers haven't brought it up, not that it would've changed how I wrote it), it's just...here I've been sitting back and wondering just what your reaction was going to be when you got to the end of this chapter...and you go and bring up the very last point I was expecting you to. 
Really? Of all the things that happened in the chapter, that's the one you focus on?
In an alternate ending where thorax lives it would literally be a universe where the title and message of the story were just there to look pretty
Also I wouldn't dare to read a story that scyphi would deem worthy of a dark tag lol, probably something like one or both of them dying hopelessly with no successful reformation of the changelings. like if they both froze in the north in the beginning, or Twilight finds them early on and perhaps kills thorax in anger leaving Spike with nothing, or at any point in vanhoover thorax could've gotten caught and turned over to the authorities and then to Twilight, or thorax could've died from his sickness, and the rescue plan in the hive could've gone wrong and ended on a hella dark note in a lot of ways, and Spike might've killed himself with the sharp piece of resin he was staring at at one point, I don't read dark fics they bum me out so much uwu
8740316
Alternate Ending? It's marked incomplete still. Regardless, if you'll talk about endings, then don't forget that you can blacken words.
8743122
He's talking about an idea of a theoretical follow-up to "Grief" I've toyed with which got brought up earlier in the comments, in which it presents a series of alternate endings "Grief" could've ended with. Speaking of...
8740316
And that's one (of many) reasons why I haven't been feeling too in a hurry to actually write the fic, because it'd basically just be a long string of gloom and doom hypotheticals, and not only am I not sure how many readers would be that interested in it, it'd feel like it'd just get too depressing after a certain point both to read and to write. In fact, I was considering this idea while at work today, and felt like they are probably better story ideas I could be focusing my attention on at present time anyway, both fanfic and non-fanfic.
8743746
*sigh* I'm relieved to read that. I thought I'd mistakenly read a major spoiler.
I must complain since I'm taking the time to type: While I've been addicted to reading this for the past several days, I find that it's not the story itself, but instead that I will read a quantity of chapters rather than by quantity of words. This means if I read two chapters, I might read 10k words or 20k words. 10k words averages to about two hours for me. I find it mildly annoying that you posted chapters of sporadic length. Several of them could've been posted in smaller bites, broken by related topic/happenings. Reaching 10k words in a single chapter typically results in word-walls; ergo skimming. I can't imagine you writing a war chapter. Fucking Warhammer 40k word count as you fit the entire war in one chapter. [/vent]
Great story; didn't think you'd do a ship, to start, but it has grown on me. You've nailed the awkward 'JUST KISS ALREADY' feeling I hate from watching cartoons. Intended or not; I'd smack Thorax upside the head like Agent Dinozzo for that behavior. Three more chapters 'fore I'm caught up; eagerly awaiting more soon.
8744405
The inconsistent word length for chapters partly came about because I changed how I was writing chapters about halfway through the story. It is my intention that, after the story is complete, to take the time to go back and combine some of the shorter chapters together (where logical) so to balance it out a tad better.
But regardless, I rarely write with a set word count in mind. I just write until I reach what feels like is a good stopping point, wherever that might be. Sometimes that results in longer chapters than others. But I've found that, for me personally at least, it makes for a more natural flow in chapters, and less pressure for me to try and fill up a chapter needlessly just to meet a set word count...which trust me, that's a good thing--I've seen what my filler writing can look like, and it's not good.
8744656
A smaller word count wouldn't leave YOU adding filler!
As for pacing, the fatigue readers feel over a long reading session will likely catch up with them and result in skimming. That's how I tend to get with long chapters. I don't write, but when it comes to reading like a druggie begging for another hit, I find averaging 7k words works well. This isn't so much an estimate of story-telling-pacing, it's an estimate of words-per-hour; which of course differs between people, but is also an audience limiter.
I won't tell you how to write your work; I just want to be clear that seeing "22,495 words" surely doesn't help me look forward to delegating my time to you and your sappy horse-words. I was wrong, I have way more than three chapters to be caught-up *face -> desk*
What decade would Fly Leaf be living?
8744698
If it helps, I do actively try to avoid chapters that hit 20,000 words or higher. The reason a few still do in "Grief" is because of presentation reasons--it didn't make sense to break it up into smaller chapters and thereby interrupting the flow of the story at that moment in time, and thus felt doing so would only be to the chapter's detriment.
I get longer chapters can be inconvenient and/or a chore to get through and not a matter to be taken lightly...but it does still irk me to hear any reader skimming anything they read from time to time. By skimming, one misses potentially important details, and then I must ask why even read it at all if you aren't getting the full effect, you know? There's a reason why I put everything there that's there, after all. It wouldn't be there at all if I didn't think it necessary in some way.
But at the same time I must relent that not everyone sees the matter as I do...so I attempt to find a middle-ground between the two where I can. To me, though, the needs of the story always come first.
8740316
Yes, but then Spike's friendship with Twilight wouldn't be shattered almost beyond repair. Like others have said, even if they DO reconcile, they'll never be as close as they once were, and I HATE shattered or compromised friendships.
8756840
This would seem to depend on how it is viewed. On my laptop, it comes up correctly and precisely as intended. I assume the device you're viewing it on is a mobile device, something with a smaller screen, and thus the site has "rearranged" the lines itself so to make it fit the smaller screen, messing with the intended format. If so, then there's only so much I can do about that, as I don't have control over how the site chooses to break up those lines in such instances.
After I finish writing the remaining chapters of the story, my plan is to go back and give the story a final edit-through from start to finish--I may choose to go back and reformat that letter entirely into a more traditional layout that wouldn't have so much chance of ending up looking irregular like this on certain screens.
After almost half a year, I have finally caught up. Yeesh! I'm not taking long breaks from Fim anymore. This is too much over the course of a week. Their life in Vanhoover was great, Twilight was crazy mad, Fly Leaf went ninja to help them, twilight almost caused a war, Trixie kisses Thorax (love the ship), THORAX DIED (never forgiving you for that Scyphi which is ironic since forgiveness was a big point in the last eleven chapters), and depression before a renewal of life ensues, ALL IN THREE MEASLY WEEKS!!!
...I'm keeping this in my tracking but I am reading a different series as soon as I finished Charred Stone.