The Three Warrior Friendsby DuckyworthChaptersThe Meeting Of The Three FriendsShow Me Your War FaceA Time To RelaxWho Do You Want To Punch In The Face Most?The Meeting Of The Three FriendsAuthor's Note Here's the first part of my Friendship is Magic fanfiction I'm working on involving the three badass warriors Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember. (This story takes place after Season 8 - so there will be references all up to the end of Season 8 in this story. ) Please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions. For some reason, I find it easier to write Chrysalis and Sombra than I do these three - I tried to do some research into the episodes/film these three have featured in have some ideas about how they would interact, but please tell me if you think I'm getting the characterisation alright. The Meeting Of The Three Friends Far from the hustle and bustle of the city life of Manehattan, the royal business of Canterlot, and from the everyday life of Ponyville, the cool mountain air was quiet in the mountain range above the Galloping Gorge. However, travelling towards the mountain range were three creatures who had secretly been using this section of the mountain as their training ground. They needed a place that fit three important criteria – one - a suitable distance away from inhabited areas so they wouldn’t harm anyone, two - close enough still so that they could receive help if they were to over exert themselves, and three – a suitable array of tough creatures to train against would have to be available. It may not have been the most welcoming place, but the area was just right for these three. A cyan creature resembling a mixture between a deer and an insect was the first one to arrive at the secret hideaway. A gruff and no-nonsense changeling soldier prince, the creature’s instincts were constantly alert to what was around him, his eyes darting about to observe his surroundings, and his see through wings unfurling themselves and flittering slightly. Wind speed was normal for this time of day and altitude – no chance of a storm. The bird song in the distance wasn’t abnormal – no rocs around. No strange moisture in the air – no rain in the air. When he was sure that the coast was clear, the soldier relaxed, folded his insect wings back in and walked towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the landscape. Shaking the dust off his front hoof from the quarry eels he had to contend with on the way here, he moved his neck around to relieve the tension. It was a relief for him to get some peace and quiet to himself. All of those hugs and nuzzles his brother and the other changelings shared so often were a bit much for him – even after his metamorphosis and promising to protect his brother and his kind, he was not the most touchy-feely changeling out there, and found all that affection his brother offered to be rather overwhelming at times. He wasn’t suited for diplomatic discussions or peace talks – that was his brother’s forte. But when it came to organising troops, setting up defences or combat training, he was the bug for the job. He found these weekly escapes from the feelings forums, bake sales and craft fairs his kingdom had a habit of hosting to be a welcome relief. His ever-benign brother had convinced him that he needed time off for himself every so often, and as such, he had entrusted some of the changelings he had managed to train in charge of assisting his brother in protecting the hive while he was gone. It was still rather alien to him – taking days off from protecting the hive? In the old days, that was never- ‘Stop thinking of the old days! That twisted witch is gone……’ The soldier shook his head to snap himself out of his thoughts. The days suffered under the tyranny of his former queen were over, and even though there were still times when he thought the other changelings were still too soft, it was better than those days when his former queen was feeding him and his kind lies about stealing love from others all for her own selfish desires. And because of her manipulative influence, he almost gave up on his brother. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilt for taking that long to realize that, and he wasn’t even there to protect his brother when his former queen tried to kill him. He suspected that he was sent to the far reaches of Equestria during the changeling invasion for the sole purpose of preventing him from helping his brother…. But now was the time to make up for not being there to properly protect him in the past – training himself so he could protect the hive and pass on his expertise to his fellow changelings. The soldier prince had found the perfect sparring partners to train with, and just as he began to come out of his thoughts, he sensed something out of his peripheral vision. About ten meters behind him, the stone behind him was cracking from the pressure of someone approaching. A single pressure point – must be a hoof. The sound was metallic – a metal shoe. Some weight behind the movement – the approaching individual was wearing armour. He knew who the approaching friend of his was – even while facing away towards the horizon, no one could fool him. ‘Trying to sneak up on me, Tempest?’ the changeling gave a sly smile, not even turning his head to look behind him. Behind him on a high rock was a deep purple unicorn with her deep pink mane in a mohawk style, with a broken horn, a deep scratch across her right eye, a black bodysuit and metallic plate armour adorning her body. ‘You know sneak attacks aren’t my style, Pharynx – it takes all of the fun and the effort out of the fight.’ The purple pony jumped down from the rock onto the ground below, her heavy metal shoes making contact with the ground. ‘But you managed to beat me here – good going, soldier!’ ‘Come on, Tempest, you think I’m going to stay around in the changeling hive when my sappy little brother starts setting up another one of his inspirational speeches for the changelings to practice sharing love and running tea parties and other rubbish?‘ Pharynx gave a grin, showing off his pearly fangs, as if partially proud of breaking his record. ‘Nooo thank you – that’s my brother’s specialty – he’s got his sunshine, parties and rainbows, and I’ve got scraping my hooves and breaking my horn every week.’ She may have revealed that her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist, but the former right hand unicorn of the Storm King was still referred to as Tempest Shadow at times. Back at Songbird Serenade’s concert, she had to muster up some courage to reveal her name to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as she thought it would be rather embarrassing for such a tough pony like her to have such an eccentric name, but after the Princess of Friendship took it better than she was expecting, she began to call herself ‘Fizzlepop Berrytwist’ again. However…. It would take some time for Pharynx to refer to her by that name, as he and their dragon friend simply collapsed into laughter upon hearing it and preferred the way ‘Tempest Shadow’ sounded. But considering the way a lot of others switched between her names and couldn’t just settle on one, she was used to it by now. ‘Heh – well, not to sound sappy or anything, but I’ve begun seeing what I’ve been missing out on. I used to think parties were a waste of resources and energy, but thanks to Twilight Sparkle, I can see some of their appeal now.’ The armoured unicorn blushed slightly at the memory of that night – after Twilight had saved her life, when anyone else would have simply let her get swept up in that hurricane, the Princess of Friendship continued to help her see what she had been missing out on when she had shut herself out from the world. ‘And plus, whenever I do attend one, it can help me provide security backup for the guards – I tell you, they may be the kindest ponies out there, but they need to learn to cover all of their bases… You would have thought they would improve their guard assignments after….’ Tempest trailed off, wincing at the memory of when she invaded Canterlot. Pharynx chuckled in agreement, ‘Yeah, and who better to help those dorks with their security than the one who invaded it and petrified three princesses in the first place?’ Pharynx looked at Fizzlepop’s unimpressed expression and raised eyebrow towards this, grinning slightly. ‘Er… no offence.’ Fizzlepop shook her head with a slightly bashful expression on her face. ‘Yeah – sometimes I still wonder whether I should have been given another chance and not just left for dead, but… I made a promise that somehow, I’ll pay them all back for their kindness.‘ Pharynx tilted his head in interest, judging her body language and facial expressions. ‘I take it that’s why you like occasionally popping in and helping their crummy captain of the guard with making sure his guard assignments are adequate?‘ ‘Well, that, and my magic can be suitable for two reasons now – subduing any wrongdoers AND aiding in the festivities. I was at this gala a few days ago, and I spotted some weird dogs in armour trying to raid the jewels on display. I sent them flying, AND I heard a round of applause and the crowds thanking for the firework display!‘ Fizzlepop and Pharynx shared a laugh at this. Fizzlepop wondered what happened to those three dogs – last time she saw them they were running away with their slightly burnt tails between their charred legs falling down the Canterlot waterfall. Chances are they wouldn’t be attempting a second robbery anytime soon! ‘Thank Celestia for Twilight and her pupil Starlight’s magic lessons…. I suppose this baby isn’t as bad after all when I’m keeping myself composed.’ Fizzlepop tapped on the broken stump of a horn that she had. She used to dream for nothing but it’s restoration at all costs, but thanks to Twilight, she was more comfortable in the unique magic that she had to offer, and realised that when she wasn’t enraged or stressed, she found it easier to keep her magic controlled. Plus, with some of Rainbow Dash’s comments regarding it lingering in her mind, she agreed that it only made her look cooler. ‘That’s more like it, soldier!’ Pharynx playfully punched Fizzlepop on the shoulder with his hoof, and the purple pony quickly gave him an equally hard nudge back on his – even with the sound of her hard metal shoes hitting his bare shoulder, the changeling prince didn’t even flinch, and merely continued giving a hearty grin. ‘ATTENTION! THE DRAGON LORD HAS ARRIVED!’ A third, loud and booming voice rang out behind Fizzlepop and Pharynx, as a blue dragon in heavy golden armour and carrying a crystalline staff with a red jewel at the end landed on the ground in front of them, both her voice and her heavy wing beats sending wind flying away from her. As she landed, the armour helmet’s maw opened, and an impressive bout of pink flames erupted out into the sky. However, the pony and changeling remained still, unblinking as the wind blew rocked and dust about them and the intense heat erupted out in front of them. As the flames ended, the dragon was beaming with pride…. Which soon melted away into stumped confusion. Even with her helmet covering her face, the dragon’s surprise at her friends’ own LACK of surprise was clear. ‘….that’s it?’ Pharynx looked absolutely unimpressed at the dragon’s entrance as he simply rotated his neck around, a few joints popping into place. ‘You’re slipping, Ember – you’re late.’ Fizzlepop chuckled, simply sweeping her mane backwards, wiping the dust off her shoulders. ‘Well, I HAVE been flying here with my full armour on today – I thought it was time to see how you two how I fare in this! Prepare to see what Dragon Lord Ember can really do!’ Ember took off her helmet, and gave a wide grin as she held it under her arm. Just then, Ember gave out a sudden sneeze, pink flames erupting from her snout and speeding past Pharynx’s head, who looked a bit more surprised than he did before. Ember sniffed and ran her claw under her nostril, remarking, ‘…Allergies.’ ‘Heh, so you’re getting more excited for these training sessions, are you, Ember?’ Fizzlepop lightly remarked. Ember claimed that she was ‘allergic to emotions’ a few times in the past, and if that claim held true… it meant that Ember was beginning to enjoy their meetings more and more. As much as she didn’t like admitting it. And as if on cue, Ember’s face turned as red as a tomato as couldn’t contain her blushes. Clearly embarrassed, the dragon princess couldn’t take it as Fizzlepop and Pharynx both started bursting into laughter at the sight of her losing her composure. ‘Well-well, let me SHOW you how excited I am for it, if it’ll get you to back off!’ Looking around her for a suitable target, she discovered a large pile of boulders just behind her friends, and her mouth curled into a toothy grin, smoke coming out of her maw as she felt her emotions building up. She was never very good at showing her emotions, but she found ways to vent it out…. With a large hissing cough, rush of heat and a loud explosion that could be heard for miles around, Pharynx and Fizzlepop found themselves leaping off their hooves as an even LARGER burst of fire flew past them towards the boulder pile, creating a rush of kinetic energy flying out in all directions. As birds could be heard panicking and flying away in the distance, they stood there staring at the black ashen burn mark that was left on the ground where the boulders used to be…. As well as the entire ledge just behind it – having been blasted to kingdom come. ……………………..now it became ever so clearer why it was necessary to isolate themselves to have their regular catch ups. Looking back at Ember, her two friends’ mouths were agape, staring at the panting living furnace that had started stretching out her arms and fanning herself with her hands, looking as though she had briefly turned into a living volcano that was now cooling down. ‘Whooo – that felt great! And…. THAT is how excited I am for today, you two.’ As they came down from the rush that they felt from the surge of energy, Pharynx and Fizzlepop looked at each other with smiles on their faces, and then back towards Ember. ‘So, now that you’ve got all of your feelings off your chest, how are things going in the Dragon Lands, Ember?‘ Fizzlepop enquired. ‘Great, Tempest! Ever since Smoulder told me that that Spike kid finally moulted, I’ve been going to see the kid ever so often and helping him with his flying lessons whenever I can. He’s learning fast! It’s only right I pay him back for helping me!‘ Ember beamed, even as she began to sniff again as she felt happy and slightly proud of her friend… and her allergies were flaring up again. ‘Definitely sounds more fun than what my brother’s been doing back at the hive, that’s for sure – he’s been bringing over those friends of his that helped him defeat Chrysalis and they’ve been sharing….. cultural exchanges.’ Pharynx winced and gritted his fangs – memories of being pulled into baking classes against his will by changelings and ponies alike coming back to him. Rainbow coloured cake frosting covering his chitin was NOT a happy memory – unlike his brother, he did NOT have a sweet tooth. ‘But at least they’ve been asking me advice for how to make sure they don’t attract predators or disrupt any patrols while doing so – that’s one positive at least. It’s bad enough without them clogging up the tunnels with their flower arrangements….’ Pharynx rolled his eyes, as he propped up his cheek with his hoof with his tongue poking out. ‘That soft stuff was never your thing, was it, Pharynx?’ Ember laughed. ‘Heh! Next thing you know, my sappy brother’s gonna be adorning their feelers up in pink ribbons and scenting them up with that stuff they call….. erm…… ‘perfoom’!’ Pharynx remarked with a sly smirk, to which Fizzlepop and Ember laughed again. ‘How about your travels, Tempest? How’s your…. Project going?’ Ember questioned Fizzlepop with slight concern, who had rested down on her haunches, and was staring to the horizon in contemplation. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her thoughts. ‘Well…. It hasn’t been easy trying to make up for what I’ve done.’ The scarred and battle weary pony clenched her eyes shut tight, as her calm composure began to drift away, showing her inner concerns bubbling to the surface. ‘I…. visited Mount Aris the other day.’ Pharynx and Ember gasped. ‘But, isn’t that where-?!’ Pharynx questioned. Fizzlepop nodded solemnly. ‘….Yes…. yes it was. One of the settlements I helped the Storm King take over….. Queen Novo was NOT happy to see me return, and if it wasn’t for Twilight Sparkle being there with me, I don’t think I would have got out of there in one peace. Heh, she sure knows how to play the peacekeeper…. At first, the hippogriffs didn’t believe me when she said that I had helped to defeat the Storm King and saved the lives of the Element bearers….. Just saying ‘sorry’ isn’t going to be enough to help me make up for what I did – sometimes I wonder whether anyone will ever forgive for what I did, even if I did pledge allegiance to protecting Equestria and spreading peace rather than war.’ Fizzlepop’s head fell, and her ears drooped as a pained sigh left her mouth. ‘From what I heard, Twilight had to work hard to redeem herself in the eyes of Novo too – I didn’t press, but I could see the regret in her face when she mentioned she had a rocky start herself with the hippogriffs – even if it was a last resort to save Equestria….. From something I helped with…. Perhaps that’s why I found it slightly easier to apologise and be more open when I’m around her. She is the one who opened up my eyes and helped me stop going down that path, after all.’ Even with their gruff natures, Pharynx and Ember knew that Fizzlepop needed some time to gather her thoughts and tried their hardest to comfort her as her thoughts wandered. She heard of many individuals that the Princess of Friendship and her companions had helped come back to the light from their paths of darkness. Princess Luna, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Stygian, Chancellor Neighsay and even the chaotic entity Discord were all individuals who had been aided by the magic of friendship. It sounded corny on paper, but sometimes, simply sharing life experiences and relating to others really was what was needed to get their lives back on track. So… why did she still feel doubts about whether her task of being an ambassador of friendship was suited for her - someone who had endangered the lives of so many? Why did she deserve a second chance? ‘I’ve been trying to put it behind me and move on, but I think I’ll be bearing what I did for the rest of my life whenever I see a familiar face. I’ve been to Kludge Town, Mount Aris, Griffonstone and the Crystal Empire – but Ponyville is next. I haven’t been there for a long time, but after what happened… I’m beginning to have second thoughts about whether I should stay away… Even with all the lands in Equestria I’ve been to… why do I still feel these nagging doubts?‘ Pharynx was the one of the two who could relate to trying for make up for past mistakes and mending old wounds, and he approached her slowly, giving Fizzlepop a slight but firm pat on the back. Fizzlepop looked over her shoulder towards the changeling prince – his smile was surprisingly warm, considering how much he said he hated overbearing affection from his brother – but for a friend that he could relate to, he was willing to be uncharacteristically supportive. ‘Hey, Tempest – I’ve been there, you know. Whenever I walk around the hive and see my brother, sometimes I think back to my past as Chrysalis’ right hand bug. It’s not a pleasant feeling, I know – seeing things you used to not think twice about and feeling guilty about all those mistakes you made and how you could have helped but chose not to. Sometimes I think back to when Thorax and I were grubs – bless that sappy little bug’s hide, he was wiser than I was to see right through Chrysalis’ lies when I was happy just to help her drain love as long as it was for ‘the safety of the hive’…. Pharynx closed his eyes in contemplating, wondering about what it could have been like if he had paid more attention to his brother’s cries for help when they were younger. He had tried to toughen his brother up, but that wasn’t the assistance Thorax needed. While he still thought there were times his brother was too nice for his own good, he had grown to respect his charitable nature – it was what was needed to bring the changelings back to prosperity and a peaceful rule, and despite his efforts to make the changelings better at protecting themselves, he knew now that he should have acted sooner rather than later. He, like many other changelings, was taken in by Chrysalis’ lies about protecting the hive, when in reality, she was simply using them for her own selfish ends. A similar situation that Fizzlepop found herself in when she convinced herself that assisting the Storm King gain power would all work out in the end, as long as it meant getting her horn back. Pharynx, eyes still shut, spoke again quietly. ‘But…. that’s behind me now… it’s time I won’t be able to get back. I couldn’t help my brother back then… but I’ve decided I won’t let anyone harm him again, and I’ll make good on my promise.‘ Fizzlepop smiled. ‘I suppose you can never control what’s happened in the past, can you? But you can control the future for sure…. You want to protect your brother, and I want to help make sure that the places I endangered won’t be put into trouble again. And I want to make sure we can BOTH make that a reality.’ Ember, who had been standing back while watching Fizzlepop and Pharynx comfort each other, walked towards them, and spoke her own thoughts on the matter. Emotional speeches not being her forte, Ember felt herself struggling slightly to get the words out. ‘I’m…. not as good with words as you two are, but I… also want to pay someone back for helping me ask questions about myself I never did before meeting them. That….. kid Spike and those ponies that were with him made me think about a whole bunch of stuff. I used….. to think that others would just get in your way. ‘Survival of the fittest’ and ‘every dragon for themselves’ has been the dragon way of life for eons, after all….’ Ember’s memories of the Gauntlet of Fire came back to her. How would the contest to become Dragon Lord have gone if those charitable individuals hadn’t been there when she was? It would have gone to someone like GARBLE – Torch be damned…. As she continued her speech, Ember felt her allergies begin to flare up again – but she tried to fight through her emotional turmoil to comfort her friend. ‘They….. were the ones who taught me that I was pretty dumb to think that… And I feel… a… tiny bit of guilt myself for calling them stupid for thinking that. I was… questioning myself more when… Thorax made me realise I was…. Being too hard on my fellow dragon. And if sending one of our own to that School of Friendship to improve relations was one step towards paying them back, training here to be there for when a threat comes towards Equestria is another.’ Ember sneezed loudly, pink fire again coming of her nostrils. Pharynx and Fizzlepop looked back at the blue dragon, chuckling as she sniffed again. Fizzlepop stood up, her ears raising as she looked at her two friends with happiness, who smiled back. ‘Thank you for helping me get my spirits back up, you two. It really does mean a lot. And you’re right – we’ve all made mistakes in the past – but it’s time for us to pay back their kindness by being there to fight off anyone who could harm them….’ All of a sudden, Pharynx, as if realising himself, faked a gagging fit, which sent the pony and dragon into a fit of laughing. ‘Come on, enough with all of this emotional sappiness…. Talking’s good and all, but I’ll start turning into my goody two hooves brother if I let this mush fill my brain any longer!’ Ember laughed, ‘Yeah, diplomatic stuff isn’t your strong suit, Pharynx…. And I can’t go a long time thinking about feelings…. I’ll end up having to be admitted to a hospital with endless sneezing fits!‘ Fizzlepop grinned, stretching her legs and warming herself up for their scheduled session. ‘Alright, alright – let’s begin then, shall we?’ Show Me Your War FaceAuthor's Note Here’s the third part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. As always – please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions and whether you think I’m keeping them in character. The next chapter is probably going to be the last chapter in the story, as a heads up. I know the end of the chapter may come across a a little bit of an anti climax, but don't worry - the beginning of the final part will have some follow up on the ending. Show Me Your War Face The models of Chrysalis, The Storm King and Sludge were all arranged in a row next to the cliff face. To try and prop up Ember’s model, hers was wedged between two large rocks, but it’s lopsided figure was still slightly tipped over…. Once again, they had tried about ten times to get it to stay upright, but they finally decided to call it quits, and Ember said it represented Sludge perfectly, so they decided to let it be. The air was quiet yet again, until the voice of Ember pierced the silence. ‘Alright then, soldiers! Have you all been practicing your war faces lately? Our soft friends have been telling us that if we can scare our opponents into submission and make them run away, we won’t HAVE to waste our energy with fighting or hurt anyone…. As boring as that sounds compared to actual fighting, we may as well practice, right?’ Ember laughed. ‘Boring? It can be pretty fun seeing them run away. Did I tell you about the time I scared away a cockatrice? The thing ran away quicker than that time I introduced my brother to some new playmates – a bunch of pukwudgies!’ Pharynx gave a wide smile, his sharp teeth glistening. ‘Scaring away a big chicken? Yes – very impressive.’ Fizzlepop snarked in a deadpan and calm tone, to which Pharynx grimaced towards. ‘Well, let me show you exactly how I did it – this may give you nightmares, ladies, so prepare yourselves! Just because I’m all colourful now doesn’t mean that I still can’t be frightening!’ Pharynx loosened his facial muscles, and when he was ready, he gave the most menacing hiss he could. As former captain of the guard of the changelings, some of the teachings that Chrysalis had given him had rubbed on him. As much as he now resented the queen that he used to serve, he could proudly admit that one thing she did was something he was happy to remember – the terrifying faces she kept sporting every so often whenever someone had failed her. He had used shapeshifting to scare away the bullies that had threatened his brother when they were nymphs, but now he was older and fully grown, he could use that very art to protect his kind. And if he kept practicing, maybe the day would come where he would be able to scare that very same former queen into leaving Equestria, never to return. His fangs were sharper than all of the other changelings, so he was the most suited to scaring away anyone who tried to threaten his brood, and this was evident in his expression. Giving off a grin as if he was a predator holding their prey in place just before pouncing for the kill, perhaps what made it more unnerving to look at was the fact he was no longer as dark or unsettling in appearance as before he had shared his love and undergone metamorphosis. While he was the darkest of the reformed changelings in colour, you’d never be able to guess he could pull off an expression like that if you were to just look at him. But he had learned one of many advantages of his new form – the element of surprise. While he didn’t share his former queen’s cat-like irises, he was able to focus his eyes into an unbending, animalistic stare that felt like he was holding whoever he was looking at in place – pinning them to the spot simply by looking at them – as if a thousand icy daggers pierced them and had held their limbs down to the floor. Thank Celestia that he was one of the PROTECTORS of Equestria….. If he was let loose into Canterlot, he could do whatever he wanted if he just pulled that look on the guards! ‘And that’s mine – what do you think?’ Pharynx relaxed his facial muscles, and his eyes returned to normal, as he looked at Ember and Fizzlepop – they were almost entranced by the stare he demonstrated. Ember looked like she had just been chilled to the bone, and while Fizzlepop was better at controlling her emotions, she was still looking as though she was slightly shaken by Pharynx’s stare. ‘Well… I…..I think my blood temperature just dropped a few degrees…’ Ember quipped. ‘I…I thought…. dragons were cold blooded already?’ Fizzlepop turned to Ember, her voice quiet. ‘Even more so, I mean…’ Ember laughed. ‘How about that, ladies? Anyone else want a go?‘ Pharynx grinned. Ember stepped forward and was next to try to give her war face, but as she was attempting to get herself angry, she found it tricky to get herself riled up….. She had used up a lot of her anger already…. Curse those allergies, making her use up all of her strong emotions at once! ‘I…. think I’ve used up a lot of my angry faces for today, guys…. I think my big entrance backfired….’ Ember rubbed the back of her neck bashfully, and then looked up as she saw her friends staring at her in silence. Were… they judging her? Ember looked back and forth between Fizzlepop and Pharynx, and felt her emotions start to rile up. ‘B-blame my dad! He’s always saying that the best dragon lords give big flashy entrances…. But I think I need to save some of my energy for AFTER the entrance…‘ ‘No duh.’ Pharynx smirked. However, at that point, his expression curled into a devilish grin as an idea crept into his tricky mind. ‘Or did you purposefully do that to use up your energy because you were too SCARED to give it your all?’ Ember’s wings opened up in surprise, her bashfulness melting away. ‘……….scared? Me?! You think I’m scared of you, GRUB?!’ Fizzlepop caught onto what Pharynx was planning, and gave a smirk, but she had her own secret plans, so she kept her emotions to herself. She didn’t even change her expression when she saw Ember muster up another fireball in her inner being and give off another mighty roar, shooting bright pink flames and smoke outwards of her mouth. Her roar wasn’t as powerful as the one she had given when she arrived, but considering the fact she had given off multiple roars and fireballs in that same day, and that she was still young, it was impressive she could regain the energy to release fire like that so many successive times. ‘…..meh, that was alright.’ Pharynx shrugged with a smirk. ‘And it’s not like I helped you to build up your anger or anything.‘. Fizzlepop had remained quiet the whole time, even as Ember’s face appeared to be turning purple. She’s really easily riled up, isn’t she? ‘Anyway, you’re awfully quiet over there, Tempest – are you all quiet because you’ve used up all of your anger too?’ Ember stomped over to Fizzlepop. ‘You’re always so quiet like this – what’s going in that mohawked head of yours?’ ‘You’re always so quiet and reserved on the outside – but for this exercise, do you have your own war face ready? You’re always so quiet and brooding – do you even have as much anger in there as us loose cannons here?’ Pharynx tapped the quiet pony on the back of the head, who still didn’t even flinch - unknown to Pharynx, a storm was brewing inside her very being. ‘Anger, hm?‘ Fizzlepop turned around to face Ember and Pharynx, giving an oddly playful smirk on her face, even with her tone remaining as oddly tranquil as ever, ‘Well, there was a reason why I decided to call myself TEMPEST Shadow. It wasn’t just to make myself sound cooler. The Storm King loser had to steal magic to be able to make a storm, but me?‘ Slowly standing up, Fizzlepop, her eyes closed, began to laugh in a slightly cocky tone. ‘I could always make one. I could ALWAYS make a storm whenever I wanted.’ And then – the lightning storm came. Opening up her eyes, Fizzlepop released all of her emotions that she had been holding in out of her cracked horn. Raw lightning and sparks burst out, directed towards the cliff face away from them. Her usually stoic expression had warped into an expression of unparalleled fury – her teeth were gritted firmly, her eyes wide with her pupils shrunk, and her limbs were firmly pressed into the ground, her horseshoes cracking the ground beneath her. Clearing her throat and closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, Fizzlepop then calmly looked at her befuddled friends’ faces and the scorched marks on the wall. ‘If I was to show anger more often, that’s what it would look like. Still want me to be angry more?’ Fizzlepop’s expression returned back to her reserved and stoic normalcy, she had an air of smug pride about her. Pharynx and Ember had to struggle to get their breaths back from the lightning that had burst out from their friend’s broken horn, but before long, the two of them were laughing with vim and vigour, exhilarated by their friend’s warrior spirit. ‘Hahaha! Now THAT’S a war face right there! I swear, you better try that around my brother, or you might give him a heart attack!’ Pharynx gave out a hearty laugh, impressed with Fizzlepop’s display. But when she looked towards him, she could see a bead of sweat dropping down his forehead. His composure was cracking slightly? ‘……seriously though, please don’t do it around him…. Okay?’ ‘W-wow, okay – so you can direct all your energy…. T-toward a wall… But… c-can you… erm… erm… I’m not… scared… are you scared, Pharynx? I’m – I’m not…’ Ember could not contain the shock in her voice in the slightest as she stumbled to her feet, and when looking towards Pharynx, she noticed the sweat drop dropping down his forehead, and gave a slightly shaky chuckle at the sight of him being nervous. ‘Oh, please stop with the gushing… Yours were great too. And unlike you, I’m not used to expelling all my rage like that, so…. G-give me a moment.’ Fizzlepop took deep breaths, as her emotional display had partially drained her – causing her to drop to her haunches for a while, wiping her mohawk back as she attempted to regain her energy. ‘N-now, are we all ready to do what we’ve actually been meaning to do with these things?’ Ember, putting her helmet back on, and clearing her throat, held her sceptre close to her, and leered towards the crude shell and stick model of Sludge the dragon, rocked slightly by all of the raw energy that had erupted from the three companions. ‘If they were the real thing, I think they would have keeled over and died from our faces just then….. but let’s kick their butts anyway – I’d willingly destroy that deceitful witch TWICE, let me tell you now – once mentally and once physically – but it still wouldn’t be enough for her.‘ Pharynx laughed. ‘Phew…. I’m ready to rid the world of that hideous king’s shabby merchandise now….’ Fizzlepop, having regained her breath, shakily stood back up, and stared towards the plushie that lay on the floor in front of her. Guiding all of their energy towards the targets of their aggression, the three friends all charged towards the three models that lay in front of them. ………..needless to say, it was a curb stomp battle. A Time To RelaxAuthor's Note Here’s the fourth and final part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. Don’t worry, though, because I plan to feature these three in more fanfictions in the future. I had a lot of fun writing this one and coming up with little headcanons for how these three would interact, and as always, comments are welcome as to how I can improve my writing for future fanfictions in the future. I have a lot more ideas in mind, so it hopefully won’t be long until I start work on another fanfiction. A Time To Relax Hours had passed since Pharynx, Ember and Flizzlepop had begun their assault on their three models that they had created, which now lay in pieces that had been scattered to the four winds, all laid about throughout their training ground. One of Fizzlepop’s strong kicks had ripped the Storm King plushie clean in half and lay the pieces of stuffing strewn all about, and the rest of what used to be the head was now scorched beyond recognition, courtesy of a well placed bolt from her broken horn. The bottom half had been tossed about a few dozen times and was now laying half buried in the rock face after being headbutted deep in there. Fizzlepop wondered whether her headbutt would leave her with a heavy headache for some time afterwards, but somehow, seeing the last of the Storm King’s merchandise well and truly destroyed made any aches or pains all worth it in the end. At long last, the Storm King’s presence was over. Pharynx had put a ‘kick me’ sign on his Chrysalis model’s back for a reason. He had kicked it…. A couple of dozen times. In the face. Along with a few magical horn and antler slashes that had cleaved the body in two, and an aerial attack that he used to pick up the model and toss it to the ground. It was as tough as Pharynx’s carapace, but he had managed to eventually break into its hard shell and break through into its core. But this had one down side – now he knew he had to work a bit harder to reinforce the hive. But the upsides, the facts that he knew he could say to his brother that he had paid some attention during those crummy crafting classes of his and that he had new knowledge as how to protect the hive, were all worth it. Plus, he just loved envisioning Chrysalis being the one that he had just snapped in half. The grin he gave while doing so was perhaps a little bit TOO happy… Dragon scales were indeed very hard to scratch, but somehow, Ember had managed. Tail slaps, blasts from the bloodstone sceptre, fire breath, claw slashes and a couple of kicks into the head were delivered, and upon the two hundredth slash, Ember thought she was seeing things when she finally found a weak spot in the scale body that cracked. Sadly, she wasn’t able to make more than just a crack on the scale, but considering how dragon scales were believed to be unbreakable by some people, she had just proved that naysayers wrong. Even if she had become so frustrated at some point that she considered tossing it off the cliff a few times….. Silence passed over the mountain, but if you were to ignore the rocks that lay smashed all about, scorch marks, partially destroyed cliff side and debris here and there, you would be forgiven for thinking Pharynx, Fizzlepop and Ember were not there. It was way quiet. So quiet that the birds could be heard in the distance and a few gusts of air sounded off through the hollow rock face. Interestingly, the three fighting friends had all been preparing for training themselves by attacking models based on some of their worst foes and had thought that would be the highlight of the day…. But surprisingly, little time during that day had been spent doing just that. The rest of the afternoon had been spent with them doing something which they didn’t expect to be doing together for long periods when they had started meeting up only weeks before…… Talking. About something other than their strength. Far from the edge of the cliff face and atop the plateau on the middle of the mountaintop, the three friends, their thirst for battle quenched, were now simply laying on their backs, watching the clouds roll by. A moment of peace of quiet was bizarre for them, but to make the battle that much more palatable, some rest and relaxation was necessary for them. But there hadn’t been many times in all their lives where they had times of tranquillity. Before, they thought of quiet moments as simply time to recuperate and get their energy back for when they would leap back into the fray shortly after. But nowadays, they found it to be just as worthwhile as the battles they were used to taking part in, and were actually enjoying them equally. ‘Haha, so you actually allowed that stage magician to make you be a test dummy for that trick?!‘ Fizzlepop questioned Pharynx, who had just weaved a tale about the time Trixie had visited the changeling kingdom and asked for a volunteer for her sawn-in-half trick. Pharynx was the only one who volunteered – something about the possibility of being chopped in two scared all of the other changelings away from signing up, for some reason. ‘Hey, she was looking for an assistant who could keep a straight face while he’s facing a giant saw being lowered onto him, and I was the only one who was brave enough to give it a go. I swear, some of the nymphs looked like they were about to faint just before the saw went off – but the worst part was probably the part afterwards when she asked me to transform into a stream of cloth to help her with her trick afterwards. When I offered my brother the chance to get to know his friends, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.’ Pharynx shook his head – it seemed being an entertainer wasn’t exactly his strong suit, never mind for five tricks in a row. That was something that would have his brother in giggling fits for hours afterwards. ‘Hey, speaking of entertainment shows, I’ll have to invite you two to one of our fiery surfboard shows at some point – we don’t have the shield of that… Fast… Magnum guy around anymore, but I’m sure we could make a better board that could rival that baby! And Rainbow Dash has been working with me to turn it into something of a great spectacle – we even had the Wonderbolts themselves come by and help us set it up!’ Ember chuckled. While she did wish that she could have been the one to have humiliated Garble in the same way Rainbow Dash and Spike did when they won Flash Magnus’ shield from him about a year and a half before, she loved seeing the look on that loser’s face whenever he attempted to board on the lava now and ended up falling off into the lava every single time – he claimed he was rusty, but Ember knew it was all due to the shield that he was able to even stand a chance against anyone else the first time. ‘I’m game! That Garble sounds like your typical ‘all bark and no bite’ cowardly bully. I’ve beaten up quite a few of those in my time, so I’m sure I could give him a good hiding.’ Pharynx grinned. ‘Haha, alright, Tempest, your turn now - got anything done recently you wanna share about? Spill it, sister!’ Ember lightly nudged Fizzlepop, who simply brushed it off with a smile. ‘Well…I’ve found a little filly in Ponyville that I’ve started talking to whenever I pass by…. She’s a little pegasus without the ability to fly…..‘ Tempest began to reminisce, which immediately caught Pharynx and Ember’s attention. ‘When she started talking to me about her difficulties with flight, I… began to relate to her. Wanting to do anything to be able to fly, becoming desperate whenever anyone would tease you over not being able to do something you’ve dreamed of doing…. And having others around you who helped you to see your true strengths and realising that… even if you can’t live out your dreams the same way as everyone else…. There are other routes you can take, and having others to support you can help you realise strengths you have that you never realised…...‘ Pharynx was about to retort with one of his typical snarky side comments but seeing the serene smile on Fizzlepop’s face as she leaned back onto the ground, he decided to withdraw the comment. He simply nodded, seeing how important the memory was to her. Ember looked back at this, and the two decided to follow suit. For a minute, they all just sat in silence, together, watching the clouds fly by from above them. Silence is golden? Well… for that moment, they began to appreciate how important simple peace and quiet really could be. They didn’t need to say any words… until Ember had a thought come to her. ‘So, not to get all deep or nothing, but….. anyone notice that we’ve been talking a lot more recently?’ Ember sat up and turned towards her friends. ‘Hmm? What are you talking about?’ Pharynx turned his head slightly towards her. ‘We’ve all clammed up for the past minute!’ They all lightly laughed at Pharynx’s jest. ‘Well, when we first started these little meet ups, we only really spoke a few words at a time to each other and let our claws or hooves do the talking. And now we’re actually speaking to each other in full sentences… Like we’re actually being open with each other…..’ Ember rubbed the back of her head and felt a sniffle coming on as she began to open up her heart yet again. It was true, though. Talking more intimately about their life affairs outside of their battles was not something that came easy for them, and when they were younger, having simple conversation was alien to them. But here they were, chatting away like any other group of close friends. Fizzlepop gazed off into the afternoon sky, dreamily watching the clouds as she thought. ‘Before the time I was at that party with Twilight Sparkle, it’s been years since I’ve actually been together with someone watching the sky like this. It’s almost like I’m properly experiencing it for only the SECOND time. Charting a course for a battleship was the only reason why I gazed up at the sky before. Now…. I don’t need a reason to other than….. I like looking stopping to look at the clouds every so often. But now…. The sky seems blue again. And I can dream again.’ Fizzlepop closed her eyes and gave a genuine smile, as she breathed in deeply through her nostrils, and exhaling gently. Pharynx sat up, slouching forward. ‘I hate to talk sappy… but I think the same. When I was a little grub, I used to think you could just solve all of your problems by beating them into a pulp or yelling at them, but now I think about it…. YELLING at everyone the way I used would probably cause them to snap or something if I didn’t take my brother’s advice every once in a while to tone down and think about their feelings…. I have to give that big ol’ dork credit where credit’s due…. He’s got a good point.‘ ‘Heheh, this doesn’t mean we’ll have to start going to your brother’s feelings forums, does it? One wrong word and I’ll probably turn into a walking thunderstorm if I were to go to one of those….’ Fizzlepop smirked. ‘Tsk. Nah! Not in a million years… Let’s not kid ourselves… We may be a BIT more open, but don’t expect me to go spouting any psychoanalytical speeches to making them feel all good and mushy about themselves. There are only a select few saps in the world I’d dare even THINK about spouting all of this sappy rubbish to – and two of those saps are sitting right here. Two of the best, bravest saps I’m glad I’ve ever met.’ ‘Heheh, right back at you, buddy.’ Ember playfully rubbed Pharynx on the head, prompting him to slap her on the back in response, releasing another fiery sneeze from the dragon. ‘But there’s someone I have to make another chance to thank for all of this….. I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for them. Especially the Princess….’ Fizzlepop happily sighed. They knew who it was she was referring to. Before, these three were alone. Unhappy. Lost in life. Never amounting to anything. But now, they had got their lives back on track and had something to protect. They weren’t just fighting to survive, proving themselves for superfluous causes or losing sight of what was important. They could live again. And it was all because of one special princess and her group of friends who had linked everything together. The rescue of the changelings from their tyrannical overlord and convincing their new leader he didn’t have to run and hide anymore, which in turn made way to Pharynx learning that there was someone worth using his services to protect. Fizzlepop learning that even if there are those out there that would abandon you out of fear or use you while making promises they didn’t intend to keep, there’s always someone and something worth fighting for. Ember gaining the courage to stand up against those who belittle and demean you and claim your birth right while learning what true inner strength really is with the help of an unlikely hero – a small purple dragon who often felt like the black sheep of the species until he had friends to help his self esteem. All of those fresh new starts had a catalyst at the centre of it all – the Elements of Harmony, and the Element of Friendship – Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. They were an influence for them, and their actions paved the way for others to follow in her example and improve their worlds. It was all too easy to forget how important kindness and compassion could be when there were those around who were all too willing to use and corrupt, but the influences of those six and their close friends and family had eventually travelled down a path that had shown them just how important and valuable that could be. It still wasn’t their strong suit to be sentimental or emotional, but they at least had a better understanding at how important talking out their problems with others and being more diplomatic could be. Ever since they had begun meeting up with each other, they had continued to defrost and let down the barriers around their hearts – opening themselves up and showing that to be a protector of the peace, it didn’t just help to have the physical strength to fight off anyone who would willing do them harm, but to have the emotional strength to empathise with their loved ones too. After some time had passed, Pharynx gazed up at the colour of the sky. Warm tones of orange and purple had begun to intermingle with the cool blue horizon, as twilight had begun to set in. His ears pricking up, he was slightly shocked. THAT much time had been spent just gazing at the sky shooting the breeze? …….When the defeat of Chrysalis had resulted in the top of the hive being blown off, Pharynx was fuming over the fact the hive was open to the elements, but now he could see the benefits of gazing at the sky. Slowly rising his head and neck, Pharynx gave off a wide yawn, his sharp fangs glistening in the light, while he stretched his limbs, a few stiff joints cracking. ‘Well… I think it’s time for me to get going, you two. Ocellus wanted me to help her with this school report she’s writing on the history of the changelings…. Hopefully I won’t be roped into just simple spellchecking. Besides, Thorax would go into hysterics if I was out after sunset.‘ Pharynx laughed. Fizzlepop rose next, shaking the dust off her mane and laughing at Pharynx’s comments. ‘Alright then – I need to head off soon too. To see how this new suit of armour I commissioned is coming along. This one is cool and all… after the Storm King insignia was rubbed off, of course….. but I got some complaints when I showed up to a party in Canterlot wearing it, so…. For obvious reasons, Rarity and Twilight said they were looking for designers for a new suit of armour that would bring about less bad memories.‘ Jerking up quickly, Ember looked as though she had just woken out of a dream, and picking up her helmet, which lay besides her staff, coined in. ‘That time already?! Ah well - I gotta prepare for this diplomatic meeting I got with that Prince Rutherford guy. I… don’t know how much of it would just be composed of talking about stomping on sticks and yaphidyoo, erm, yavidyee, erm…. Oh, forget it! Watchamacallitphone playing, but I gotta get myself all geared up for talking about ‘improving relations’. I think the times I’ve visited Spike SHOULD make me it a bit easier for me, but… eh, we’ll see. Hopefully a war won’t break out….‘ Fizzlepop tapped Ember on the back, with a smile. ‘You’ll be fine! Same time next week, then? Where would you like to meet up next time?’ Ember, after having a think, thought up an idea, ‘Hmm, how about Neighagra Falls? I think we need some swimming practice to try on next – and cannonballing off the cliffs are meant to be pretty fun from what I’ve heard.’ Pharynx shrugged. ‘Ehhh….. Alright, but we’re only doing it to get practice swimming – last time someone offered to take me to water was when the changelings tried to bathe me in their ‘wash time’ ridiculousness. No soap and no towels, okay?‘ Fizzlepop chuckled. ‘Heheh, it’s a promise. But…. Before we go….’ She turned to the remains of the models that they had destroyed earlier on in the afternoon. ‘We…. Are going to clean up that mess, right? If someone finds out we were littering, a certain princess, dragon child and changeling king are not going to be happy with us…‘ Pharynx and Ember gave out a long groan, burying their faces in their hooves/claws. Who Do You Want To Punch In The Face Most?Author's Note Here’s the second part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. I know that this part is shorter than my last part, but I was just wanting to split this story up into sections so that I could update it regularly, and the end of this part goes into a time skip that will move onto the next part so I decided to stop it there. As always – please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions and whether you think I’m keeping them in character. Who Do You Want To Punch In The Face Most? ‘Fifty…seven…. Fifty….eight…. fifty….nine…..SIXTY!’ The sound of heavy breathing and panting was carried on the wind as Pharynx and Ember were doing push ups on the cliff. Both of them were hard at work – the cold air atop the cliff and the rough ground was only familiar to them, where other creatures would prefer to carry out their exercise in a gym. But the toughest of the tough didn’t settle for comforts that they felt would hold them down – they preferred to workout raw and rugged. ‘AND…. A HUNDRED!’ Pharynx relaxed by lying on the ground, as he felt a burning sensation through his limbs – his limbs were stinging from the heavy exertion. ‘Phew… and that’s my piece done…. how… are you doing there, Ember?’ Pharynx looked to his left and saw the blue dragon had decided to keep her armour on throughout the workout… and as such, was paying the price for it. She usually only wore it for formal events, but the proud dragon could not afford to be upstaged. ‘Grrrngh…. One…. Hun….dred, Phew!’ Ember collapsed on the ground panting, her helmet rolling off her head as she felt her arms give out. ‘Fine! Just fine… just gimme a second to get my breath back – I’m not used to doing heavy workouts in this thing!‘ Pharynx gave a laugh as he looked at the exhausted dragon. ‘Heh, guess you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew! The best armour you need is your bare scales, skin or chitin!‘ Pharynx proudly showed off the scars he had on the back of his neck – raw and rough marks he got from the last time he fended off a maulwurf from the changeling hive. Ember gave a pout as she rolled her eyes, but retorted with a snarky comment. ‘Well, I was able to match your hundred push ups with this full body armour on, so there, maggot!’ Pharynx replied with a simple punch on the shoulder, but in a playful manner between warriors. ‘Well then, we’re all finished with ours! Are you managing to keep up with the experts over there, Temp-‘ They looked over towards the third soldier among them, but they quickly realised that perhaps stopping to talk wasn’t a good idea, as nearby, their friend was trouncing their record. ‘Onehundredandfortyfiveonehundredandfortysixonehundredandfortysevenonehundredandfortyeightonehundredandfortynineonehundredandfifty!’ ‘…..est.’ Pharynx and Ember looked over at Fizzlepop with bewildered expressions on their faces. It crossed their minds earlier, but of course SHE would be able to do so many push ups with a full set of armour on – she had been a right hand pony for an invading king for such a large portion of her life and they had heard about, and they heard of the flips and kicks she could pull off with it holding her down too! Not even breaking a sweat, the purple pony stood up slowly, slowly rubbing her hooves across the floor in front of her and tossing her mane back in triumph. ‘Looks like I win today!’ Fizzlepop beamed as she turned to face their wide eyed expressions, chuckling. ‘…..well, I think we’re well and truly warmed up now.’ Ember slowly stood up, putting her helmet back on, now that she had regained her breath, stretching her behind her head. Pharynx stood up, unfolding his wings for a second before folding them back in again. ‘You may win the push up contest, Tempest, but we’re only just beginning.‘ ‘Okay then, you two – as a recap - today’s procedure is step #5 – Bring a model of the being you want to punch in the face the most and destroy the ever loving Tartarus out of it. You have the models with you Ember?‘ Fizzlepop asked. ‘Heh, sure thing, Tempest – here you are, you two, I’ve been safekeeping them.’ Ember reached into the special backpack that had recently been fitted into her armour and began to pull out the three models. Looking down into the bag, she stopped as she looked at the first one she came to, making absolutely no effort to hide her smirk. ‘I think…This one’s yours, Pharynx.’ The first model was a rather crude looking wooden carving of what vaguely resembled the former queen of the changelings herself. Battered and chipped wood adorned by blue cloth making up what was meant to be the mane, wings and tail. The wood didn’t even look like five seconds had gone into picking out pieces of wood to make it, and more like it’s creator had simply pulled up the first few sticks they came across and just rammed them into each other. The face had been purposefully made in an unflattering manner, with a goofy expression with big bulbous eyes and a tongue hanging out, as if to mock the banished former queen further. Stapled to the back of the model was a piece of paper with the words ‘kick me’ written on it. ‘I see that SOMEONE hasn’t been paying attention to their brother’s craft fairs.’ Fizzlepop chuckled to the changeling. ‘Oh, like I’m going to allow myself to be graded by how… ahem, ‘pretty’ it looks. PRETTY doesn’t protect a hive from attackers – I built it in the same way I’ve built my hive’s reinforcements. Try and break that thing. Go ahead, and you’ll see just how much I really HAVE been paying attention.’ Pharynx scoffed, with a smug grin on his face. Sure enough, Fizzlepop looked down at the crude model, and tried pressing her hoof down on the body on its wooden head hard….. It didn’t even seem to budge! She then tried kicking it. Still nothing! How could such a poorly crafted figure be able to resist one of her kicks? ‘I… take it back… you know your stuff!’ ‘And I don’t know what Tempest was talking about earlier – this model’s face is a definite improvement from the real thing!’ Ember added. 'The 'kick me' is a nice touch too...' ‘See? Told you so. Now then, what are yours like?’ Pharynx went over to Ember and levitated one of the next of the models out of her bag with his magic, and as his antlers crackled, his magic almost faltered when he saw what he pulled out, as he could barely hide his laughter. ‘And-AND you thought MINE was badly made?! Wh-What in Tartarus is THIS supposed to be?!’ Pharynx held up a weird green model out of Ember’s bag made out of discarded dragon scales… the head and body were rather huge and bulbous, but the legs and arms were little more than sticks that had been poorly rammed into the sides of the shell. Pharynx managed to fight his laughter long enough to try placing the model on the ground….. only for it to fall over no matter how much he tried to make it stand up. After a few dozen attempts, Pharynx gave up and let it flop over and rock about on its back. Staring at the extremely lopsided scale model in silence for a few seconds, Pharynx attempted to maintain calm, but with recent changes in his life, and thanks to his brother influencing him to try to not be as much of a stick in the mud, he found it less embarrassing to have a laugh. The flood gates of laughter burst open, and Pharynx lost it, holding his sides as his legs flailed about as he rolled about on his back. He and Fizzlepop both couldn’t help but be in hysterics at the even worse display of craftsmanship that Ember had donated. While Fizzlepop’s emotions were more contained and less over the top than Pharynx’s, it was clear she was in high spirits too. Eventually, Ember had decided to break up the laughter at her expense by coughing up another burst of flame, which managed to partially disperse her two laughing friends – even if they still had wide smirks plastered on their faces. ‘Oh, okay, so we don’t have many real artistic crafting classes in the dragon kingdom! Everyone’s a critic…’ Ember puffed out her cheeks as a blush came onto it. ‘But you DO know how tough dragon scales are, don’t you? Why, to even DENT it is awesome enough – never mind make a crack in it.’ ‘Y-yeah, sure…. Whatever you say, Little Miss Artist.’ Pharynx’s sides were hurting from his laughter, tears forming in the corner of his eye, as he scrambled to his hooves. ‘And if you knew exactly who mine is supposed to be a model of – you’d know he deserves this even MORE than that hag you used to call a queen…‘ Ember sneered at the model, unpleasant thoughts coming to mind about the dragon that her model was a crude representation of. ‘This freak’s a wanted criminal even among dragons – that kid Smoulder told me that he tricked our pal Spike into thinking he was his father, stole Princess Twilight’s stuff, tried to take over her castle for himself and even managed to get away without getting his butt kicked to the kerb! Even with that jerk Garble around, SLUDGE here makes HIM look like a flippin’ saint! I swear, if I was the one who had that fat jerk in front of me, I would have shown him EXACTLY where he can shove that stuff he stole!‘ Ember punched the ground, just inches away from the Sludge model’s head. ‘……wow, what a creep.’ Pharynx had stopped his laughter, and now that he had heard the tale of Sludge the dragon, he could agree that such an unflattering depiction of him was well deserved. ‘Last but not least – here’s yours, Tempest.’ Ember pulled into her bag and tossed Fizzlepop her model – it didn’t take a genius to figure out who this one was of. And indeed, Fizzlepop’s broken horn gave slight sparks as she looked upon it…. It was a doll resembling the Storm King. ‘It’s time to remove the last of the traces of that tyrant.’ Fizzlepop slowly growled as she held up the doll in her hoof. ‘Capper and Captain Celaeno told me that they had tossed all of the boxes of that yeti’s…. ‘merchandise’ into the first volcano they could find, but they saved me this one just for today. Never again will anyone have to see this lying despot’s face….’ She sneered as her magic illuminated the button eyes of the little plush toy. ‘Never again will he plague our world with shoddy merchandise with ridiculous pricing…’ Pharynx gave a poor attempt at a joke, which he hoped would cheer Fizzlepop up. Thankfully, she cracked a weak chuckle at this. ‘Pfft, yeah, not only was he using me and lying to me about the whole… horn incident, but the guy had absolutely NO idea about commerce. I mean, LOOK at this THING! What self respecting child would want a toy of THIS looking at them every single night, besides a masochist?!’ Fizzlepop pulled a disgusted expression as she squeezed the toy, the button eyes bulging slightly. ‘All right then - these three represent everything that we’re fighting against, and what we’re protecting Equestria from.’ Fizzlepop stood her model up against the other three. True, they didn’t have a model representing the one who had just a few weeks ago threatened to drain Equestria of its magic and enslave the whole of Equestria into her pawns, but they all knew that if they had a picture reference for her, they would have wilfully made an effigy of her and burned her to the ground. They had heard that the Princess of Friendship HERSELF removed every single picture of that filly from the School of Friendship - the crimes committed by that individual was so heinous that even the PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP HERSELF believed that she was a lost cause and whose picture had no place in the School of Friendship. They couldn’t have been there to help stop her, but as they said earlier – that was in the past. Cozy Glow was in Tartarus now, and while she may not ever return to harm their companions again, they could make sure no similar threat would be there to endanger Equestria again. And if she did return…. they had promised they would take turns in teaching her what would happen if they put any of their friends in danger ever again. All of these models in front of them were merely substitutes for the real threats Equestria was under fire from, but they would be suitable for them to test themselves against. Despotic rulers who corrupted or harmed their loved ones and remained at large still. Those who were willing to lie and scheme and whose crimes still had scars that ran deep, even if the committers were long gone. Heartless individuals who would wilfully walk into someone’s life and take advantage of their kindness.
The Meeting Of The Three FriendsAuthor's Note Here's the first part of my Friendship is Magic fanfiction I'm working on involving the three badass warriors Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember. (This story takes place after Season 8 - so there will be references all up to the end of Season 8 in this story. ) Please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions. For some reason, I find it easier to write Chrysalis and Sombra than I do these three - I tried to do some research into the episodes/film these three have featured in have some ideas about how they would interact, but please tell me if you think I'm getting the characterisation alright. The Meeting Of The Three Friends Far from the hustle and bustle of the city life of Manehattan, the royal business of Canterlot, and from the everyday life of Ponyville, the cool mountain air was quiet in the mountain range above the Galloping Gorge. However, travelling towards the mountain range were three creatures who had secretly been using this section of the mountain as their training ground. They needed a place that fit three important criteria – one - a suitable distance away from inhabited areas so they wouldn’t harm anyone, two - close enough still so that they could receive help if they were to over exert themselves, and three – a suitable array of tough creatures to train against would have to be available. It may not have been the most welcoming place, but the area was just right for these three. A cyan creature resembling a mixture between a deer and an insect was the first one to arrive at the secret hideaway. A gruff and no-nonsense changeling soldier prince, the creature’s instincts were constantly alert to what was around him, his eyes darting about to observe his surroundings, and his see through wings unfurling themselves and flittering slightly. Wind speed was normal for this time of day and altitude – no chance of a storm. The bird song in the distance wasn’t abnormal – no rocs around. No strange moisture in the air – no rain in the air. When he was sure that the coast was clear, the soldier relaxed, folded his insect wings back in and walked towards the edge of the cliff overlooking the landscape. Shaking the dust off his front hoof from the quarry eels he had to contend with on the way here, he moved his neck around to relieve the tension. It was a relief for him to get some peace and quiet to himself. All of those hugs and nuzzles his brother and the other changelings shared so often were a bit much for him – even after his metamorphosis and promising to protect his brother and his kind, he was not the most touchy-feely changeling out there, and found all that affection his brother offered to be rather overwhelming at times. He wasn’t suited for diplomatic discussions or peace talks – that was his brother’s forte. But when it came to organising troops, setting up defences or combat training, he was the bug for the job. He found these weekly escapes from the feelings forums, bake sales and craft fairs his kingdom had a habit of hosting to be a welcome relief. His ever-benign brother had convinced him that he needed time off for himself every so often, and as such, he had entrusted some of the changelings he had managed to train in charge of assisting his brother in protecting the hive while he was gone. It was still rather alien to him – taking days off from protecting the hive? In the old days, that was never- ‘Stop thinking of the old days! That twisted witch is gone……’ The soldier shook his head to snap himself out of his thoughts. The days suffered under the tyranny of his former queen were over, and even though there were still times when he thought the other changelings were still too soft, it was better than those days when his former queen was feeding him and his kind lies about stealing love from others all for her own selfish desires. And because of her manipulative influence, he almost gave up on his brother. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilt for taking that long to realize that, and he wasn’t even there to protect his brother when his former queen tried to kill him. He suspected that he was sent to the far reaches of Equestria during the changeling invasion for the sole purpose of preventing him from helping his brother…. But now was the time to make up for not being there to properly protect him in the past – training himself so he could protect the hive and pass on his expertise to his fellow changelings. The soldier prince had found the perfect sparring partners to train with, and just as he began to come out of his thoughts, he sensed something out of his peripheral vision. About ten meters behind him, the stone behind him was cracking from the pressure of someone approaching. A single pressure point – must be a hoof. The sound was metallic – a metal shoe. Some weight behind the movement – the approaching individual was wearing armour. He knew who the approaching friend of his was – even while facing away towards the horizon, no one could fool him. ‘Trying to sneak up on me, Tempest?’ the changeling gave a sly smile, not even turning his head to look behind him. Behind him on a high rock was a deep purple unicorn with her deep pink mane in a mohawk style, with a broken horn, a deep scratch across her right eye, a black bodysuit and metallic plate armour adorning her body. ‘You know sneak attacks aren’t my style, Pharynx – it takes all of the fun and the effort out of the fight.’ The purple pony jumped down from the rock onto the ground below, her heavy metal shoes making contact with the ground. ‘But you managed to beat me here – good going, soldier!’ ‘Come on, Tempest, you think I’m going to stay around in the changeling hive when my sappy little brother starts setting up another one of his inspirational speeches for the changelings to practice sharing love and running tea parties and other rubbish?‘ Pharynx gave a grin, showing off his pearly fangs, as if partially proud of breaking his record. ‘Nooo thank you – that’s my brother’s specialty – he’s got his sunshine, parties and rainbows, and I’ve got scraping my hooves and breaking my horn every week.’ She may have revealed that her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist, but the former right hand unicorn of the Storm King was still referred to as Tempest Shadow at times. Back at Songbird Serenade’s concert, she had to muster up some courage to reveal her name to Twilight Sparkle and her friends, as she thought it would be rather embarrassing for such a tough pony like her to have such an eccentric name, but after the Princess of Friendship took it better than she was expecting, she began to call herself ‘Fizzlepop Berrytwist’ again. However…. It would take some time for Pharynx to refer to her by that name, as he and their dragon friend simply collapsed into laughter upon hearing it and preferred the way ‘Tempest Shadow’ sounded. But considering the way a lot of others switched between her names and couldn’t just settle on one, she was used to it by now. ‘Heh – well, not to sound sappy or anything, but I’ve begun seeing what I’ve been missing out on. I used to think parties were a waste of resources and energy, but thanks to Twilight Sparkle, I can see some of their appeal now.’ The armoured unicorn blushed slightly at the memory of that night – after Twilight had saved her life, when anyone else would have simply let her get swept up in that hurricane, the Princess of Friendship continued to help her see what she had been missing out on when she had shut herself out from the world. ‘And plus, whenever I do attend one, it can help me provide security backup for the guards – I tell you, they may be the kindest ponies out there, but they need to learn to cover all of their bases… You would have thought they would improve their guard assignments after….’ Tempest trailed off, wincing at the memory of when she invaded Canterlot. Pharynx chuckled in agreement, ‘Yeah, and who better to help those dorks with their security than the one who invaded it and petrified three princesses in the first place?’ Pharynx looked at Fizzlepop’s unimpressed expression and raised eyebrow towards this, grinning slightly. ‘Er… no offence.’ Fizzlepop shook her head with a slightly bashful expression on her face. ‘Yeah – sometimes I still wonder whether I should have been given another chance and not just left for dead, but… I made a promise that somehow, I’ll pay them all back for their kindness.‘ Pharynx tilted his head in interest, judging her body language and facial expressions. ‘I take it that’s why you like occasionally popping in and helping their crummy captain of the guard with making sure his guard assignments are adequate?‘ ‘Well, that, and my magic can be suitable for two reasons now – subduing any wrongdoers AND aiding in the festivities. I was at this gala a few days ago, and I spotted some weird dogs in armour trying to raid the jewels on display. I sent them flying, AND I heard a round of applause and the crowds thanking for the firework display!‘ Fizzlepop and Pharynx shared a laugh at this. Fizzlepop wondered what happened to those three dogs – last time she saw them they were running away with their slightly burnt tails between their charred legs falling down the Canterlot waterfall. Chances are they wouldn’t be attempting a second robbery anytime soon! ‘Thank Celestia for Twilight and her pupil Starlight’s magic lessons…. I suppose this baby isn’t as bad after all when I’m keeping myself composed.’ Fizzlepop tapped on the broken stump of a horn that she had. She used to dream for nothing but it’s restoration at all costs, but thanks to Twilight, she was more comfortable in the unique magic that she had to offer, and realised that when she wasn’t enraged or stressed, she found it easier to keep her magic controlled. Plus, with some of Rainbow Dash’s comments regarding it lingering in her mind, she agreed that it only made her look cooler. ‘That’s more like it, soldier!’ Pharynx playfully punched Fizzlepop on the shoulder with his hoof, and the purple pony quickly gave him an equally hard nudge back on his – even with the sound of her hard metal shoes hitting his bare shoulder, the changeling prince didn’t even flinch, and merely continued giving a hearty grin. ‘ATTENTION! THE DRAGON LORD HAS ARRIVED!’ A third, loud and booming voice rang out behind Fizzlepop and Pharynx, as a blue dragon in heavy golden armour and carrying a crystalline staff with a red jewel at the end landed on the ground in front of them, both her voice and her heavy wing beats sending wind flying away from her. As she landed, the armour helmet’s maw opened, and an impressive bout of pink flames erupted out into the sky. However, the pony and changeling remained still, unblinking as the wind blew rocked and dust about them and the intense heat erupted out in front of them. As the flames ended, the dragon was beaming with pride…. Which soon melted away into stumped confusion. Even with her helmet covering her face, the dragon’s surprise at her friends’ own LACK of surprise was clear. ‘….that’s it?’ Pharynx looked absolutely unimpressed at the dragon’s entrance as he simply rotated his neck around, a few joints popping into place. ‘You’re slipping, Ember – you’re late.’ Fizzlepop chuckled, simply sweeping her mane backwards, wiping the dust off her shoulders. ‘Well, I HAVE been flying here with my full armour on today – I thought it was time to see how you two how I fare in this! Prepare to see what Dragon Lord Ember can really do!’ Ember took off her helmet, and gave a wide grin as she held it under her arm. Just then, Ember gave out a sudden sneeze, pink flames erupting from her snout and speeding past Pharynx’s head, who looked a bit more surprised than he did before. Ember sniffed and ran her claw under her nostril, remarking, ‘…Allergies.’ ‘Heh, so you’re getting more excited for these training sessions, are you, Ember?’ Fizzlepop lightly remarked. Ember claimed that she was ‘allergic to emotions’ a few times in the past, and if that claim held true… it meant that Ember was beginning to enjoy their meetings more and more. As much as she didn’t like admitting it. And as if on cue, Ember’s face turned as red as a tomato as couldn’t contain her blushes. Clearly embarrassed, the dragon princess couldn’t take it as Fizzlepop and Pharynx both started bursting into laughter at the sight of her losing her composure. ‘Well-well, let me SHOW you how excited I am for it, if it’ll get you to back off!’ Looking around her for a suitable target, she discovered a large pile of boulders just behind her friends, and her mouth curled into a toothy grin, smoke coming out of her maw as she felt her emotions building up. She was never very good at showing her emotions, but she found ways to vent it out…. With a large hissing cough, rush of heat and a loud explosion that could be heard for miles around, Pharynx and Fizzlepop found themselves leaping off their hooves as an even LARGER burst of fire flew past them towards the boulder pile, creating a rush of kinetic energy flying out in all directions. As birds could be heard panicking and flying away in the distance, they stood there staring at the black ashen burn mark that was left on the ground where the boulders used to be…. As well as the entire ledge just behind it – having been blasted to kingdom come. ……………………..now it became ever so clearer why it was necessary to isolate themselves to have their regular catch ups. Looking back at Ember, her two friends’ mouths were agape, staring at the panting living furnace that had started stretching out her arms and fanning herself with her hands, looking as though she had briefly turned into a living volcano that was now cooling down. ‘Whooo – that felt great! And…. THAT is how excited I am for today, you two.’ As they came down from the rush that they felt from the surge of energy, Pharynx and Fizzlepop looked at each other with smiles on their faces, and then back towards Ember. ‘So, now that you’ve got all of your feelings off your chest, how are things going in the Dragon Lands, Ember?‘ Fizzlepop enquired. ‘Great, Tempest! Ever since Smoulder told me that that Spike kid finally moulted, I’ve been going to see the kid ever so often and helping him with his flying lessons whenever I can. He’s learning fast! It’s only right I pay him back for helping me!‘ Ember beamed, even as she began to sniff again as she felt happy and slightly proud of her friend… and her allergies were flaring up again. ‘Definitely sounds more fun than what my brother’s been doing back at the hive, that’s for sure – he’s been bringing over those friends of his that helped him defeat Chrysalis and they’ve been sharing….. cultural exchanges.’ Pharynx winced and gritted his fangs – memories of being pulled into baking classes against his will by changelings and ponies alike coming back to him. Rainbow coloured cake frosting covering his chitin was NOT a happy memory – unlike his brother, he did NOT have a sweet tooth. ‘But at least they’ve been asking me advice for how to make sure they don’t attract predators or disrupt any patrols while doing so – that’s one positive at least. It’s bad enough without them clogging up the tunnels with their flower arrangements….’ Pharynx rolled his eyes, as he propped up his cheek with his hoof with his tongue poking out. ‘That soft stuff was never your thing, was it, Pharynx?’ Ember laughed. ‘Heh! Next thing you know, my sappy brother’s gonna be adorning their feelers up in pink ribbons and scenting them up with that stuff they call….. erm…… ‘perfoom’!’ Pharynx remarked with a sly smirk, to which Fizzlepop and Ember laughed again. ‘How about your travels, Tempest? How’s your…. Project going?’ Ember questioned Fizzlepop with slight concern, who had rested down on her haunches, and was staring to the horizon in contemplation. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her thoughts. ‘Well…. It hasn’t been easy trying to make up for what I’ve done.’ The scarred and battle weary pony clenched her eyes shut tight, as her calm composure began to drift away, showing her inner concerns bubbling to the surface. ‘I…. visited Mount Aris the other day.’ Pharynx and Ember gasped. ‘But, isn’t that where-?!’ Pharynx questioned. Fizzlepop nodded solemnly. ‘….Yes…. yes it was. One of the settlements I helped the Storm King take over….. Queen Novo was NOT happy to see me return, and if it wasn’t for Twilight Sparkle being there with me, I don’t think I would have got out of there in one peace. Heh, she sure knows how to play the peacekeeper…. At first, the hippogriffs didn’t believe me when she said that I had helped to defeat the Storm King and saved the lives of the Element bearers….. Just saying ‘sorry’ isn’t going to be enough to help me make up for what I did – sometimes I wonder whether anyone will ever forgive for what I did, even if I did pledge allegiance to protecting Equestria and spreading peace rather than war.’ Fizzlepop’s head fell, and her ears drooped as a pained sigh left her mouth. ‘From what I heard, Twilight had to work hard to redeem herself in the eyes of Novo too – I didn’t press, but I could see the regret in her face when she mentioned she had a rocky start herself with the hippogriffs – even if it was a last resort to save Equestria….. From something I helped with…. Perhaps that’s why I found it slightly easier to apologise and be more open when I’m around her. She is the one who opened up my eyes and helped me stop going down that path, after all.’ Even with their gruff natures, Pharynx and Ember knew that Fizzlepop needed some time to gather her thoughts and tried their hardest to comfort her as her thoughts wandered. She heard of many individuals that the Princess of Friendship and her companions had helped come back to the light from their paths of darkness. Princess Luna, Sunset Shimmer, Starlight Glimmer, Stygian, Chancellor Neighsay and even the chaotic entity Discord were all individuals who had been aided by the magic of friendship. It sounded corny on paper, but sometimes, simply sharing life experiences and relating to others really was what was needed to get their lives back on track. So… why did she still feel doubts about whether her task of being an ambassador of friendship was suited for her - someone who had endangered the lives of so many? Why did she deserve a second chance? ‘I’ve been trying to put it behind me and move on, but I think I’ll be bearing what I did for the rest of my life whenever I see a familiar face. I’ve been to Kludge Town, Mount Aris, Griffonstone and the Crystal Empire – but Ponyville is next. I haven’t been there for a long time, but after what happened… I’m beginning to have second thoughts about whether I should stay away… Even with all the lands in Equestria I’ve been to… why do I still feel these nagging doubts?‘ Pharynx was the one of the two who could relate to trying for make up for past mistakes and mending old wounds, and he approached her slowly, giving Fizzlepop a slight but firm pat on the back. Fizzlepop looked over her shoulder towards the changeling prince – his smile was surprisingly warm, considering how much he said he hated overbearing affection from his brother – but for a friend that he could relate to, he was willing to be uncharacteristically supportive. ‘Hey, Tempest – I’ve been there, you know. Whenever I walk around the hive and see my brother, sometimes I think back to my past as Chrysalis’ right hand bug. It’s not a pleasant feeling, I know – seeing things you used to not think twice about and feeling guilty about all those mistakes you made and how you could have helped but chose not to. Sometimes I think back to when Thorax and I were grubs – bless that sappy little bug’s hide, he was wiser than I was to see right through Chrysalis’ lies when I was happy just to help her drain love as long as it was for ‘the safety of the hive’…. Pharynx closed his eyes in contemplating, wondering about what it could have been like if he had paid more attention to his brother’s cries for help when they were younger. He had tried to toughen his brother up, but that wasn’t the assistance Thorax needed. While he still thought there were times his brother was too nice for his own good, he had grown to respect his charitable nature – it was what was needed to bring the changelings back to prosperity and a peaceful rule, and despite his efforts to make the changelings better at protecting themselves, he knew now that he should have acted sooner rather than later. He, like many other changelings, was taken in by Chrysalis’ lies about protecting the hive, when in reality, she was simply using them for her own selfish ends. A similar situation that Fizzlepop found herself in when she convinced herself that assisting the Storm King gain power would all work out in the end, as long as it meant getting her horn back. Pharynx, eyes still shut, spoke again quietly. ‘But…. that’s behind me now… it’s time I won’t be able to get back. I couldn’t help my brother back then… but I’ve decided I won’t let anyone harm him again, and I’ll make good on my promise.‘ Fizzlepop smiled. ‘I suppose you can never control what’s happened in the past, can you? But you can control the future for sure…. You want to protect your brother, and I want to help make sure that the places I endangered won’t be put into trouble again. And I want to make sure we can BOTH make that a reality.’ Ember, who had been standing back while watching Fizzlepop and Pharynx comfort each other, walked towards them, and spoke her own thoughts on the matter. Emotional speeches not being her forte, Ember felt herself struggling slightly to get the words out. ‘I’m…. not as good with words as you two are, but I… also want to pay someone back for helping me ask questions about myself I never did before meeting them. That….. kid Spike and those ponies that were with him made me think about a whole bunch of stuff. I used….. to think that others would just get in your way. ‘Survival of the fittest’ and ‘every dragon for themselves’ has been the dragon way of life for eons, after all….’ Ember’s memories of the Gauntlet of Fire came back to her. How would the contest to become Dragon Lord have gone if those charitable individuals hadn’t been there when she was? It would have gone to someone like GARBLE – Torch be damned…. As she continued her speech, Ember felt her allergies begin to flare up again – but she tried to fight through her emotional turmoil to comfort her friend. ‘They….. were the ones who taught me that I was pretty dumb to think that… And I feel… a… tiny bit of guilt myself for calling them stupid for thinking that. I was… questioning myself more when… Thorax made me realise I was…. Being too hard on my fellow dragon. And if sending one of our own to that School of Friendship to improve relations was one step towards paying them back, training here to be there for when a threat comes towards Equestria is another.’ Ember sneezed loudly, pink fire again coming of her nostrils. Pharynx and Fizzlepop looked back at the blue dragon, chuckling as she sniffed again. Fizzlepop stood up, her ears raising as she looked at her two friends with happiness, who smiled back. ‘Thank you for helping me get my spirits back up, you two. It really does mean a lot. And you’re right – we’ve all made mistakes in the past – but it’s time for us to pay back their kindness by being there to fight off anyone who could harm them….’ All of a sudden, Pharynx, as if realising himself, faked a gagging fit, which sent the pony and dragon into a fit of laughing. ‘Come on, enough with all of this emotional sappiness…. Talking’s good and all, but I’ll start turning into my goody two hooves brother if I let this mush fill my brain any longer!’ Ember laughed, ‘Yeah, diplomatic stuff isn’t your strong suit, Pharynx…. And I can’t go a long time thinking about feelings…. I’ll end up having to be admitted to a hospital with endless sneezing fits!‘ Fizzlepop grinned, stretching her legs and warming herself up for their scheduled session. ‘Alright, alright – let’s begin then, shall we?’
Show Me Your War FaceAuthor's Note Here’s the third part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. As always – please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions and whether you think I’m keeping them in character. The next chapter is probably going to be the last chapter in the story, as a heads up. I know the end of the chapter may come across a a little bit of an anti climax, but don't worry - the beginning of the final part will have some follow up on the ending. Show Me Your War Face The models of Chrysalis, The Storm King and Sludge were all arranged in a row next to the cliff face. To try and prop up Ember’s model, hers was wedged between two large rocks, but it’s lopsided figure was still slightly tipped over…. Once again, they had tried about ten times to get it to stay upright, but they finally decided to call it quits, and Ember said it represented Sludge perfectly, so they decided to let it be. The air was quiet yet again, until the voice of Ember pierced the silence. ‘Alright then, soldiers! Have you all been practicing your war faces lately? Our soft friends have been telling us that if we can scare our opponents into submission and make them run away, we won’t HAVE to waste our energy with fighting or hurt anyone…. As boring as that sounds compared to actual fighting, we may as well practice, right?’ Ember laughed. ‘Boring? It can be pretty fun seeing them run away. Did I tell you about the time I scared away a cockatrice? The thing ran away quicker than that time I introduced my brother to some new playmates – a bunch of pukwudgies!’ Pharynx gave a wide smile, his sharp teeth glistening. ‘Scaring away a big chicken? Yes – very impressive.’ Fizzlepop snarked in a deadpan and calm tone, to which Pharynx grimaced towards. ‘Well, let me show you exactly how I did it – this may give you nightmares, ladies, so prepare yourselves! Just because I’m all colourful now doesn’t mean that I still can’t be frightening!’ Pharynx loosened his facial muscles, and when he was ready, he gave the most menacing hiss he could. As former captain of the guard of the changelings, some of the teachings that Chrysalis had given him had rubbed on him. As much as he now resented the queen that he used to serve, he could proudly admit that one thing she did was something he was happy to remember – the terrifying faces she kept sporting every so often whenever someone had failed her. He had used shapeshifting to scare away the bullies that had threatened his brother when they were nymphs, but now he was older and fully grown, he could use that very art to protect his kind. And if he kept practicing, maybe the day would come where he would be able to scare that very same former queen into leaving Equestria, never to return. His fangs were sharper than all of the other changelings, so he was the most suited to scaring away anyone who tried to threaten his brood, and this was evident in his expression. Giving off a grin as if he was a predator holding their prey in place just before pouncing for the kill, perhaps what made it more unnerving to look at was the fact he was no longer as dark or unsettling in appearance as before he had shared his love and undergone metamorphosis. While he was the darkest of the reformed changelings in colour, you’d never be able to guess he could pull off an expression like that if you were to just look at him. But he had learned one of many advantages of his new form – the element of surprise. While he didn’t share his former queen’s cat-like irises, he was able to focus his eyes into an unbending, animalistic stare that felt like he was holding whoever he was looking at in place – pinning them to the spot simply by looking at them – as if a thousand icy daggers pierced them and had held their limbs down to the floor. Thank Celestia that he was one of the PROTECTORS of Equestria….. If he was let loose into Canterlot, he could do whatever he wanted if he just pulled that look on the guards! ‘And that’s mine – what do you think?’ Pharynx relaxed his facial muscles, and his eyes returned to normal, as he looked at Ember and Fizzlepop – they were almost entranced by the stare he demonstrated. Ember looked like she had just been chilled to the bone, and while Fizzlepop was better at controlling her emotions, she was still looking as though she was slightly shaken by Pharynx’s stare. ‘Well… I…..I think my blood temperature just dropped a few degrees…’ Ember quipped. ‘I…I thought…. dragons were cold blooded already?’ Fizzlepop turned to Ember, her voice quiet. ‘Even more so, I mean…’ Ember laughed. ‘How about that, ladies? Anyone else want a go?‘ Pharynx grinned. Ember stepped forward and was next to try to give her war face, but as she was attempting to get herself angry, she found it tricky to get herself riled up….. She had used up a lot of her anger already…. Curse those allergies, making her use up all of her strong emotions at once! ‘I…. think I’ve used up a lot of my angry faces for today, guys…. I think my big entrance backfired….’ Ember rubbed the back of her neck bashfully, and then looked up as she saw her friends staring at her in silence. Were… they judging her? Ember looked back and forth between Fizzlepop and Pharynx, and felt her emotions start to rile up. ‘B-blame my dad! He’s always saying that the best dragon lords give big flashy entrances…. But I think I need to save some of my energy for AFTER the entrance…‘ ‘No duh.’ Pharynx smirked. However, at that point, his expression curled into a devilish grin as an idea crept into his tricky mind. ‘Or did you purposefully do that to use up your energy because you were too SCARED to give it your all?’ Ember’s wings opened up in surprise, her bashfulness melting away. ‘……….scared? Me?! You think I’m scared of you, GRUB?!’ Fizzlepop caught onto what Pharynx was planning, and gave a smirk, but she had her own secret plans, so she kept her emotions to herself. She didn’t even change her expression when she saw Ember muster up another fireball in her inner being and give off another mighty roar, shooting bright pink flames and smoke outwards of her mouth. Her roar wasn’t as powerful as the one she had given when she arrived, but considering the fact she had given off multiple roars and fireballs in that same day, and that she was still young, it was impressive she could regain the energy to release fire like that so many successive times. ‘…..meh, that was alright.’ Pharynx shrugged with a smirk. ‘And it’s not like I helped you to build up your anger or anything.‘. Fizzlepop had remained quiet the whole time, even as Ember’s face appeared to be turning purple. She’s really easily riled up, isn’t she? ‘Anyway, you’re awfully quiet over there, Tempest – are you all quiet because you’ve used up all of your anger too?’ Ember stomped over to Fizzlepop. ‘You’re always so quiet like this – what’s going in that mohawked head of yours?’ ‘You’re always so quiet and reserved on the outside – but for this exercise, do you have your own war face ready? You’re always so quiet and brooding – do you even have as much anger in there as us loose cannons here?’ Pharynx tapped the quiet pony on the back of the head, who still didn’t even flinch - unknown to Pharynx, a storm was brewing inside her very being. ‘Anger, hm?‘ Fizzlepop turned around to face Ember and Pharynx, giving an oddly playful smirk on her face, even with her tone remaining as oddly tranquil as ever, ‘Well, there was a reason why I decided to call myself TEMPEST Shadow. It wasn’t just to make myself sound cooler. The Storm King loser had to steal magic to be able to make a storm, but me?‘ Slowly standing up, Fizzlepop, her eyes closed, began to laugh in a slightly cocky tone. ‘I could always make one. I could ALWAYS make a storm whenever I wanted.’ And then – the lightning storm came. Opening up her eyes, Fizzlepop released all of her emotions that she had been holding in out of her cracked horn. Raw lightning and sparks burst out, directed towards the cliff face away from them. Her usually stoic expression had warped into an expression of unparalleled fury – her teeth were gritted firmly, her eyes wide with her pupils shrunk, and her limbs were firmly pressed into the ground, her horseshoes cracking the ground beneath her. Clearing her throat and closing her eyes as she took a deep breath, Fizzlepop then calmly looked at her befuddled friends’ faces and the scorched marks on the wall. ‘If I was to show anger more often, that’s what it would look like. Still want me to be angry more?’ Fizzlepop’s expression returned back to her reserved and stoic normalcy, she had an air of smug pride about her. Pharynx and Ember had to struggle to get their breaths back from the lightning that had burst out from their friend’s broken horn, but before long, the two of them were laughing with vim and vigour, exhilarated by their friend’s warrior spirit. ‘Hahaha! Now THAT’S a war face right there! I swear, you better try that around my brother, or you might give him a heart attack!’ Pharynx gave out a hearty laugh, impressed with Fizzlepop’s display. But when she looked towards him, she could see a bead of sweat dropping down his forehead. His composure was cracking slightly? ‘……seriously though, please don’t do it around him…. Okay?’ ‘W-wow, okay – so you can direct all your energy…. T-toward a wall… But… c-can you… erm… erm… I’m not… scared… are you scared, Pharynx? I’m – I’m not…’ Ember could not contain the shock in her voice in the slightest as she stumbled to her feet, and when looking towards Pharynx, she noticed the sweat drop dropping down his forehead, and gave a slightly shaky chuckle at the sight of him being nervous. ‘Oh, please stop with the gushing… Yours were great too. And unlike you, I’m not used to expelling all my rage like that, so…. G-give me a moment.’ Fizzlepop took deep breaths, as her emotional display had partially drained her – causing her to drop to her haunches for a while, wiping her mohawk back as she attempted to regain her energy. ‘N-now, are we all ready to do what we’ve actually been meaning to do with these things?’ Ember, putting her helmet back on, and clearing her throat, held her sceptre close to her, and leered towards the crude shell and stick model of Sludge the dragon, rocked slightly by all of the raw energy that had erupted from the three companions. ‘If they were the real thing, I think they would have keeled over and died from our faces just then….. but let’s kick their butts anyway – I’d willingly destroy that deceitful witch TWICE, let me tell you now – once mentally and once physically – but it still wouldn’t be enough for her.‘ Pharynx laughed. ‘Phew…. I’m ready to rid the world of that hideous king’s shabby merchandise now….’ Fizzlepop, having regained her breath, shakily stood back up, and stared towards the plushie that lay on the floor in front of her. Guiding all of their energy towards the targets of their aggression, the three friends all charged towards the three models that lay in front of them. ………..needless to say, it was a curb stomp battle.
A Time To RelaxAuthor's Note Here’s the fourth and final part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. Don’t worry, though, because I plan to feature these three in more fanfictions in the future. I had a lot of fun writing this one and coming up with little headcanons for how these three would interact, and as always, comments are welcome as to how I can improve my writing for future fanfictions in the future. I have a lot more ideas in mind, so it hopefully won’t be long until I start work on another fanfiction. A Time To Relax Hours had passed since Pharynx, Ember and Flizzlepop had begun their assault on their three models that they had created, which now lay in pieces that had been scattered to the four winds, all laid about throughout their training ground. One of Fizzlepop’s strong kicks had ripped the Storm King plushie clean in half and lay the pieces of stuffing strewn all about, and the rest of what used to be the head was now scorched beyond recognition, courtesy of a well placed bolt from her broken horn. The bottom half had been tossed about a few dozen times and was now laying half buried in the rock face after being headbutted deep in there. Fizzlepop wondered whether her headbutt would leave her with a heavy headache for some time afterwards, but somehow, seeing the last of the Storm King’s merchandise well and truly destroyed made any aches or pains all worth it in the end. At long last, the Storm King’s presence was over. Pharynx had put a ‘kick me’ sign on his Chrysalis model’s back for a reason. He had kicked it…. A couple of dozen times. In the face. Along with a few magical horn and antler slashes that had cleaved the body in two, and an aerial attack that he used to pick up the model and toss it to the ground. It was as tough as Pharynx’s carapace, but he had managed to eventually break into its hard shell and break through into its core. But this had one down side – now he knew he had to work a bit harder to reinforce the hive. But the upsides, the facts that he knew he could say to his brother that he had paid some attention during those crummy crafting classes of his and that he had new knowledge as how to protect the hive, were all worth it. Plus, he just loved envisioning Chrysalis being the one that he had just snapped in half. The grin he gave while doing so was perhaps a little bit TOO happy… Dragon scales were indeed very hard to scratch, but somehow, Ember had managed. Tail slaps, blasts from the bloodstone sceptre, fire breath, claw slashes and a couple of kicks into the head were delivered, and upon the two hundredth slash, Ember thought she was seeing things when she finally found a weak spot in the scale body that cracked. Sadly, she wasn’t able to make more than just a crack on the scale, but considering how dragon scales were believed to be unbreakable by some people, she had just proved that naysayers wrong. Even if she had become so frustrated at some point that she considered tossing it off the cliff a few times….. Silence passed over the mountain, but if you were to ignore the rocks that lay smashed all about, scorch marks, partially destroyed cliff side and debris here and there, you would be forgiven for thinking Pharynx, Fizzlepop and Ember were not there. It was way quiet. So quiet that the birds could be heard in the distance and a few gusts of air sounded off through the hollow rock face. Interestingly, the three fighting friends had all been preparing for training themselves by attacking models based on some of their worst foes and had thought that would be the highlight of the day…. But surprisingly, little time during that day had been spent doing just that. The rest of the afternoon had been spent with them doing something which they didn’t expect to be doing together for long periods when they had started meeting up only weeks before…… Talking. About something other than their strength. Far from the edge of the cliff face and atop the plateau on the middle of the mountaintop, the three friends, their thirst for battle quenched, were now simply laying on their backs, watching the clouds roll by. A moment of peace of quiet was bizarre for them, but to make the battle that much more palatable, some rest and relaxation was necessary for them. But there hadn’t been many times in all their lives where they had times of tranquillity. Before, they thought of quiet moments as simply time to recuperate and get their energy back for when they would leap back into the fray shortly after. But nowadays, they found it to be just as worthwhile as the battles they were used to taking part in, and were actually enjoying them equally. ‘Haha, so you actually allowed that stage magician to make you be a test dummy for that trick?!‘ Fizzlepop questioned Pharynx, who had just weaved a tale about the time Trixie had visited the changeling kingdom and asked for a volunteer for her sawn-in-half trick. Pharynx was the only one who volunteered – something about the possibility of being chopped in two scared all of the other changelings away from signing up, for some reason. ‘Hey, she was looking for an assistant who could keep a straight face while he’s facing a giant saw being lowered onto him, and I was the only one who was brave enough to give it a go. I swear, some of the nymphs looked like they were about to faint just before the saw went off – but the worst part was probably the part afterwards when she asked me to transform into a stream of cloth to help her with her trick afterwards. When I offered my brother the chance to get to know his friends, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.’ Pharynx shook his head – it seemed being an entertainer wasn’t exactly his strong suit, never mind for five tricks in a row. That was something that would have his brother in giggling fits for hours afterwards. ‘Hey, speaking of entertainment shows, I’ll have to invite you two to one of our fiery surfboard shows at some point – we don’t have the shield of that… Fast… Magnum guy around anymore, but I’m sure we could make a better board that could rival that baby! And Rainbow Dash has been working with me to turn it into something of a great spectacle – we even had the Wonderbolts themselves come by and help us set it up!’ Ember chuckled. While she did wish that she could have been the one to have humiliated Garble in the same way Rainbow Dash and Spike did when they won Flash Magnus’ shield from him about a year and a half before, she loved seeing the look on that loser’s face whenever he attempted to board on the lava now and ended up falling off into the lava every single time – he claimed he was rusty, but Ember knew it was all due to the shield that he was able to even stand a chance against anyone else the first time. ‘I’m game! That Garble sounds like your typical ‘all bark and no bite’ cowardly bully. I’ve beaten up quite a few of those in my time, so I’m sure I could give him a good hiding.’ Pharynx grinned. ‘Haha, alright, Tempest, your turn now - got anything done recently you wanna share about? Spill it, sister!’ Ember lightly nudged Fizzlepop, who simply brushed it off with a smile. ‘Well…I’ve found a little filly in Ponyville that I’ve started talking to whenever I pass by…. She’s a little pegasus without the ability to fly…..‘ Tempest began to reminisce, which immediately caught Pharynx and Ember’s attention. ‘When she started talking to me about her difficulties with flight, I… began to relate to her. Wanting to do anything to be able to fly, becoming desperate whenever anyone would tease you over not being able to do something you’ve dreamed of doing…. And having others around you who helped you to see your true strengths and realising that… even if you can’t live out your dreams the same way as everyone else…. There are other routes you can take, and having others to support you can help you realise strengths you have that you never realised…...‘ Pharynx was about to retort with one of his typical snarky side comments but seeing the serene smile on Fizzlepop’s face as she leaned back onto the ground, he decided to withdraw the comment. He simply nodded, seeing how important the memory was to her. Ember looked back at this, and the two decided to follow suit. For a minute, they all just sat in silence, together, watching the clouds fly by from above them. Silence is golden? Well… for that moment, they began to appreciate how important simple peace and quiet really could be. They didn’t need to say any words… until Ember had a thought come to her. ‘So, not to get all deep or nothing, but….. anyone notice that we’ve been talking a lot more recently?’ Ember sat up and turned towards her friends. ‘Hmm? What are you talking about?’ Pharynx turned his head slightly towards her. ‘We’ve all clammed up for the past minute!’ They all lightly laughed at Pharynx’s jest. ‘Well, when we first started these little meet ups, we only really spoke a few words at a time to each other and let our claws or hooves do the talking. And now we’re actually speaking to each other in full sentences… Like we’re actually being open with each other…..’ Ember rubbed the back of her head and felt a sniffle coming on as she began to open up her heart yet again. It was true, though. Talking more intimately about their life affairs outside of their battles was not something that came easy for them, and when they were younger, having simple conversation was alien to them. But here they were, chatting away like any other group of close friends. Fizzlepop gazed off into the afternoon sky, dreamily watching the clouds as she thought. ‘Before the time I was at that party with Twilight Sparkle, it’s been years since I’ve actually been together with someone watching the sky like this. It’s almost like I’m properly experiencing it for only the SECOND time. Charting a course for a battleship was the only reason why I gazed up at the sky before. Now…. I don’t need a reason to other than….. I like looking stopping to look at the clouds every so often. But now…. The sky seems blue again. And I can dream again.’ Fizzlepop closed her eyes and gave a genuine smile, as she breathed in deeply through her nostrils, and exhaling gently. Pharynx sat up, slouching forward. ‘I hate to talk sappy… but I think the same. When I was a little grub, I used to think you could just solve all of your problems by beating them into a pulp or yelling at them, but now I think about it…. YELLING at everyone the way I used would probably cause them to snap or something if I didn’t take my brother’s advice every once in a while to tone down and think about their feelings…. I have to give that big ol’ dork credit where credit’s due…. He’s got a good point.‘ ‘Heheh, this doesn’t mean we’ll have to start going to your brother’s feelings forums, does it? One wrong word and I’ll probably turn into a walking thunderstorm if I were to go to one of those….’ Fizzlepop smirked. ‘Tsk. Nah! Not in a million years… Let’s not kid ourselves… We may be a BIT more open, but don’t expect me to go spouting any psychoanalytical speeches to making them feel all good and mushy about themselves. There are only a select few saps in the world I’d dare even THINK about spouting all of this sappy rubbish to – and two of those saps are sitting right here. Two of the best, bravest saps I’m glad I’ve ever met.’ ‘Heheh, right back at you, buddy.’ Ember playfully rubbed Pharynx on the head, prompting him to slap her on the back in response, releasing another fiery sneeze from the dragon. ‘But there’s someone I have to make another chance to thank for all of this….. I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for them. Especially the Princess….’ Fizzlepop happily sighed. They knew who it was she was referring to. Before, these three were alone. Unhappy. Lost in life. Never amounting to anything. But now, they had got their lives back on track and had something to protect. They weren’t just fighting to survive, proving themselves for superfluous causes or losing sight of what was important. They could live again. And it was all because of one special princess and her group of friends who had linked everything together. The rescue of the changelings from their tyrannical overlord and convincing their new leader he didn’t have to run and hide anymore, which in turn made way to Pharynx learning that there was someone worth using his services to protect. Fizzlepop learning that even if there are those out there that would abandon you out of fear or use you while making promises they didn’t intend to keep, there’s always someone and something worth fighting for. Ember gaining the courage to stand up against those who belittle and demean you and claim your birth right while learning what true inner strength really is with the help of an unlikely hero – a small purple dragon who often felt like the black sheep of the species until he had friends to help his self esteem. All of those fresh new starts had a catalyst at the centre of it all – the Elements of Harmony, and the Element of Friendship – Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. They were an influence for them, and their actions paved the way for others to follow in her example and improve their worlds. It was all too easy to forget how important kindness and compassion could be when there were those around who were all too willing to use and corrupt, but the influences of those six and their close friends and family had eventually travelled down a path that had shown them just how important and valuable that could be. It still wasn’t their strong suit to be sentimental or emotional, but they at least had a better understanding at how important talking out their problems with others and being more diplomatic could be. Ever since they had begun meeting up with each other, they had continued to defrost and let down the barriers around their hearts – opening themselves up and showing that to be a protector of the peace, it didn’t just help to have the physical strength to fight off anyone who would willing do them harm, but to have the emotional strength to empathise with their loved ones too. After some time had passed, Pharynx gazed up at the colour of the sky. Warm tones of orange and purple had begun to intermingle with the cool blue horizon, as twilight had begun to set in. His ears pricking up, he was slightly shocked. THAT much time had been spent just gazing at the sky shooting the breeze? …….When the defeat of Chrysalis had resulted in the top of the hive being blown off, Pharynx was fuming over the fact the hive was open to the elements, but now he could see the benefits of gazing at the sky. Slowly rising his head and neck, Pharynx gave off a wide yawn, his sharp fangs glistening in the light, while he stretched his limbs, a few stiff joints cracking. ‘Well… I think it’s time for me to get going, you two. Ocellus wanted me to help her with this school report she’s writing on the history of the changelings…. Hopefully I won’t be roped into just simple spellchecking. Besides, Thorax would go into hysterics if I was out after sunset.‘ Pharynx laughed. Fizzlepop rose next, shaking the dust off her mane and laughing at Pharynx’s comments. ‘Alright then – I need to head off soon too. To see how this new suit of armour I commissioned is coming along. This one is cool and all… after the Storm King insignia was rubbed off, of course….. but I got some complaints when I showed up to a party in Canterlot wearing it, so…. For obvious reasons, Rarity and Twilight said they were looking for designers for a new suit of armour that would bring about less bad memories.‘ Jerking up quickly, Ember looked as though she had just woken out of a dream, and picking up her helmet, which lay besides her staff, coined in. ‘That time already?! Ah well - I gotta prepare for this diplomatic meeting I got with that Prince Rutherford guy. I… don’t know how much of it would just be composed of talking about stomping on sticks and yaphidyoo, erm, yavidyee, erm…. Oh, forget it! Watchamacallitphone playing, but I gotta get myself all geared up for talking about ‘improving relations’. I think the times I’ve visited Spike SHOULD make me it a bit easier for me, but… eh, we’ll see. Hopefully a war won’t break out….‘ Fizzlepop tapped Ember on the back, with a smile. ‘You’ll be fine! Same time next week, then? Where would you like to meet up next time?’ Ember, after having a think, thought up an idea, ‘Hmm, how about Neighagra Falls? I think we need some swimming practice to try on next – and cannonballing off the cliffs are meant to be pretty fun from what I’ve heard.’ Pharynx shrugged. ‘Ehhh….. Alright, but we’re only doing it to get practice swimming – last time someone offered to take me to water was when the changelings tried to bathe me in their ‘wash time’ ridiculousness. No soap and no towels, okay?‘ Fizzlepop chuckled. ‘Heheh, it’s a promise. But…. Before we go….’ She turned to the remains of the models that they had destroyed earlier on in the afternoon. ‘We…. Are going to clean up that mess, right? If someone finds out we were littering, a certain princess, dragon child and changeling king are not going to be happy with us…‘ Pharynx and Ember gave out a long groan, burying their faces in their hooves/claws.
Who Do You Want To Punch In The Face Most?Author's Note Here’s the second part of my Pharynx, Fizzlepop Berrytwist and Ember fanfiction. I know that this part is shorter than my last part, but I was just wanting to split this story up into sections so that I could update it regularly, and the end of this part goes into a time skip that will move onto the next part so I decided to stop it there. As always – please comment with thoughts on how I'm writing the three characters' interactions and whether you think I’m keeping them in character. Who Do You Want To Punch In The Face Most? ‘Fifty…seven…. Fifty….eight…. fifty….nine…..SIXTY!’ The sound of heavy breathing and panting was carried on the wind as Pharynx and Ember were doing push ups on the cliff. Both of them were hard at work – the cold air atop the cliff and the rough ground was only familiar to them, where other creatures would prefer to carry out their exercise in a gym. But the toughest of the tough didn’t settle for comforts that they felt would hold them down – they preferred to workout raw and rugged. ‘AND…. A HUNDRED!’ Pharynx relaxed by lying on the ground, as he felt a burning sensation through his limbs – his limbs were stinging from the heavy exertion. ‘Phew… and that’s my piece done…. how… are you doing there, Ember?’ Pharynx looked to his left and saw the blue dragon had decided to keep her armour on throughout the workout… and as such, was paying the price for it. She usually only wore it for formal events, but the proud dragon could not afford to be upstaged. ‘Grrrngh…. One…. Hun….dred, Phew!’ Ember collapsed on the ground panting, her helmet rolling off her head as she felt her arms give out. ‘Fine! Just fine… just gimme a second to get my breath back – I’m not used to doing heavy workouts in this thing!‘ Pharynx gave a laugh as he looked at the exhausted dragon. ‘Heh, guess you shouldn’t bite off more than you can chew! The best armour you need is your bare scales, skin or chitin!‘ Pharynx proudly showed off the scars he had on the back of his neck – raw and rough marks he got from the last time he fended off a maulwurf from the changeling hive. Ember gave a pout as she rolled her eyes, but retorted with a snarky comment. ‘Well, I was able to match your hundred push ups with this full body armour on, so there, maggot!’ Pharynx replied with a simple punch on the shoulder, but in a playful manner between warriors. ‘Well then, we’re all finished with ours! Are you managing to keep up with the experts over there, Temp-‘ They looked over towards the third soldier among them, but they quickly realised that perhaps stopping to talk wasn’t a good idea, as nearby, their friend was trouncing their record. ‘Onehundredandfortyfiveonehundredandfortysixonehundredandfortysevenonehundredandfortyeightonehundredandfortynineonehundredandfifty!’ ‘…..est.’ Pharynx and Ember looked over at Fizzlepop with bewildered expressions on their faces. It crossed their minds earlier, but of course SHE would be able to do so many push ups with a full set of armour on – she had been a right hand pony for an invading king for such a large portion of her life and they had heard about, and they heard of the flips and kicks she could pull off with it holding her down too! Not even breaking a sweat, the purple pony stood up slowly, slowly rubbing her hooves across the floor in front of her and tossing her mane back in triumph. ‘Looks like I win today!’ Fizzlepop beamed as she turned to face their wide eyed expressions, chuckling. ‘…..well, I think we’re well and truly warmed up now.’ Ember slowly stood up, putting her helmet back on, now that she had regained her breath, stretching her behind her head. Pharynx stood up, unfolding his wings for a second before folding them back in again. ‘You may win the push up contest, Tempest, but we’re only just beginning.‘ ‘Okay then, you two – as a recap - today’s procedure is step #5 – Bring a model of the being you want to punch in the face the most and destroy the ever loving Tartarus out of it. You have the models with you Ember?‘ Fizzlepop asked. ‘Heh, sure thing, Tempest – here you are, you two, I’ve been safekeeping them.’ Ember reached into the special backpack that had recently been fitted into her armour and began to pull out the three models. Looking down into the bag, she stopped as she looked at the first one she came to, making absolutely no effort to hide her smirk. ‘I think…This one’s yours, Pharynx.’ The first model was a rather crude looking wooden carving of what vaguely resembled the former queen of the changelings herself. Battered and chipped wood adorned by blue cloth making up what was meant to be the mane, wings and tail. The wood didn’t even look like five seconds had gone into picking out pieces of wood to make it, and more like it’s creator had simply pulled up the first few sticks they came across and just rammed them into each other. The face had been purposefully made in an unflattering manner, with a goofy expression with big bulbous eyes and a tongue hanging out, as if to mock the banished former queen further. Stapled to the back of the model was a piece of paper with the words ‘kick me’ written on it. ‘I see that SOMEONE hasn’t been paying attention to their brother’s craft fairs.’ Fizzlepop chuckled to the changeling. ‘Oh, like I’m going to allow myself to be graded by how… ahem, ‘pretty’ it looks. PRETTY doesn’t protect a hive from attackers – I built it in the same way I’ve built my hive’s reinforcements. Try and break that thing. Go ahead, and you’ll see just how much I really HAVE been paying attention.’ Pharynx scoffed, with a smug grin on his face. Sure enough, Fizzlepop looked down at the crude model, and tried pressing her hoof down on the body on its wooden head hard….. It didn’t even seem to budge! She then tried kicking it. Still nothing! How could such a poorly crafted figure be able to resist one of her kicks? ‘I… take it back… you know your stuff!’ ‘And I don’t know what Tempest was talking about earlier – this model’s face is a definite improvement from the real thing!’ Ember added. 'The 'kick me' is a nice touch too...' ‘See? Told you so. Now then, what are yours like?’ Pharynx went over to Ember and levitated one of the next of the models out of her bag with his magic, and as his antlers crackled, his magic almost faltered when he saw what he pulled out, as he could barely hide his laughter. ‘And-AND you thought MINE was badly made?! Wh-What in Tartarus is THIS supposed to be?!’ Pharynx held up a weird green model out of Ember’s bag made out of discarded dragon scales… the head and body were rather huge and bulbous, but the legs and arms were little more than sticks that had been poorly rammed into the sides of the shell. Pharynx managed to fight his laughter long enough to try placing the model on the ground….. only for it to fall over no matter how much he tried to make it stand up. After a few dozen attempts, Pharynx gave up and let it flop over and rock about on its back. Staring at the extremely lopsided scale model in silence for a few seconds, Pharynx attempted to maintain calm, but with recent changes in his life, and thanks to his brother influencing him to try to not be as much of a stick in the mud, he found it less embarrassing to have a laugh. The flood gates of laughter burst open, and Pharynx lost it, holding his sides as his legs flailed about as he rolled about on his back. He and Fizzlepop both couldn’t help but be in hysterics at the even worse display of craftsmanship that Ember had donated. While Fizzlepop’s emotions were more contained and less over the top than Pharynx’s, it was clear she was in high spirits too. Eventually, Ember had decided to break up the laughter at her expense by coughing up another burst of flame, which managed to partially disperse her two laughing friends – even if they still had wide smirks plastered on their faces. ‘Oh, okay, so we don’t have many real artistic crafting classes in the dragon kingdom! Everyone’s a critic…’ Ember puffed out her cheeks as a blush came onto it. ‘But you DO know how tough dragon scales are, don’t you? Why, to even DENT it is awesome enough – never mind make a crack in it.’ ‘Y-yeah, sure…. Whatever you say, Little Miss Artist.’ Pharynx’s sides were hurting from his laughter, tears forming in the corner of his eye, as he scrambled to his hooves. ‘And if you knew exactly who mine is supposed to be a model of – you’d know he deserves this even MORE than that hag you used to call a queen…‘ Ember sneered at the model, unpleasant thoughts coming to mind about the dragon that her model was a crude representation of. ‘This freak’s a wanted criminal even among dragons – that kid Smoulder told me that he tricked our pal Spike into thinking he was his father, stole Princess Twilight’s stuff, tried to take over her castle for himself and even managed to get away without getting his butt kicked to the kerb! Even with that jerk Garble around, SLUDGE here makes HIM look like a flippin’ saint! I swear, if I was the one who had that fat jerk in front of me, I would have shown him EXACTLY where he can shove that stuff he stole!‘ Ember punched the ground, just inches away from the Sludge model’s head. ‘……wow, what a creep.’ Pharynx had stopped his laughter, and now that he had heard the tale of Sludge the dragon, he could agree that such an unflattering depiction of him was well deserved. ‘Last but not least – here’s yours, Tempest.’ Ember pulled into her bag and tossed Fizzlepop her model – it didn’t take a genius to figure out who this one was of. And indeed, Fizzlepop’s broken horn gave slight sparks as she looked upon it…. It was a doll resembling the Storm King. ‘It’s time to remove the last of the traces of that tyrant.’ Fizzlepop slowly growled as she held up the doll in her hoof. ‘Capper and Captain Celaeno told me that they had tossed all of the boxes of that yeti’s…. ‘merchandise’ into the first volcano they could find, but they saved me this one just for today. Never again will anyone have to see this lying despot’s face….’ She sneered as her magic illuminated the button eyes of the little plush toy. ‘Never again will he plague our world with shoddy merchandise with ridiculous pricing…’ Pharynx gave a poor attempt at a joke, which he hoped would cheer Fizzlepop up. Thankfully, she cracked a weak chuckle at this. ‘Pfft, yeah, not only was he using me and lying to me about the whole… horn incident, but the guy had absolutely NO idea about commerce. I mean, LOOK at this THING! What self respecting child would want a toy of THIS looking at them every single night, besides a masochist?!’ Fizzlepop pulled a disgusted expression as she squeezed the toy, the button eyes bulging slightly. ‘All right then - these three represent everything that we’re fighting against, and what we’re protecting Equestria from.’ Fizzlepop stood her model up against the other three. True, they didn’t have a model representing the one who had just a few weeks ago threatened to drain Equestria of its magic and enslave the whole of Equestria into her pawns, but they all knew that if they had a picture reference for her, they would have wilfully made an effigy of her and burned her to the ground. They had heard that the Princess of Friendship HERSELF removed every single picture of that filly from the School of Friendship - the crimes committed by that individual was so heinous that even the PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP HERSELF believed that she was a lost cause and whose picture had no place in the School of Friendship. They couldn’t have been there to help stop her, but as they said earlier – that was in the past. Cozy Glow was in Tartarus now, and while she may not ever return to harm their companions again, they could make sure no similar threat would be there to endanger Equestria again. And if she did return…. they had promised they would take turns in teaching her what would happen if they put any of their friends in danger ever again. All of these models in front of them were merely substitutes for the real threats Equestria was under fire from, but they would be suitable for them to test themselves against. Despotic rulers who corrupted or harmed their loved ones and remained at large still. Those who were willing to lie and scheme and whose crimes still had scars that ran deep, even if the committers were long gone. Heartless individuals who would wilfully walk into someone’s life and take advantage of their kindness.
