Three's A Crowd
It had been their second day at sea, and the weather was not fairing well for the party. With Salty’s assurance and expertise, there was nothing to fear. But the captain’s navigational skills couldn’t prevent catching a cold or illness from the freezing winds and the rain beating down on them.
With that, every creature had primarily resided in their wagons, occasionally leaving to use the restroom or fetch themselves something to eat or drink in the mess hall.
As the ship creaked and croaked above the sea’s thundering waves, Thorax quietly sat in front of Trixie and Starlight, taking this opportunity and moment of privacy to be his usual self again. Strangely, the changeling wasn’t that hungry despite spending a day in his disguise.
Thorax practiced his magic with Trixie and Starlight, with Trixie doing most of the teaching and Starlight enjoying the company of creatures she more or less considered friends.
“Okay, now all you need to do is select something small, something the pony won’t miss. Like this.” Trixie demonstrated the bracelet she put on for just such an example. “Now that you have your target, you need to distract them with something else.”
Trixie gestured to the cards in his hooves, “It’s just like what you did… er, yesterday, but in reverse. Think you can manage that?”
He’d shuffle the cards as he offered Trixie to take one.
The showpony nodded, a slight smirk on her lips as she took a card. It was the Ace of Spades this time around… “I’d be impressed if you managed both tricks at once.”
He’d carefully slip the card back into the deck, levitating the cards as he began twirling and spinning them around as if they were in a dance, “Now watch as I pull your card!”
He’d present a ten of clubs, “Is this your card?”
“Not this time,” Trixie smirked, waving a hoof. “Nice try, though. Want to try again?”
Thorax would sigh, “Awwww, how about… this one?” He’d show the king of spades.
Trixie winced, “Oooh, so very close! One more time, I know you can do it.” She gave him a wink, a cattish smile adorning her lips.
He’d tapped his hooves pensively, “Weeeell….” he’d flash the queen of hearts, “Is this your card?”
“Awww, you were so close before.” Trixie sighed, “Oh well, I guess we should try another trick, hm? Anything you’re interested in trying?” She stood up, stretching out.
Thorax slowly nodded, “Maybe you’re right, but I got you a couple of gifts for being so patient with me.” He’d present Trixie the ace of spades and the bracelet.
Starlight smirked as she looked over to Trixie, “Well, he’s certainly a fast learner.”
Trixie’s eyes widened in surprise before she smiled brightly, “Well, now, that’s impressive! You truly are picking up quickly. I should advance your education then, perhaps something like the Magical Manticore Mouth-dive? No?” She chuckled, “I’m joking, but seriously, you’re doing amazingly well. I’m proud.”
She took the cards and the bracelet back, “Oh, and if you’re ever short on bits, that slight-of-hoof trick always works.” She gave him a wink and a grin.
Thorax beamed brightly as he humbly bowed his head, “Thank you, Trixie; it means a lot coming from a magician like you.”
“Illusionist.” corrected Starlight as she rested her head on her hoof, seeming to observe this dance of flattery between the two, “Look at you, Trixie, you went from thinking Thorax was going to eat us to making him your right hoof stallion.”
Trixie looked over at Starlight, quickly glancing at Thorax before looking away, “Well, he turned out to be… ah, a good changeling. And I AM a magician, I’ll have you know. I have my license! Or… had. Since you blew up my old wagon.”
“Tch, call me if you ever want to learn some real magic.” Starlight grinned.
Thorax lay down as he quietly listened to the ship creak and bellow as the rain beat against their wagon, “You two remind me of my brother and me.”
Trixie perked up an ear, lying down on the boat beside him, resting her head in her hooves. “You have a brother? I kind of figured changelings had… a lot of siblings.”
“Well, yes and no. We are all related since our title, or that our first names are Drone, is used to signify our unity. But, even so, we changelings still group up with our brothers and sisters.”
He’d continue, “Your brother or sister is a changeling that was born in the same nest as you in the nursery, and Pharynx and I were the exceptions, the only survivors out of a bad batch of eggs.”
Thorax would sigh, “We were often bullied for that; I was often bullied for that. But Pharynx made it so that all would respect him, fighting for his honor time and time again when he was just a hatchling. He’d defend me too… I wasn’t one for conflict, but he always had my back no matter how many times he said,”
“‘This is the last time I save you, brother,’ or, ‘next time, you won’t be so lucky!’ "
Thorax would smile for a moment, “He was a proud warrior and one of the strongest drones in the hive… I know it’s wrong to say, but I was so proud of my brother when he was promoted to swarm leader… I was so proud to hear that HE personally was chosen to lead one of our swarms during the invasion of Canterlot.”
“... I was, however, terrified to find out that he personally chose me to join him as… as a soldier in his swarm….” Thorax lowered his head shamefully.
“So you really were at the Invasion of Canterlot during the wedding?” Starlight said with intrigue.
Trixie’s eyes widened. “I’m glad I was in Bridlewood at the time; otherwise, I would have been in a lot of trouble….”
“How did you get out of there… how did you even escape?” Trixie sat up, intrigued by his story.
“...Remember how I told you how I saw Twilight and her friends fight off an entire swarm…? I kinda got… knocked out during the scuffle; I was so taken back by their loyalty to one another, I kinda didn’t see the magical spell lobbed at me.”
“I woke up in the medical hives, and Pharynx asked me what happened… I lied, and I said I fought those ponies with all I had… I told him the truth before I left the hive, and he was not happy.”
“I pleaded with him to come with me, but he was enraged that I betrayed the hive… but I think he was more upset with the fact that I was potentially leaving him behind. He told me,”
‘I’ll do you the favor of keeping your disgrace to the hive a secret. I don’t want you ruining what I have got going for me because YOU can’t adapt! You’re not just a traitor, but an idiot for thinking friendship can make up for what we are! We’re changelings! We’ll always BE changelings!”’
Trixie and Starlight stayed quiet for a moment, absorbing what Thorax had just admitted to them. They couldn’t imagine Thorax being in any sort of army, especially not invading Canterlot. Trixie wondered if he ever had a choice to do what he wanted.
“Well your brother sounds… well…” She wasn’t sure how to put it. “At least he kept it a secret? Honestly… I can’t imagine having gone through that. How did you make it to the Crystal Empire all by yourself?”
Thorax shuffled a bit as he wrapped a blanket around himself.
“I ran in the dead of night, cutting through forest and brambles until I made my way by following the Crystal Mountains; I cut through the peaks and the frozen wasteland before I slipped into the fields of Amore and eventually crossed the border into the city.”
“It took weeks, and I didn’t use any of my magic to save my energy; I had to sneak under the cover of night; if you two hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t have lasted much longer.”
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing we stumbled upon you. Not sure I’d still be here if we didn’t.” Trixie gave the changeling a sympathetic smile before wrapping a hoof around him.
Starlight raised a brow at the physical affection, quietly cataloging the moment as a smile crept on her lips. Trixie glanced over and noticed the look. Rolling her eyes as she blushed.
“I’m guessing growing up as a Changeling isn’t very much fun, is it? What… what did you guys do when you weren’t… feeding?” The showpony asked hesitantly.
Thorax didn’t even think to embrace and accepted the gesture, leaning into the mare as he continued to elaborate, “Well, I guess I did say I’d talk about the nitty-gritty details about being a changeling, huh?”
“Well… we just build the hive, look for intruders, look for creatures to feed on, but sometimes Pharynx and I would wrestle… I didn’t like it, but it made him happy. Sometimes, the two of us would play chess from a board he stole from a pony merchant… we lost some of the pieces and replaced them with rocks and twigs.”
“Aww, that’s kind of… cute? Maybe we can play chess together sometime. It’s been a while, and I’m a bit rusty, but I bet it will be a fun game.” Trixie smiled at him, “And I, uh… hope your brother is doing well, regardless of what he’s doing…”
Starlight groaned at the sappiness, “Geez, Trixie. Thorax rubbed off on you so much you’re actually being nice to some creature that isn’t your reflection; bravo.” clapped the mare.
Thorax snickered, “Hey, c’mon, now we’re all friends here. We survived a lot together, and those death-defying moments of sheer terror paired with an unbreakable bond naturally make us the best of friends.”
Starlight would look at Trixie and then Thorax, her eyes slowly narrowing as the pieces carefully clicked together in her head. The lilac unicorn passed a knowing look to her fellow pony as she smiled, leaning back, "Trixie at least has you in an unbreakable grip."
Trixie shifted her eyes between her and Thorax before releasing her grip on the changeling as she scooted away until she was at a healthy but friendly distance.
Thorax tilted his head, seeming a bit perplexed at the sudden withdrawal. But quickly accepted it.
“Yes, well, I CAN be nice… it just depends on who I am being nice to!” Trixie huffed, rolling her eyes. “And it’s not like you’re any better; you’re not screaming and yelling all the time anymore. I guess those talks with Twilight really opened your eyes.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
Starlight scoffed, “It was an esoteric nightmare. I’m glad that month of near-constant check-ups is over… the magic talk and tea were nice, though.”
“That month was so much fun; I got to talk to so many ponies. This one time, I got to talk to three members of the royal guard… for five hours… and it was really not much of a conversation more like an… interrogation. But I got free coffee though…! even though I couldn't drink it.” Thorax’s expression soured, realizing that wasn’t fun.
Trixie grit her teeth, remembering that incident. She was still angry that they didn’t allow her to go back in with him while they were doing that.
“I hope they didn’t treat you too badly; I swear if they roughed you up or anything…” Trixie huffed, “Well… anyways… er…”
Thorax chuckled, “It's fine, they didn’t touch me, and everything was okay once Twilight and Cadance cleared everything up.”
“It was nice to be back in Equestria, at least for a short amount of time. And even better, I didn’t have to do any community service!” Trixie snickered.
“You two might’ve, but Twilight and I had to work through paperwork for hours just to formalize a pardon for all of us…Cadance was not giving anypony any favors then…” Starlight shivered at the thought of that massive paper trail.
“But hey, at least we aren’t banned from The Empire, and by the time we get back from our adventure, we’ll be home free, and all of us can become performers.”
“You want to become a performer?” Trixie cocked a brow, “Somehow, I didn’t really see that; I mean, I know you were talking about it, but… seriously? Not that you couldn’t do it, obviously; I’m just surprised.”
“For a little while at least, I can handle the finances and prop you ‘stars’ up. Maybe I’ll break off once I can find a nice quiet place to live far, FAR away from anypony that knows me.” shivered Starlight.
“C’mon, Starlight, it’s not ALL bad. After all, you’re a teacher, an official member of this expedition, and buddy-buddy with the Princess of Friendship; you totally redeemed yourself.” nudged Thorax.
“I haven't redeemed myself to the ponies I actually care about,” she replied coldly.
“Well, we could always go down to your town and say hello, y’know.” Trixie offered off the top of her head, “Er… you know. After we go on this big adventure and make all sorts of friends… the usual.” Trixie shrugged.
Starlight bowed her head as she let out a gentle sigh; Twilight would’ve been proud to see these two so optimistic about the future.
“Sure…why not?” Starlight slowly got up and gently pat Trixie on the back, “Why don’t I give you two some privacy,” she teased before leaving the wagon.
Trixie’s ears went down, pairing it with an eye roll as her cheeks burned red, “Tch, whatever….”
Starlight quickly galloped across the wet deck as she hurriedly rushed into the lower deck, slipping past the crew’s living quarters before sitting down in the empty ‘chow hall,’ which was just a small room packed with benches and surrounded by booze and hardtack.
A hoof gently poked Starlight on the shoulder, prompting her to turn around. Twilight stood behind her, a soft smile on her face as she levitated two mugs of water and what little food they had brought along for the journey.
“I know it’s not much, but a granola bar is better than hardtack, isn’t it?” Twilight gave her a friendly grin, “Mind if I sit with you?”
Starlight perked her head up, “Oh, no, go right ahead….” she’d move over as best she could to allow Twilight a seat next to her.
“Yeah….” she’d take a long sip of water before splitting the granola bar with the alicorn, “Friendship’s a real hard sell….” Starlight said absently as if it was some sort of a filler phrase.
Twilight cocked her head, noticing something was wrong but unsure of what it was.
“Are you feeling alright, Starlight?” She asked with some concern, “Are you feeling seasick?”
“Do you see me hung over the side of the ship with Rarity right now?” she snapped. Twilight’s ears fell back, surprised by the outburst.
“....sorry….” Starlight quickly summoned a clipboard, sliding it over to Twilight, “I did inventory again; we have enough food to get to Griffinstone and enough bits to cover ourselves for a while.”
“It’s alright; just let me know if you don’t feel like talking, okay?” Twilight replied softly, “That’s good; I’m glad I’m not the only pony keeping track of those sorts of things. It gets a little… overwhelming doing it all yourself… even if I enjoy it, hehe.”
Starlight would fetch herself a bottle of griffin rum from some of the stacks of crates that surrounded the room before she popped the cork. She said nothing as she quickly took a long swig from the bitter brew.
“Um… is there anything you’d like to talk about, Starlight?” Twilight asked softly, unsure what to say.
“I don’t think you’d want that, all things considered, Twilight.” Starlight grumbled, offering the bottle of the foul-smelling drink to the alicorn.
Twilight cocked a brow, “And… Why is that? Starlight, friends are there for one another when they’re feeling down. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t at least ask?”
“Because I don’t think we can fix my problem in twenty-two minutes or a five-minute song.” She’d take a long swig again before pausing at the ‘friend’ bit.
“Don’t kid yourself, Twilight; we aren’t friends. We are fulfilling our obligations to one another. This is… a mutual assistance pact or partnership.”
“What does twenty-two minutes have to do with….” Twilight shook her head, “Starlight, I do care about you, and I want the best for you. Just because you did bad things doesn’t mean I’m not going to give you a chance. Unless… you just don’t want to be my friend. And that’s fine….”
“It’s not that I’m opposed to being your friend; it’s that it’s….impossible for me to truly accept that I am deserving of something like that.” Starlight took another long swig as she slammed the bottle down.
She’d continue, “Everybody’s just so happy; some are even happy to be around me, and I don’t know what I’ve done to earn this, and now I need to work hard to truly deserve this adoration, this forgiveness….”
Starlight nervously chortled as she rocked in her seat, “This reminds me of when I first took control of Our Town; all that praise and support from my ponies made me feel like a fraud; I was a fraud. I was no savior, just an uppity mare with a chip on my shoulder.”
The mare would continue to drink until she’d erupt into a coughing fit, the alcohol burning her chest as she sighed, “I’m a fraud, I’m not a tactical genius or strategist, I’m an opportunistic foal undeserving of your mercy or friendship.”
She’d hiccup, “Thorax and Trixie deserve better; at least they have each other.”
“Starlight, that’s not true.” Twilight scooted over, wrapping a hoof around the mare’s shoulders, consoling her the best she knew how. “Ponies do care for you, and yes, you might have done some awful things in the past, but you have been forgiven. There’s no one else to look to but you, Starlight. You’re going to have to forgive yourself.”
The princess gently rubbed her back, quietly shushing her as she pushed the alcohol away, "I know right now that you’re going through a lot, but it’s good to talk to your friends about how you’re feeling. And I’m glad you were able to open up to me like that.” Twilight gave her a soft, gentle smile. “Starlight, I’m here if you need me, no matter what.”
Starlight's face burned a bright red hue as she rubbed her eyes, “I drank too much…too fast….” she’d hiccup as she groaned.
Starlight slowly looked over at the alicorn, now practically cradling her, “Why are you so nice to me…? I did my best to keep you away from me so you wouldn’t be my friend. Whenever I pushed you back, you always found time for tea or magic practice.”
“Well… I learned a lot from my friends. Like Fluttershy said once, sometimes you just need a little kindness.” Twilight gently rubbed her back, “It’s going to be okay, Starlight. I know things will be rough for a while, but I’m here for you. Everything will turn out alright.”
Starlight took a deep breath before sighing, “Okay…” she’d slowly grab the rum again and took a small sip.
Twilight would slowly peel away, still unsure but wanting to give her some space. “Do you need me to do anything?”
“....Take a drink.” Starlight said finally.
“You want me to... drink?” Twilight cocked a brow.
She’d offer the rum, “I’ve never seen you drink anything aside from non-alcoholic cider, and I’m not being miserable alone.”
“Uh, well, I’m not sure that’s a good idea….” Twilight rubbed the back of her head, “Last time I drank, it was Applejack’s hard cider, and uh… I woke up in the middle of the street with a lampshade on my head.”
“But… if you insist, I suppose I could take a sip.” Twilight took the bottle and took a polite sip of the alcoholic beverage. “Oooh… it burns. Eugh…”
“This isn’t a time for good ideas; this is time to make memories….or the lack thereof,” she’d pull another rum bottle from a nearby crate.
“That’s when you know it’s the good stuff,” she’d clink the fresh bottle with Twilight’s, “Drink up; we’re not leaving till we can’t feel anything.”
“Oh boy… Can we invite the girls? I don’t know if I can drink all of that with you….” Twilight grimaced, looking down at the bottle with hesitance and partial fear. “Applejack would be great for this… if she weren’t sick….”
Starlight gave Twilight a look, “Do you REALLY want to have Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie in on this?”
“Well... I guess not...” Twilight grimaced before taking another drink. “Please don’t make me drink all of this...”
Starlight groaned, “For Celestia’s sake, live a little, why don’t you? I’m not forcing you into anything; just enjoy yourself.”
She’d take another drink, “Take the edge off….or at least enough to where I can see that infamous dance of yours.”
“My dance?! Ponies have been talking about my dancing??” Twilight blushed, “Who said that?”
“Fine, fine, okay.. I’ll try to relax and not be so… princess-y.” The alicorn sighed and took another, longer drink.
Starlight chuckled, “Rarity told me about the time you had your birthday in Canterlot, and how the elites of Canterlot had to watch you get down to the beat.”
“I am not liable for any damage caused to or by you, by the way,” informed Starlight as she chugged her rum bottle.
“Well, one of us has to be responsibly– er, responsible! And if you’re getting me drunk, it’s going to be you.” Twilight gave her a look before taking another drink. “Mmhm, I think this is growing on me….”
“That be the pirate rum me hardy, now let’s drink til we’re drink-dry.” she’d clink her bottle with Twilights before chugging the entire bottle of rum.
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Bridlewood? I wonder if that exists during the time of G4
He probably didn't because he would have been punished or killed for not helping the hive
Awww I think Trixie likes him 🥰
I've always hear that kind of joke about how people always called out for shells that always been fixed but a couple of minutes or even a 5-minute song or depending what song it is
because she's got the moves like Jagger
Well this was a pretty interesting situation here so they're still in the ship and everybody went back to the room but Starlight stayed with thorax and Trixie but the way how they traded each other and how much their friends are really did grew from each other and felt like Starlight doesn't feel like she deserved this after what she did and everything so basically she went out of the room and Twilight seen her how she's doing she wanted to ask if she's okay but Starlight admitted that she's not that why does everybody gave her a second chance knowing to the fact what she did she doesn't feel like she deserve it it can be very difficult to get over that kind of feeling but someday maybe it will once proves herself that she can have the second chance I just hope that sooner or later she knows soon and Santa tells me Twilight and starlight are going to feel that tomorrow I wonder what's going to happen next guess we'll find out next time
Oh no, it's spreading!
I believe Yona & Spike will be the designated drivers for the whole group soon enough!
Nice chapter, I loved the interactions, and the sneaky 4th wall break!