Author's Note

This took way too long to come out, as just after writing it I started wondering if I was pushing the canon timeline too fast to make everything fall into place as I want it. Then other stuff got my attention for about a week, and now that I've got a clear head again, my conclusion was obvious: it's reasonable to have this chapter where it is in time, but the conclusion needs to be a year later for logistical reasons, as having Flurry Heart born less than a year before the Empire returned would be hard to justify. Anyway, on to my original AN.

Disclaimer: I know next to nothing about the Beatles. Any of the minimal characterization their pony counterparts get from me has zero basis in reality and can hopefully be explained by IRL and Equestria not having a one-to-one correspondence. You have been warned.

15: Band of Brothers (and Their Kid Sister)

The cold slowly entrenched itself as fall continued and winter was preparing for its inevitable return. It snowed a couple times a week, creating and then maintaining a hefty layer of snow. Outside of a couple of the more hidden entryways, the ravine he took shelter in was once again cut off from the outside world. The latter was looking more and more like the snowy wasteland he originally fell into all those months ago.

The same wasn't true of the Crystal Empire. Inside the barrier protecting the city from the ancient, near dormant curse of the Frozen North, it was about the same conditions as the coldest days of the Badlands, which was too warm for all but the thinnest of scarves. In other words, prefect weather as always for the ponies.

Outside of making travel between these two locations more difficult for Thorax, the changing seasons meant that he soon learned that his bird disguises now attracted attention instead of diverting it. The other local animals he could emulate weren't great either, as the ponies would shoo away snowy foxes, try to catch arctic hares as pets, or whack rodents with brooms.

The only form that didn't attract much attention was that of a random crystal colt, which only got the occasional glance from both adults and hatchlings. Sure, it offered less mobility from the lack of wings, but held up better in the harsher weather of the lands beyond the city limits.

This was why he was wandering around as a little colt near the central castle, pulling as much love as he could from the ponies in the area without getting noticed. As this was more difficult than in the past, as a bird can be just about anywhere discreetly, he'd taken to gathering food all day before retreating to his hideout, returning again the next day. All the while, he was vigilant, sweeping his eyes constantly to ensure he knew everything that was going on and when it was safe to feed a little.

That just made Pinkie Pie randomly appearing in his face and shouting, "Hiya, random colt I've met before!" all the more shocking, and he leapt cartoonishly high into the air. He then landed quite comfortably in Pinkie's arms, who said as she put him down, "Wow, you're quite the jumper!"

Thorax needed a few seconds to get his bearings, then asked, "Pinkie, what are you doing here? Is there something dangerous going to happen, or are you just here on a random visit?"

"Just visiting," she hummed, "I was heading on a train here so I could go to Yakyakistan, but then it turned out sheep were blocking the rail in Dodge Junction. But thankfully my friend Cherry Jubilee was willing to give me a ride on her carriage. Buuut, she and the ponies pulling our ride were pulling an all-nighter, so they fell asleep while galloping onward. Then came a ravine out of nowhere, straight in our path! I tried to get them to stop, but nothing I did worked! We drove right over the edge, and we were falling, and falling, and falling-"

Thorax, who was watching Pinkie slowly lower a raised hoof to the ground, interrupted by asking, "And then?"

Pinkie froze, then swung her other front hoof to catch the first. "Then bam! The Wonderbolts managed to save us! They took us to Manehatten, and what do you know, I ran into a travelling band looking for a drummer and a new direction, and boy, did I deliver! I wrote a ton of new songs, planned a tour route with plenty of shortcuts, and we're about to make it big! Our next concert's in ten minutes, wanna come see?"

Thorax blinked a few times, realized the last line was a question, and opened his mouth to respond. "Uh-"

He was immediately cut off by a stallion behind him, who was flanked by two others. "Pinks, we have to talk."

Her happy demeanor dulled slightly. "Hi boys. What do you want to talk about."

The three stallions glanced at each other. The one on the left sighed and said, "With the latest songs, we've been stepping on each other's hooves too much. I think we all need to spend some time apart, practicing our own music."

Pinkie began to tear up. "You're... you're breaking up with me?"

"...Sort of? We're breaking up the band. Don't get us wrong; it's not you, it's us."

The one on the right spoke up as well. "Seriously, you're the best thing that's ever happened to us. The last two hours have been the most amazing in all of our lives. We wouldn't trade it for anything."

She sniffled, but had a weak smile. "You guys really mean it?"

The left stallion grinned and nodded. "Of course, we love our little band sister. The three of us just learned a little too much about each other." The other two stallions rolled their eyes preemptively, already knowing what was coming. "Like, those two won't give classic rock the time of day."

"Dude," the middle one interjected, "that stuff's so old-school, it's not even funny."

Pinkie giggled, if a bit sadly. "Well, I guess that friendly banter wasn't quite as harmless as I thought it was. I'm really going to miss you guys."

She pulled her bandmates into a massive hug. Thorax got pulled in, too, as he happened to be sitting between them, utterly confused at what was going on.

One of them (Thorax couldn't tell them apart anymore) said, "Pinkie, girl, remember this: go find another band and rock their world like you rocked ours."

A sniffle. "Yeah, but it's never going to be as special as the first time."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until one of the stallions spoke up. "I think it's time to go."

Pinkie let go of them, and she and the rest of the band exchanged their good-byes. Meanwhile, Thorax sat there wondering if he was reading too much into their conversation, or too little.

The pink pony sighed. "What am I going to do now? I had a whole concert planned and everything."

Thorax blinked. "Uh, weren't you trying to get to Yakyakistan?"

"Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me!" Pinkie gave a hug to the disguised changeling, who had by that point given up on struggling out of it. She dropped him and said, "I know, Princess Cadance can help me get there," then made her way to the castle with her strange hopping gait.

After she left, Thorax sat there and stared off into space for a few minutes, blindly grasping for an idea on what to do. Eventually, he decided that the best thing to do would be to continue on with his day as if his second meeting with Pinkie Pie had never happened.

Oh, and he's never using this color pallet in a colt form ever again. And just to be safe, he's not using it for any other pony form, either.