“Thorax! Are you alright?! How’s Ocellus? Are any of you hurt?!”

As he laid on the ballroom floor, groaning in pain and opening his eyes, Venom heard the baritone voice of the fallen general underneath him call out to the unharmed pair of changelings.

“Pharynx, of course we’re fine.” The lime changeling smiled as he wrapped a foreleg around the small, icy blue changeling. “You saved us.”

Venom felt the weight under him shift around as Pharynx got up and trotted towards his brother.

“Well, what else was I supposed to do?” the general said. “I mean, I know it sounds stupid and silly coming from me, but for a second there... I thought I was gonna lose you again...“ he mumbled just audibly enough for them to hear.

“Lose me again?” Thorax parroted, visibly raising an eyebrow.

Pharynx stepped closer to him. “The first time was when you were sent into that coma,” he said. “Remember?”

“Oh... right,” the changeling leader chuckled sadly, his ears drooping as he lowered his head.

Now what could this possibly lead up to? Venom wondered as he sat up to silently observe and listen to their brotherly conversation. And also, how did that Thorax dude wake up from his coma? he thought.

A moment of silence occurred between the two changeling brothers. The elder changeling let out a heavy sigh before he continued speaking. “I know it sounds silly coming from me, but... I just wish I could’ve saved you...” he mumbled lowly. “But... I’m just glad.”

“...Hm?” Thorax glanced at his brother. “Glad?”

“That you finally came back to us,” Pharynx finally managed to utter as he gave his brother a calm smile.

Thorax gasped as he started beaming. “Awww, Pharynx!” he said, attempting to capture the changeling prince in a tight hug.

“Don’t even think about it...” Pharynx pressed a foreleg against his younger brother’s chest, thus preventing the embrace. “I’ve already done it to you for once and I do not wanna do it again.”

“Oh, you!” Thorax gave him a playful nudge in response, giggling when Pharynx merely rolled his eyes.

Once he heard a heartfelt “Awww!” from a group of nearby changeling subjects, Venom felt his eyes bulge, and he immediately started gagging.

“You two might as well get a room or something!” he said.

If his new “form” hadn’t disgusted him enough, then this sappy scene surely did.

Venom just didn’t care who was staring at him or what he looked like to them; he just wanted this whole nightmare to end...

If only this was all just a nightmare and not stinkin’ reality, he deeply wished.

Venom finally stopped dead in his position once he heard hooves trotting up to him. He looked up to see the general of the reformed changeling army himself, who was staring him down with a deep scowl on his face. “You...” he growled in his most threatening baritone voice.

“Me?” Venom swallowed heavily under the tall changeling’s gaze. “Me what?”

“You...” he repeated, stepping closer.

“Me what?” Venom repeated.

“YOU!!!” he suddenly yelled at the top of his lungs.

“Me what?!” Venom shouted back, only to let out a loud “GAH!” as Pharynx suddenly grabbed him with a strong foreleg, pulling him up to fully make direct eye contact.

They heard the gasps of multiple other changelings who were watching this all play out. Pharynx merely let a huffy breath at the fearful bystanders, before regaining his focus on Venom Stinger. “Do you realize,” he spoke, “how much trouble you and your little clique has caused in such little time, kid?”

Venom’s eyes kept repeatedly darting back and forth, either trying to sought out his siblings or come up with an answer.

He swallowed heavily before saying in response, “I-I clearly don’t know what you’re talking about! I haven’t even—“

“Done what?!” Pharynx bellowed in the blue changeling’s face, cutting him off. “Are you even aware of the fact that you almost killed my brother?!”

“Hey, hey, I’m not the one who put him in the coma! I swear!” Venom proclaimed defensively, putting his hooves up as he started sweating. “I totally swear!”

“Mmm...” Pharynx growled, leaning his face towards the teenaged drone to lock eyes with him. Their noses almost touched, which only made Venom cower under the general’s gaze even more. Even in his reformed form, Pharynx was still able to frighten the toughest of his enemies.

“Pharynx, what are you doing now?” Thorax exclaimed as he rushed up to investigate the scene playing out.

“What’s it look like I’m doing, Thorax? I’m taking care of the guy who nearly sent you into a second coma.”

“Yes, but you already saved me. That’s what matters right?” Thorax claimed. “I mean, we escaped a toxic gas, we came to Canterlot, and I’m awake from my coma so everyone was happy... And yet, I see you threatening a sixteen-year-old?” he said as he pointed to Venom Stinger.

“I’m fifteen.” Venom corrected the changeling leader with a roll of his eyes.

“Er... Right then.” Thorax chuckled apologetically before continuing. “What I’m saying is that can’t we talk to him? Sort all of this out at least?”

Pharynx looked at Venom Stinger, then back to his pleading brother. He let out a heavy sigh, wiping his forehead with a hoof. “Fine,” he groaned, dropping the young drone to the solid floor.

Venom landed with a thud, before glaring up at the two taller changeling brothers.

“Alright, kid, state your business or else,” Pharynx stated sternly as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Thank you.” Venom took a deep breath and exhaled. “Uh... well... you see—“

He briefly looked to his left to see where his fellow gang members where; Flutterwings was still on the floor where she had jumped off the servicing cart. As for the others, Cricket was busy cowering and whimpering behind a large, overturned table. Spiny was trying to search for his goggles, and Thistle was just staring the trio down. Scorch was the only one actually standing, as he was still threatening a group of reformed changeling subjects nearby.

“Well what is it, kid? I’m waiting...” Pharynx raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well...” he spoke again, shuffling a hoof against the smooth Canterlot flooring. “Me and my siblings have actually been part of your little swarm from the start.”

Thorax’s ears perked up. “Wait... you have?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“They have?” Pharynx parroted, visibly unconvinced.

Venom swallowed again. “Well, yeah!” he blurted out with a bit of sass in his tone and voice.

“And who are these ‘siblings’ of yours?”

“I have five of them sir!” Venom said cheerfully with a grin.

“Five?” Thorax and Pharynx both uttered in unison.

The blue changeling turned around to take another glance at the rest of the Change Gang, specifically at Thistle Thorn raising her eyebrow and slowly shaking her head.

That was when Venom realized what he just said. “Did I say five?” he chuckled in anxiety. “I-I meant four! Yeah, four!”

Now all of his siblings were staring at him. Heck, even Scorch had stopped in the middle of what he was doing just to watch this whole scene play out.

“So... Can I meet your siblings?” the changeling leader asked.

“But of course!” Venom responded, yet again taking a look at the other changelings. He made a motion with one of his front hooves, trying to beckon them.

Flutterwings and Spiny made their way to the trio, with Scorch somehow managing to convince Thistle to come with them, leaving only one certain changeling behind.

Venom squinted to try and catch any sign of that changeling. He immediately noticed Cricket still cowering behind that same large table. He made the beckoning motion again, only to get the green changeling shaking his head in response. He furrowed his eyebrows with an unamused frown, which was an expression that obviously read, ”Cricket, do not make me come get you.”

After getting another response of refusal from his brother, Venom let out a heavy sigh before making his way to Cricket, grabbing him by the foreleg and trying to pull him out of his hiding spot.

“Just please disregard my brother’s shyness,” Venom said, giving the two changeling brothers a nervous grin as soon as he came back to them. “He’s not so easy when talking to other changelings. Especially when it comes to socializing with royal changelings.”

“Please just don’t let them ram me with their antlers,” Cricket squeaked out in a quiet voice, shaking like an autumn leaf.

“Aw come on, lighten up Cricks!” Scorch playfully nudged his younger brother, chuckling. “These two are like really, really nice guys!” As soon as the red changeling uttered that sentence, however, Venom could immediately tell that he was acting.

Even Flutterwings was doing it. “Uh, yeah! Yeah, they are!” she said, forcing an exaggerated grin.

After a moment, the little nymph gently nudged Spiny and Thistle, trying to get either of them to say something.

“Oh! U-Um...” the teal changeling stuttered, bowing to the brothers. “Pleasure to meet you and your brother, Mister uhm...”

“Woah, woah, woah. Hold on a minute.” Pharynx immediately cut him off. “If your little clique leader said that you’ve all been in our hive for Celestia-knows-how-long, then why don’t you know either of us?” he asked threateningly. “And by extension, how come we’ve never actually met any of you?”

A moment of silence occurred, so Thistle had to step in. “Well, kinda hard to explain, really,” she stated, “but we’ve all been in our little private areas, away from all the chattering and singing that constantly occurs in your hive...”

As the pink changeling continued, Pharynx’s expression noticeably grew pensive. Thorax seemed to take notice of that. “That actually sounds like something my brother would do,” he remarked with a giggle, eliciting a groan from the older changeling.

“Well, it’s what we did!” Venom said with a smirk. “Just me, Cricket Cluster, Flutterwings, Scorchin’ Heat, Spiny Spectacle, and Thistle Thorn!” He introduced the other five changelings.

“And what about you, Mister...?” Pharynx pointed to the blue changeling as soon as he finished.

“Stinger.”

Pharynx’s eyes snapped wide open when he heard that one answer. “Wait... what?”

“Venom Stinger,” the young changeling clarified.

Pharynx merely stood there in silence, much to the Change Gang’s discomfort. He stepped closer to Venom, leaning in towards his face. “I know that name anywhere,” the changeling prince hissed in a hushed tone, causing the blue changeling to shiver.

“Pharynx?” Thorax reached out to him. “Are you—“

“Can we please just get out of here later?” The prince turned to his younger brother. “For now, I need some time to think about these guys,” he said before quietly adding, “especially a specific one.”

And with that, he departed from the group.

I know Venom Stinger from Chrysalis’ reign. I recognize his name anywhere.

Pharynx sat alone at one of the tables, watching the others struggle to clean up the mess in the ballroom.

What does he even want from us? That question kept repeating in his mind. Why would he

“Pharynx! There you are!” a light pink unicorn with a deep violet mane, which had aquamarine streaks in it, rushed up to Pharynx. She was joined by a deep blue unicorn that had a light blue mane. These two mares were Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon, of course, and Starlight immediately noticed Pharynx’s expression. “You alright, there?”

“I’ve been stung,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh? What happened?”

“Venom happened.”

Author's Note

I apologize for yet another long wait! And for such a short chapter, too.

I dunno if this will make up for it, but here’s all the MTCG artwork so far.

Eh, it’s not that much. I know But I sure hope you guys will stick around for more either way! I don’t what I’d be without any of ya’ll!

Special thanks to damiranc1 and The Half Brony for offering their tips and ideas for this story!