The very unusual bird soared through the cold but clear skies. It was one of the rare days in winter where there was no snow storm nor the threat thereof, and so it was safe (barring the usual issues of extreme cold) to be outside the Empire's protective shield.

Unsurprisingly, the bird was a form that Thorax crafted for occasions like this. Extremely fluffy feathers combined with hefty fat made keeping warm easy, and the sky-blue coloration meant that anyling would have a tough time spotting him from below. Sure, the weight of all this meant that he needed to use some magic to keep aloft, but that didn't make it different from changeling or pegasus flight anyway.

As for why he was out there, the reason was simple: he could only spend so much time in the city before he needed to get out for a while. Normally, this wasn't a problem: he regularly made trips to and from the ravine he sometimes called home during the spring and fall, and summer made the tundra almost pleasant temperature-wise. Winter was the problem, as he had to stay in the city. After all, if he was stuck inside the ravine due to a storm, and it lasted long enough, he would either starve or freeze trying to get back.

So, the rare days where it was safe to finally leave the shield again were spent out in the wilds, he'd spend some time doing what he wanted where nopony was around. Gliding about, sneaking up on animals to watch them, practicing his transformations, or just sitting and thinking somewhere quiet were most of what he did out there, and that day was no different.

Suddenly, he sensed movement in the edges of his vision and he looked down at the featureless expanse of white below. Nothing popped out at him, but he was high up, and many of the animals that braved the surface at this time of year were camouflaged. Deciding to get a closer look, he adjusted his stance and circled with a downward tilt, keeping a watchful eye at the ground below.

It took much of the way down for him to finally realize that the animal looked like a snowy fox. He hadn't seen one since... well, since those tunnels collapsed, and it immediately excited him. He forced himself to calm down a bit though, as this one might not have been one of the ones he knew in that first month. Still, he unconsciously sped up his descent, wanting to get there sooner.

The further he went, the more details he could see, and the more convinced he was that the animal silently walking on the ground was a fox. Then, one of its ears twitched and its head turned to look at him. While for the most part, the facial features were like any old fox, there was a prominent star-shaped mark over one eye.

In his surprise, Thorax forgot the impending need of a landing and crashed into the ground, his feathers standing straight and leg muscles spasming from the shock of hitting the ground face first. With some effort, he pulled his head from the ground and shook the snow off his head as the fox stared at the weird bird in front of it. At least this time, he didn't make a crater.

After making a strangled squawking sound, he transformed into his base form and asked, "Spot?"

The fox didn't respond for a moment, then took an exploratory sniff. After more sniffing paired with visibly increasing excitement, Spot shook her tail, let out a yip, and gave him a nuzzle. Thorax gave her a light hug in response.

After a while, Spot wiggled her way out of it and Thorax was able to get a good look at her. What was once a little fox kit only a few months old was now a vixen that was both a bit taller and wider than her mother was. The extra weight could have been for any number of reasons, so he didn't dwell on it.

"Did the rest of your family make it out okay, too?"

He got a head tilt in response. Either she didn't know, remember, or understand.

"Um, how are you doing?" he tried, hoping that would get a response.

And one he got, as the vixen perked up and bounced in place for a bit, before turning away and walking for a bit. When she stopped and looked back at him, Thorax got the idea and followed her.

Occasionally, she would stop, prick her ears, and pounce into the snow for prey. Every time she came back up with a new catch, the changeling would praise her technique, and Spot just ate it all up.

The fox's destination ended up being an entrance to some snow tunnels. Thorax warily crept inside, just in case sudden movements with his weight might destabilize it. From what he saw of them, the tunnels weren't nearly as long and intricate as the ones he stumbled upon almost two years ago.

It wasn't long before the two stopped, five sets of curious eyes appearing from the entryway of a hollow. After Spot let them know it was alright, five fox cubs even smaller than Spot was when Thorax met her walked out. They stuck close to the adult fox, but he was fine with it, he was a stranger, after all.

After watching them play with one of the hunt's smaller catches for some time, occasionally joining in for a bit, he looked at Spot and said, "It's wonderful to know that you're doing well, but I should get going again," and started to do just that.

Spot quietly walked with him on the way out. Neither said anything as they traversed the tunnel system. Once they returned to the surface, he gave her another hug as goodbye, then took off with his mostly-hole-free wings.

During his flight back, he realized how full he felt. He couldn't have been in there for longer than a couple hours, yet he could easily live off his reserves for several more days. Normally this would take hours of feeding from hundreds of ponies for the same result, and yet...

He flew high in the sky in his base form, lost in thought. The longer this went on, the more he became convinced that the best way forward was to have a two-way connection with someone, where he not only genuinely cared for someone, but they also liked him for who he truly was.

He chuckled to himself. Not only was friendship looking more and more like the answer to his woes (and maybe even those of his old hive), but it also had to be something he wanted long before he even knew what the word for it was.

Feeling uplifted, he transformed back into the sky-blue bird of his own making, having forgotten for the moment his own fears of what might happen if he revealed himself to a pony.

Author's Note

This bit felt like it would be better if placed before the finale, so here it is. Sorry about this taking so long, but RL is starting to get draining lately, so it might be a while before I can well and truly finish this.