Now, it was pretty safe to say that, since his ascension to the role of king, Thorax has been through some ups and downs in his reign. Having to help his people through the difficult transition, trying to cope with the renegade Changelings who still held to the old ways, and even having to try and confront his own brother about his stubbornness over the whole matter. And yet, through it all, Thorax had managed to come out in pretty good shape, respected as a leader of his people and feeling confident over what he can do for them. However, that confidence, at this very moment, was wavering, for as he sat at the far end of the friendship table, looking out at Twilight and Spike, his expression was one of confusion. As for the other two, they looked to him with some concern, Spike especially, and after a while, it was down to the Changeling King himself to finally break the silence between them.
"...What do you mean I have a problem?"
Looking to one another, the young alicorn and drake seemed at a loss on how to explain things, and once a few moments had passed, it was Spike who first spoke to his friend.
"Um...well...do you remember what happened when you last arrived in Ponyville? Just before you met Ember?"
Thorax, though still confused, nodded.
"Sure. I met everypony, I looked around at all the lovely party stuff. Oh! And there was that pretty fire thing! That was nice."
The smile on his face made it clear that he'd meant that when he'd said it. However, Twilight and Spike were not smiling right now, and soon, it was the Princess of Friendship herself who next spoke.
"Thorax...do you remember...well...being a little..."
She nervously scratched the back of her head, giggling slightly before continuing.
"...obsessed with that fire?"
Frowning, Thorax shrugged his shoulders.
"Not really. Why?"
Again, Twilight and Spike looked to each other, then back to him, with Spike going next.
"It's just that...you didn't really pay attention to anything else for quite a bit afterwards."
As before, Thorax seemed confused.
"Well...I thought it looked nice. What's wrong with that?"
Sighing, Twilight lit up her horn, and before long, an object, rather like a small brazier, was levitated onto the table, very close to where Thorax was sitting. Within moments, it was switched on, and Thorax's eyes widened at the sight now before him. It was another flame, albeit a small one, but one which bore many different colours. The flickers went out in many different shapes and sizes, and after a while, the King started to focus on all the ways it seemed to be moving and flowing. A contented smile crept onto his face, and he felt relaxed, at ease. It was a pleasant feeling, just being able to look at that fire, so much so that he no longer seemed to care about anything that had been said at that point. In fact, he started to actually forget what was being said to him. That is, until the fire stopped entirely. Shaking his head, Thorax regained his bearings, seeing the concerned looks on Twilight and Spike's faces.
"Sorry! Got a little side-tracked there!" Thorax remarked.
Twilight nodded.
"You did indeed. You've been staring at that fire for almost half an hour now!"
At first, Thorax didn't believe her. It was an exaggeration, surely? But, slowly, his eyes began to creep upwards, looking to the clock on one of the nearby walls. Sure enough, the Princess was correct, as near thirty minutes seemed to have passed since he started looking at that fire.
"But...but...but...how?!" he stuttered.
Sighing, Twilight leaned forward.
"I was afraid of this. I think you and your people may be susceptible to your insectoid natures on this matter."
Naturally, Thorax had no idea what she was talking about, prompting Twilight to continue.
"What I mean is...it would appear that Changelings get easily enthralled or distracted by...well..."
Seeing her pause, Spike rolled his eyes, finishing her words for her.
"Shiny things!"
Of course, Thorax seemed incredulous at this.
"What? Don't be ridiculous!"
The other two raised their eyebrows, leading to a degree of indignation on the Changeling's part as he tried to defend his position.
"Okay, maybe some of my people get a little to interested when fireworks go off in the sky, and yes, some of them were sort of distracted when Trixie started doing some of her magic tricks during that whole award ceremony a while back, and sure, I myself may like to take a few moments...or minutes...jus staring at some of the sparkly crystals we dig up around our hive, but..."
Slowly, his own words began to sink in for him, and his certainty began to swiftly erode afterwards.
"Oh...ooooooohhhhhh."
Under his breath, Spike turned to Twilight and spoke.
"Now that we know this, it's probably for the best that things between him and Ember didn’t go to war. All that dragon-fire? Yeesh!"
Twilight giggled, but didn't respond to him, instead looking over to Thorax again as the King, finally, seemed to have come to terms with what had been said to him.
"Well...um...Princess? It would appear that...er...I have a slight...problem."
Twilight smiled warmly to him, then leaning forward.
"Don't worry, Thorax. Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards fixing it. Now that we've identified this, we can help you and any other Changeling that wants to try and learn to resist this impulse you all feel."
Thorax smiled to her, appreciating that comment.
"Thank you, Twilight. I'll send word to the Hive straight away. Who knows? This kind of help might even become a regular fixture of our feelings forums."
Again, Twilight giggled.
"I'm sure it would be of great help there. But first..."
She lit up her horn again, starting to levitate the small brazier away.
"Let's get this thing away."
Before she could, however, Thorax stopped her, taking hold of the brazier and holding it close to him, chuckling nervously as he explained himself.
"Oh! Um...I think it might be better if I take this back home with me."
Raising an eyebrow, Twilight looked to him with scepticism, prompting him to explain himself.
"To...er...demonstrate to the others the kind of problem we have to face?"
Slowly, Twilight narrowed her eyes.
"Really? And you're sure you don't just intend to stare at the flames yourself during your spare time?"
Again, Thorax chuckled nervously.
"What? No! Of course not!"
But, under the withering glare of Twilight, the Changing King soon relented, slumping his shoulders.
"...It’s just...it’s so pretty!"
Sighing, Twilight placed a hoof on her forehead.
"Baby steps, Twilight...baby steps."
