From One Friend to Another
Getting citizenship and working as part of society is something that Thorax was going to need to get used to. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor had accepted him (with the help of Spike) into the Crystal Empire, and the changeling couldn’t have been more stoked!
This is so exciting! Thorax wrote in the comfort of his own bedroom. A bedroom! He never had one of his own—his bedcave before this had belonged to his brother. The mattress was so soft and bouncy, he’d never felt anything like it. The walls were cold—that was, unfortunately, the downside of everything being made of crystals—but it was nothing a warm blanket couldn’t fix!
I feel spoiled, he continued in his letter. If he was going to write to Spike, he was going to be honest. This is a lot. I can’t say I expected any of this to go this smoothly. Half of me is expecting the Queen to show up and drag me to the dungeon. The guards certainly don’t help, but Princess Cadence said that they would be there for my protection as she announces my arrival.
Hopefully, things go well. For her, I mean.
I hope you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Pupil Starlight Glimmer are doing well. No snowstorms, I hope! They are not fun. I would know. My wings almost froze over the last time I got caught in one.
Is Princess Twilight going to tell her friends about my appearance in the Empire? If she isn’t going to do so right away, could I ask that she’d hold off on it? Just for a little bit longer? I’m not sure I’m ready for the whole world to know about me yet.
It’s fine if she does, though. I’m not stopping her!
-Thorax
The changeling wasn’t satisfied with his letter but the longer he thought about it, the more his head began to hurt. This was too many words for one day. He needed a break.
…he needed to send a letter to Spike.
Sighing, he put the not-happy-with-but-can’t-do-anything-about-it letter into a pink envelope. He’d never used one before, but watching ponies from afar gave him enough context to operate on.
“Time to figure out how mailing works,” he murmurs to himself. Then he shook himself, leaping off the bed and onto the hard floorboards. The changeling shivered as he reached the door, hoping that ‘mailing’ wasn’t as complicated as he was imagining it to be.
Apparently, all you needed was a stamp and some bits. Who knew?
Thorax jumped as a whoosh flooded through his window. It was the dead of night and he’d been sleeping. Peacefully! What had the audacity to be so loud at this time?
He turned towards the glass planes, watching as the smoke dissipated. The changeling found a single, rolled scroll lying in the middle of the cold floor, a tied ribbon gleaming in the dim moonlight, mischievously asking to be opened.
He abided, rubbing his eyes as he picked up the parchment with a glowing horn. The light from his magic was just enough to read the insanely tiny writing presented before him:
See? I told you mailing wasn’t hard! You should have more faith in me, Thorax.
Twilight and Starlight asked if you could just call them by their names, but other than that, they said they were fine. I’m doing great, too. It’s great to be back in Ponyville again—it’s sunny and warm, I love it! You should come by sometime.
I’ll tell Twilight that you’d like to hold off on announcing about you. I can’t guarantee that she’ll follow through with it, but she’s pretty good at holding to her word for the most part. Just don’t panic if there are newspapers about you if she doesn’t.
Anyways, how’re things going in the Crystal Empire? I know it’s only been a week, but I wanted to see how things are holding up. I hope that no one is bothering you too much. How’s Cadence and Shining Armor? Have they announced about you yet?
Oh, and how’s Flurry Heart? I would love to hear how my favorite niece is doing!
Anyways, it’s getting late and Twilight will yell at me for not going to sleep at curfew, so I’ll write to you soon! Stay safe!
-Spike the Dragon
Thorax smiled at the letter. It was a strained smile, but a smile nonetheless. The words were reassuring and sweet, and the changeling couldn’t bring himself to be mad (not that he could be mad anyway).
Still—
At midnight—
He dropped the letter from his hooves and extinguished his magic. Then he flopped into his pillow, pulling the fuzzy blanket over his head.
He’d reply in the morning.
Spike,
Please don’t write to me when I’m sleeping.
-Thorax
To Thorax:
Haha.
No.
-Spike the Brave and Glorious
Spike,
Sorry it took so long to write back! A lot has happened, and I couldn’t find the time.
Recently, I’ve been informed that Sunburst will be temporarily moving to Canterlot, and won’t be back in the next couple of months. Something about ‘an interesting new find’ that he’d like to research. I’m not exactly sure what that research is, he didn’t tell me. He sounded pretty excited though, so I hope he finds whatever he’s looking for.
I’m getting off track. Anyways, Princess Cadence had passed on the role of foal-sitter to me. I basically watched Flurry Heart until Cadence or Prince Shining is done with their work.
It's easy when she’s sleeping! It’s not when she’s awake. Are all foals like this or is just Flurry Heart? She flies at extreme speeds that are very impressive for her age, as well as successful instilling fear into me every time she’s about to run into the wall. Her magic is also very spontaneous—she teleports in and out of rooms so fast that I can’t keep up with her!
Please tell me if you have some tips. I don’t think I can keep up with her. My body aches as I write.
-Thorax
(How are you doing, by the way? I forgot the asked that before I signed.)
Dear Friend Thorax,
Buddy. Stop using fancy rich pony talk and talk like a normal pony.
I’m doing fine! I mean, Discord came around and mess up our (Big Mac and me) O & O game last week, but now we are buds. Oh! Maybe when you come over, we can all play! You strike me as the Druid caricature.
Also, good luck with foalsitting Flurry. She is quite the handful. She broke the Crystal Heart once and almost killed us all, but we couldn’t stay mad at her adorable face. Very squish-able.
Just don’t give her chocolate, or else she’ll go into a sugar meltdown.
Best of luck!
-Spike the Dragon
Flurry did what now?
Thorax,
Don’t worry! Sunburst curbed her magic.
She can only shoot small lasers and break glass! No more accidental shattering of an ancient relic that keeps the Crystal Empire alive.
Your BEST FRIEND,
Spike.
This is not as reassuring as you think it is.
Hey Thorax. Starlight just mindfu mind-CONTROLLED the girls.
Just letting you know for future reference.
Thorax blinked. His throat dried as he opened his mouth.
“…what?”
Thorax,
Hi. I’m very tired, it’s close to midnight right now.
So Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie all got into a fight yesterday. Or rather, they fought over there awful time they had on their vacation together. Something about misunderstanding each other and what happened to capsize their boat—it was very stupid, and I couldn’t listen to it.
Twilight and I had to mediate the whole thing. It was so tiring. And stupid. Did I already mention that? (Yes, I did. I stand by that statement.) The entire time I was thinking “can we please talk to a sane pony?” I would have much rather listened to Rainbow gloating or Fluttershy’s animal rants. They are at least entertaining!
Anyway, good night. Hope I’m not bothering you too much.
-Spike.
Dear Spike,
Sounds like a rough day. I would hug you if I could!
You talked a lot about being tired, and I think you should get some sleep. Go take a nap now or something because you deserve it.
I was passing by a flower shop on Amethyst Street, and I did see some lavender on sale. I remember reading that lavender has calming properties that help ponies sleep. Not sure if they work on dragons, but I suppose it could be worth a shot!
I’ll see if there is still any left.
Sincerely,
Thorax.
“Sending him flowers?” Cadence asked, amusement lacing her voice. Thorax looked up from his letter.
The Princess of Love walked up to him, glancing over his shoulder. A warm wing wrapped around the Changeling's back, and he found himself feeling light.
“Spike said he was tired. Lavender helps ponies sleep,” he mumbled into his hooves. A fluttering feeling filled his gut as he smiled at the paper. “I just want him to feel better.”
“Uh-huh,” she grinned, patting his carapace. “Sure, honey. Good luck!”
Thorax tilted his head, a little confused. After a few moments of (unsuccessful) processing, he shrugged and turned back to writing.
A little note was taped to the bottoms of the letter as he rolled the lavender up:
There was one bundle left!
Hey Thorax, you should visit Ponyville soon.
-Spike
I will! Soon.
-Thorax
Is that a promise?
-Spike
A little smiley face was drawn in the corner. Thorax smiled, before dipping his quill in the ink.
I promise I’ll visit soon.
-Thorax
He, too, drew a smiley face.