Equestria Copes

The three of them walked around Ponyville for a bit, just walking in relative silence. Occasionally, one would make an innocuous comment, the other would not really respond, and they'd go right back to not talking.

After half an hour of wandering, Ember finally spoke up. "We've gone past this place twice. Do you even know where you're going?"

"I thought you'd suggest something," retorted Thorax. "The changelings mostly eat feelings."

"You asked me to dinner! You're supposed to be the one coming up with a plan!"

"You've always been more assertive," reasoned Thorax. "I figured you'd pick someplace. Or at least, if I picked, you'd say no."

"This was your idea," snorted Ember. "You wanted to go to dinner. Why didn't you think this through? What have you been doing this entire last half hour?"

Thorax fell silent and looked away. Twilight wanted to help him, of course, but she had to admit, she hadn't been thinking about it, either.

After a few seconds of quick thought, she grabbed Thorax by the chin and raised his eyes to a sign. "Go there."

As if he had been told that this was a good idea, Thorax smiled. "Let's go there," he pointed.

"Fine."

The two walked into the place; a small two-story cafe called "Grapevine." They were promptly seated and given menus, which they perused quietly. Twilight joined them at the table, though she wished that she had been afforded a chair. Being just a spirit, it was unreasonable to expect the hostess to give her one, nor could she move one over on her own, and she was too inexperienced to will one into existence for herself.

As the silence grew uncomfortable, Twilight placed a hoof on Ember's shoulder. "Talk to him." She knew that Thorax was trying to open her up and help, and even if he wasn't, he would if given the chance. She also knew that Ember wasn't going to open up without some coaxing.

Ember cleared her throat. "What are you going to order?"

Thorax took a deep breath. "Well, probably just something to drink, but don't let that stop you from a meal. It's my treat."

"You're not going to eat anything?"

"Well, I'm a changeling. I have a changeling's diet. That means feeding off of emotions, and with Equestria grieving, my options are limited. I've been taking in a lot of sadness lately, but there's not a lot else to pick from. Even if I found somepony happy, I wouldn't dare take that away from them."

Ember lowered her head a bit. "Is that why you're spending so much time at the mausoleum? You're so full of sadness at the end of every meal that you have to expel it somehow?"

"That's part of it," he admitted. "But like I said earlier, I'd like to be alone with Princess Twilight's statue. There's something I need to say to her, and to her alone."

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Thorax smirked. "Something for her alone to hear. Not for you."

Twilight had an inkling of what he wanted to say. Their relationship had been good, and since he could sense her feelings, he knew she felt that way. He might have felt differently, but he didn't show it if he did. He was always supportive.

"Suit yourself."

"What about you? What were you hoping to say to her?"

Ember shrugged. "Nothing."

"Surely, you must have wanted to say something..."

"Yeah. To Spike."

Thorax nodded. "What did you want to say to Spike?"

"Something for his ears only."

Twilight didn't know if Spike had a romantic relationship with Ember, or any kind of relationship that they were trying to keep secret. Spike had never said anything about it, even when Twilight had told him that she was seeing Thorax. If they had a secret relationship, it was kept very securely.

They ordered their drinks, and Ember a side dish; hay fries with topaz flakes. They had started to open up a bit more, but for almost an hour, they just talked about small things; the weather, what they were working on, what they were planning for their respective kingdoms once they returned to them, and anything else that was already public knowledge.

While Twilight was glad that they were talking and remaining civil, she had the distinct feeling that progress wasn't being made. They were dancing around the problem, rather than fixing it. She didn't want to force them to spill their secrets to each other, but she did want them to trust each other a little bit more.

After thinking it over, she nodded, ready to implement her plan. Placing her hoof on Thorax's shoulder, she told him to "Tell her about your relationship with Spike."

Thorax nodded. "You know, I owe a lot to Spike."

"Oh? I knew you were friends. He spoke highly whenever he spoke of you."

"Did he ever tell you how we met?"

"Not that I recall."

Thorax nodded and poked at an ice cube with his straw. "He was out in the tundra, looking to kill me. To him, I was just a monster. I looked like one, too. To be honest, I think he was just scared of me. Who wouldn't be, right?"

"You? Scary?" Ember chuckled. "I find that hard to--"

Thorax slammed his hooves to the table, transformed into his most hideous, frightening form, and hissed and growled at her, snapping his new claws in the air around her as fire blazed in his eyes.

And just like that, he was back to normal. "I've softened up my edges over the years. I wanted to be better, and so I have been."

Ember, like a lot of the cafe patrons, was shocked by the transformation, and was now speechless, having partially recovered. "I see..."

"If Spike hadn't seen that I could be like this," he gestured to himself, "then I have to wonder if all changelings would still be considered monsters."

"Sir," stated the manager, trying to remain calm, "I'm going to have to ask you to leave. We don't tolerate that kind of behaviour here."

Thorax nodded and reached into his purse to pay for the drinks and Ember's fries, plus a bit extra for the outburst. "My apologies. I hope I earn your forgiveness someday." He turned to Ember. "I'll see you at the mausoleum in the morning, I guess..."

As he went to leave, Ember paid a bit more, not wanting to underpay on his account and rushed after him, and Twilight followed.