“Chrysalis dang it, Thorax…” Venom grumbled as he stormed around the area, shooting nasty glares at the other innocent changelings—who were either casually minding their own business or participating in even more sappy group activities—every few moments.

“They say betraying the queen and leaving the hive was an audacious move, but this?” He waved a foreleg, gesturing his surroundings. “This is outright unacceptable!” he yelled out, ignoring the surprised and confused glances of a few of the other changelings, who stopped what they were doing as Venom continued ranting.

“I mean, seriously!” he said as he started pacing back and forth. “Just what kind of sane ‘ruler’ does this to his subjects?! Out of all the things he could’ve made changes to, other than our appearances, he decided to change our lifestyle!” he stamped a foreleg on the ground. “And you know what everyone has to say about it? ‘Oh, what a fine idea, your highness! Go ahead and start getting rid of literally everything that made us superior to ponykind; just leave me in charge of tearing down each and every one of our defense systems in favor of forming a THERAPEUTIC CULT!’”

“Ahem.”

“Gah!” Venom yelped, turning around to see Pharynx towering over him with an unamused expression. “...How long have you been standing there?!”

“Since you started ranting to literally no one… or at least, no one who asked for your opinion,” Pharynx said flatly.

“Oh, so you’re saying you support these guys then?” Venom jabbed a hoof against the diamonds on Pharynx’s chest. “What happened, Mr. ‘Head-of-Patrol’? Gave up your job and what, now you’re probably working in a nursery?”

“What?! No! I—” Pharynx growled, before pressing a hoof to the changeling’s mouth in an attempt to keep him from saying anything else. “Look, I can’t believe I’m saying this to you out of all living beings, but…” he sighed heavily. “I… I get where you’re coming from.”

Venom blinked a few times. “Get where what now?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled by Pharynx’s hoof.

“What I’m saying is that I’ve been in your hoofshoes before.”

“How?”

“Long story short; you remember Chrysalis’ failed plan to take over Equestria, right?”

“...Which one?” Venom deadpanned.

“You were there during the wedding invasion, right?”

Venom opened his mouth to explain, but lowered his head and responded with a flat “...No.”

“Good, so then—” Pharynx froze before he could start rambling. “Wait… hold on. Did… did you just say ‘no’?”

“...Yes.”

“Why?”

“You don’t know? Us rankless bugs we hardly ever allowed to participate in such events. The only time me and my siblings were allowed to do that was when we were sent to infiltrate the royal ponies of both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire.”

“Wait… those five changelings who were sent to impersonate the alicorn sisters and the royal family of the Crystal Empire…” Pharynx’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Out of all the possible changeling candidates she could’ve sent… she chose you guys?”

“Well, yeah… you got a problem with that?”

“Problem? Problem?” Pharynx leaned down to stare Venom dead in the eye. “As far as I know, you guys probably have little to no experience with impersonating royalty! Of course I have a problem with it!”

“Sheesh. The way you’re saying it makes it sound like you’re saying that you’d do a better job at impersonating the Princess of Love.” Venom folded his forelegs.

Pharynx started snickering upon hearing that part. “You were disguising as the Princess of Love?!”

Venom’s eyes bulged. “Uhh… we… drew… straws?” he uttered, desperately trying to think of an excuse.

Pharynx was laughing now. “You have got to be kidding me.”

“Pharynx, I swear if you start telling everyone—”

“Hey, guys!” Pharynx turned to the small crowd of changelings that were currently taking the time to inspect the situation. “Did you hear that? Venom— mph!”

“Dude, are you crazy?!” Venom said as he slapped a hoof over Pharynx’s mouth, struggling as Pharynx fought to push him away.

“Get off me!” the taller changeling spat.

“Promise to keep your dang mouth shut!”

“Never!”

“Then I’m not budging!”

“Let go!” Pharynx’s body suddenly jolted to the side, sending the blue changeling tumbling onto the stone ground.

“Oof!” Venom grunted and rubbed his temple, before looking back up at the changeling and flinching at his angry glare.

Pharynx breathed heavily as he slowly trotted up to the younger changeling, growling through his gritted teeth in a threateningly low tone as he bent down to his eye level. “You… little…”

His sentence was suddenly cut short when the two heard a deep rumbling noise from above. When they looked up, they saw that the clouds had darkened to a very deep gray.

“...Oh.” Pharynx said flatly as a water droplet hit the very tip of nose.

“Ohhhh…” Venom uttered with both wide eyes and a gaping jaw as a few more drops fell around them both.

Pharynx lowered his head to stare at Venom’s surprisingly astounded expression. “...What?”

“Nothing.” Venom looked back at him.

“Why are you—”

“Everyone! Over here!”

The two turned their heads to see Thorax standing at a large, cave-like entrance. He was calling out for each and every one of his subjects, who had abandoned their outdoor activities completely and were now running to whatever indoor environment they could find.

“Hurry inside, before the storm gets worse!”

“What’s he bellowing about?” Venom furrowed his brow.

Pharynx sighed as the rainfall intensified. “He’ll explain when you get inside.”

“What?! But what if I—”

“I said when! Not if! Now come on!” Pharynx grabbed the younger changeling and dragged him away. “And we’re gonna actually finish our conversation once we get out of this rainstorm!”

Venom blinked. Is that what they call it?

Venom folded his forelegs and let out a huffy breath as he sat on the floor. Stupid Thorax, stupid Pharynx… it’s just all so STUPID!

He, along with practically the entire swarm of colorful changelings, was currently sitting in a large and spacious room filled with pillows and blankets while the storm continued its rapid downpour outside. “I barely even got to see the falling droplets!” he complained aloud. “Why are we even supposed to fear the falling drops of water? What are we, aquaphobes?”

Thorax trotted over to him. “Venom, heavy rainfall does more damage to us changelings than you think,” he explained. “Sure, we can handle a little shower, but severe downpours can damage our wings and make it more difficult for us to fly.”

Venom raised a brow at the changeling king. “Soooo?”

“Soooo.” An unexpected grin spread across Thorax’s face as he put a hoof around the blue changeling. “I made a decision that every time a severe storm breaks out, we all gather around in this room just to take the time to socialize and get to know each other! Ooh, and we’ve managed to collect the hive’s stash of pillows and blankets for us to use!”

Venom shuddered. “...Pillows?”

“Yeah! Sounds fun, right?” Thorax beamed.

Fun? Venom’s scowl deepened as he stood up. “Look at this!” he said, his hoof hastily gesturing towards the tightly-packed clusters of changelings that were laying about nearly every inch of the floor. “We’re all jam-packed in here to the point where there’s literally no room to walk or even breathe!”

Thorax frowned for a brief second, before chuckling sheepishly. “It may seem that way, but—”

An audible clap of thunder cut him off, followed by a series of high-pitched shrieks from a few of the nymphs, who huddled close to their nearby guardians for protection.

Venom put his hooves over his ears in a pitiful attempt to block out the ear-piercing commotion in the room. “Ugh! Even my ears have to suffer in this mess!”

Thorax sighed, before turning to face the crowd of changelings. “Okay, everyone, settle down!” he spoke in the loudest volume possible for his subjects to hear. “I know not everyone has gotten used to our ways of dealing with heavy thunderstorms, but all we could do is make the best of it while we’re all together. So…” He raised a foreleg in the air with a bright smile. “Who’s with me for another one of the hive’s annual slumber fests?”

The majority of his subjects cheered. Some of them even started prancing around the room and hugging their pillows and blankets, chittering and buzzing with pure joy and excitement.

One of Venom’s eyelids twitched. His mouth curved in a forced, almost frightening toothy grin, and his blood began boiling. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his dry throat, bending forward before throwing his head up with a loud scream;

“NO!”

Once again, everyone stopped and turned towards the young changeling. Within mere seconds, the entire room was taken over by a long moment of dead silence, save for the audible drumming of the heavy rainfall outside, as well as the sounds of Venom breathing heavily through his gritted teeth.

Thorax’s lips moved wordlessly for a few seconds. “Venom… this is just—”

“Don’t even try to change my mind about this, mister!” Venom yelled as he stormed over to the now-cowering changeling king. “Cause guess what; No one cares about your stupid leadership, your stupid therapy groups, and I especiallydon’t give a flying firefly about your stupid slumber fests!” he spat, closing in more and more on Thorax with every emphasized word. “And you know what else? You could throw a colorful paint job and maybe a flower crown on a changeling, but they’re still a changeling! So why bother trying to change what we are?!”

Thorax bit back a whimper as his back was met with the stone wall of the room. “Venom, please, just listen—”

“No! No! No!” Venom shook his head furiously, swatting his foreleg in the air. “You listen here, because I am done listening! I am done with this nonsense! I’m done with this way of life!” he sharply turned his back to the taller changeling, before galloping away from the shocked-silent crowd of changelings.

Thorax’s ears lowered as he watched the changeling depart. Nonetheless, he reached a hoof out. “Venom, wait! Where are you go-”

“I don’t know and I don’t care!”

Venom continued galloping, going up a narrow hallway that seemed to ascend to an upper floor. Once he reached that floor, he took a sharp turn and entered a smaller, darker, and much emptier room, before eventually collapsing right in the very center of it.

He laid silently on his front, catching his breath and biting his quivering lip.

What the heck is wrong with me? Why did this even happen?

As the questions began flooding his mind, Venom’s foreleg reached out in front of him blindly, before eventually grasping an unfamiliar object and pulling it towards himself to gaze upon it.

It was a small, hoof-held mirror with a few visible cracks in the glass, and in that mirror, of course, was his reflection.

Venom felt his eyes starting to moisten as he continued to stare at it. At the light blue chitin. At the shiny sapphire carapace. At the unnaturally sparkling gossamer mane.

His reflection could only stare back at him. Except it didn’t feel his reflection at all.

Not anymore.

He watched as a single tear ran down his face and splashed against the cracked surface of the mirror, before tightening his grip on the handle and hurling the object towards the wall with a feisty snarl.

Venom didn’t even flinch upon hearing the audible shattering of the glass. He merely buried his face in his forelegs and continued to cry silently to himself.

He hated his appearance. He hated himself.

But he would probably be fine, just as long as they didn’t follow him here.

“Venom?”

...Frick.

“Go away…” was his only answer. “Leave me alone to die…”

“Venom, it’s us. No one else has followed you.”

Sniffling, Venom wiped his eyes and face with a hoof, before lifting his head off the floor and turning to see his four siblings standing at the entrance of the room. Of course, Thistle was there too, staring at the blue changeling with a genuinely concerned expression.

“Guys?” Venom croaked out. “Where have you been?”

“Long story,” Spiny said. “We were planning to go after you once you ran off from that… Feelings Circle thingy, and… and then the sky started crying and Thorax freaked out and told everyone to get inside.” He exhaled and added, “It was certainly hard to navigate through that massive crowd of changelings.”

“No kidding,” Venom muttered with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t see how anyone even approves of these changes. Nor do I see why we’re supposed to socialize with other changelings.” Another clap of thunder rang through the room, making the blue changeling groan audibly as he turned towards the open window nearby. “Ugh… if there was a way to turn the sky off.”

“Perhaps,” Scorch said with a shrug.

“Maybe there is…” Flutterwings trotted towards the open window, listening to another loud roar of thunder. “Hey, SHUT UP!” she yelled while sticking her head out the window as the noise lingered away. However, she kept her head out to continue looking at what was going on in the outside world. “...Wooaahh.”

“What is it, Flutters?” Cricket asked.

“You guys gotta come see this! Holy roly poly, it’s actually amazing!”

The other five changelings all looked out the window, all of them gasping in a mix of both shock and amazement. They watched as the rain continued to fall, gazing at the large puddles being formed down below.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve never seen anything like this back at the queen’s kingdom!” Flutterwings exclaimed, waving her forelegs around in excitement.

“Probably because we were always indoors whenever it happened… but still… wow,” Thistle uttered. “I’ve never seen anything like it either.”

“Same here! You guys wanna get a closer look?” Venom asked.

They thought for a moment. “Eh, it’ll definitely beat having to deal with them, so… sure, why not?” Thistle shrugged.

Everyone immediately agreed. “So,” Spiny said, “who’s going out the window first?”

Cricket’s eyes bulged. “Wait, why are we using the window?”

“Because, Cricket,” the teal changeling explained, “if we take the main entrance of the hive, we’ll easily get caught. Besides, we can’t be that high up, are we?”

The changelings stuck their heads back out the window and looked down at the ground, which was a pretty good distance beneath them, about fifteen feet down.

“Eh, doesn’t look too bad,” Flutterwings said.

“Then what are we waiting for?!” Venom grinned, buzzing his wings and leaping out the window to start his flight…

“AAAAAAHHHHH!”

The other five changelings jumped upon hearing the blue changeling screaming as he fell to the ground. They stared out the window with wide eyes as Venom groaned in pain, climbing out of a large pile of leaves and vines and shakily trying to get back up on his hooves. “Agh… that could’ve been worse,” he admitted, brushing the leaves off his body before eyeing the open window.

“Did… did you just forget you could fly?” Thistle uttered.

“I tried doing that! But this ‘rain’ just seemed to weigh down my wings!” Venom exclaimed.

Spiny put a hoof to his chin. “Huh. Maybe these changelings were right about the rain damaging these new wings,” he said, buzzing his own gossamer wings.

Venom rolled his eyes; he didn’t have time for any of that crap. “Come on, guys, come down already!”

Flutterwings was next; she used the largest ridges found on the hive’s exterior to climb down to the lowest level possible, before jumping down and landing on her side. “Oof!”

Cricket and Thistle followed suit, though Cricket eventually misstepped and slid down the stony exterior of the hive, crashing into Thistle and sending them both to the sopping wet ground.

After that, it was Spiny and Scorch’s turn. Spiny decided to make his move and grab onto one of the thin vines that were strung across the stone. “This thing probably won’t hold more than one, so we’re gonna have to—”

“Hang on, Spiny, I’m coming with you,” the red changeling said, letting his hooves get a tight grip on the vine, before using said vine to swing forward.

“Scorch, wait—”

SNAP!

“Oof!” they grunted in unison as they hit the solid ground.

“Dude!” Spiny glared at his older brother in annoyance. “What did I just say?!”

“Chill out, at least we landed safely… ish.” Scorch looked around.

“Yeah… ‘safelyish’.”

“Come on, you two! No time for any more banter!” Venom suddenly popped up between the two. “We have to enjoy this natural phenomenon while it lasts!”

“Yeah! Let’s go!” Flutterwings cheered.

And so, they all began running together as a team while the heavy rain poured on.

“FREEDOOOOOOOM!”

Pharynx looked over to his brother, who had been sitting on his haunches in one of the far corners of the room with his head hung low for the past five minutes. Maybe even more than that. Who even knew?

Nonetheless, he walked over and bent down to his Thorax’s eye level. “...Hey.”

“Hey…”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Sure…”

Pharynx obliged, carefully sitting down next to Thorax, whose head only sunk down lower while his lip began quivering. That being said, Pharynx decided to cut to the chase; “Let me guess,” he began, “this is about Venom, isn’t it?”

Thorax lifted his head a little. “How’d you know?”

“Thorax, I’ve dealt with him more often than you think. He may be six years younger than me, but he’s a huge pain in the carapace.”

“So what?” Thorax looked off to the side. “Isn’t he right about… you know.”

“What? That you’re a bad leader that no one cares about? Heck no!” Pharynx said firmly as he scooted closer. “Venom doesn’t know what he’s ranting about! He never does, Thorax!”

“But…” Thorax bit his lower lip, wiping his eyes a little. “Out of everyone else here… wouldn’t you understand him?”

Pharynx furrowed his brow, displaying an “are you out of your mind?” expression. “Me? Understand him? Hmph. As if.”

“Okay, okay, have it your way.” The younger brother sighed heavily.

Pharynx did the same, before putting a hoof on Thorax’s shoulder. “Look, what I’m trying to say here is that Venom was wrong about you; sure, you made some stupid and idiotic decisions nowadays, but that’s part of being a leader, Thorax. Now do yourself and your subjects a favor and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?” He smiled a bit.

After a moment, Thorax smiled too. “Thanks, Phar.”

“Anytime. Now if you excuse me…” Pharynx got up to his hooves and began trotting away. “I have some… errands to run.”

“Er… Pharynx…” Thorax’s smile faded. “You’re not going to—”

“Relax, I’m only going to have a serious talk with the kid,” the prince explained. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, okay?”

Thorax opened his mouth to speak, before sighing and nodding. “Okay…”

Pharynx grinned, before continuing to walk up the hallway to the second floor. As he made his way up, however, he began thinking to himself, wondering if his brother was right about Venom.

Now that he mentions it, he thought, I do recall that one time I blew up at the Feelings Forum… and also that time where I kept destroying all the plant life, and all those times I poured black paint on—

Pharynx shook his head. No, no, no. So what if you’ve been in his hoof shoes before? Venom has no excuse for what he said to your brother. That feisty, little…

The changeling stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the open entrance to an empty room. “Hm?” Pharynx tilted his head, before trotting inside. Wait… isn’t this where Venom could’ve possibly went? There’s literally no other rooms up here!

He began frantically galloping around the room, looking left and right, up and down, and in every corner of the room for any sign of the blue reformed changeling. “Come on, come on, come on… where are you?!”

A rumble of thunder quickly snapped him out of the searching process. Pharynx turned around at the open window, feeling his eyes widen and his throat run dry. No, no, nonononono…

He started sweating heavily as he stared at the horizon, through the heavy rainfall and into the distance; Venom couldn’t be stupid enough to go out there? On his own? What about his siblings? Could they…?

No… NO!

Pharynx rushed to the window, before sticking his head out and letting out a loud scream that could even be heard over the ear-deafening crackling of the thunder;

“VENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”

“Hey, guys, look, look! I can do a super-move!” Venom exclaimed as he galloped through the rainshower.

“What’s your super-move?” Cricket looked over.

“I can do this!” the blue changeling said as he slid through a large puddle of water, splashing the other five changelings. “Yeah!”

The others laughed at his excitement. Flutterwings then walked up. “Well, watch me do a splash! Look!” She rushed up to the deepest puddle she could find and leapt right into it, before trotting her little hooves in it. “Wooo! It’s fun having some tasty freedom!” she said as she hopped up and down, sloshing more water all over her already sopping-wet brothers.

“Pfft, them dinky candybugs, scared of a little something called ‘rain’.” Scorch kicked his back leg through another shallow puddle. “So what if it gets our wings wet? It’s just water!”

“A whole lot of water!” Flutterwings agreed, scooping up some water and tossing it in the air with her forehooves. “This is awesome!”

“So guys,” Thistle spoke. “What do you think the queen would have to say about all this?”

“What? All this rain?” Venom gestured to the falling droplets. “No clue. She probably wouldn’t be very pleased about it getting in her leg holes… you know, since she still has ‘em.”

“So do you think she’d know the reason why we lost ‘em, Venom?”

“What do you mean, Spiny?”

“I mean, if anyone knows the way back there, and if we calmly explain our situation, maybe we—”

“Spiny, Spiny, Spiny,” Venom cut his brother off, “that is a terrible idea.”

“Why’s it terrible?”

“Well, first of all, have you seen our queen whenever she physically deals with traitors of her hive?!”

“Uh… no, I guess not…” Spiny answered before adding, “...have you?”

Venom blinked, before waving a foreleg dismissively. “Okay, whatever, but we’re not going back there!”

“Why? You already made it clear that you hate the ‘new ways’, didn’t you?”

“Well, of course I hate the new ways!” Venom snapped as he stamped a hoof into a puddle. By now, the rest of the changelings present had stopped what they were doing to listen to him. “Upon arrival, I’ve been fully aware of how destructive these ‘new ways’ are to our species, unlike King Hit-Me-With-An-Ax apparently, but I’m also fully aware of how insanely irrational it is for any ‘ling to just go up and present their pastel-painted flanks to their queen like they won’t get smacked on their glitterbug behind for it.”

Spiny swallowed heavily. “Venom, it’s—”

“It’s as bad as it sounds and I’m standing by it!” Venom yelled loudly over the next clap of thunder that shortly ensued…

…as well as a loud roar that echoed in the distance.

The six changelings froze in place, in the midst of the dead silence save for the dripping of the rain and the faint thunder rumbling. “...What was that?!” Venom uttered with both his eyes and mouth as wide as dinner plates.

“...Do we really need an answer?” Cricket asked, already looking like he wanted to flee for his life.

“Well if you want an answer, why not ask that giant mole-bear thing?” Flutterwings said as she pointed a hoof.

Venom swallowed. “Mole-bear thing?”

He turned to look behind him, and his throat became a desert when he saw what was standing there.

A big, fat, blue mole-like creature towered above the group, its yellow eyes glaring down at its future prey and its dirty claws grasping at the moist, muddy ground.

The Change Gang screamed then and there, before running as fast as their legs can take them, even more so when they heard the creature chasing after them.

“Maulwurf!” Scorch shouted.

“It’s gonna eat us all!” Flutterwings yelled.

“Take cover! AAAH!” Spiny screamed.

“Why’s it even chasing us out of all things? Don’t these things eat plants like General Scarab keeps saying?!”

“The plants at this hive are all wilted, Venom!” Spiny called out. “No living floral entities means no food! Apparently we’re a last resort for this big chump!”

“Hey guys, look!” Thistle pointed her hoof at what appeared to be a large forest nearby. Without any further hesitation, the six changelings immediately dashed for the woods, running through the clusters and clusters of tall trees.

“Hide in here!” Flutterwings exclaimed as they darted into the hollow gaping hole of what appeared to be a huge fallen tree, struggling to catch their breaths upon finally stopping.

And so, they waited, listening to the patter of the rain and the rumbling and crackling of the thunder.

“...You guys think it’s still chasing after us?” Cricket asked after a few minutes of stillness.

“I… don’t think so,” Thistle answered, poking her head out of the hole before slowly trotting out and gazing at her surroundings. “...woah,” she uttered in a shaky breath, and her five fellow changelings did the same thing.

They took the moment to watch as the rain trickled down the thick tree trunks, dripped off the dangling vines, leaves, and canopies, and pooled around the roots that poked their ways out of the soaking wet ground. They especially admired how the bigger leaves seemed to catch the falling raindrops and continue collecting them until they couldn’t hold anymore and gave in. Other leaves were simply speckled with shining and sparkling water droplets that dripped off the tips and undersides, and tube-like plants and branches alike simply guided the flowing water to the ground.

“What is this place?” Flutterwings asked aloud as she admired the lush environment.

“I have no idea, but it’s amazing,” Cricket said with a gentle smile. “No way have we ever seen anything like this at the queen’s hive.”

Scorch ran a hoof through the droplet-decorated plants. “Who even knew that the environment of the new hive even came with this?”

“Say, are we even at the new hive anymore?” Thistle pondered.

“Who cares if we’re even at the new hive anymore?” Venom scoffed as he began trotting while turning his head to gaze at the world around him. “Just as long as we’re away from those freaky cuddlebugs, and that dang maulwurf…”

Upon saying that, he suddenly felt himself collide with a taller but firm and stiff figure, and he looked up to see two very familiar lavender eyes glaring daggers back down at him.

Oh crap…

“Well, technically, he’s not a cuddlebug, or a maulwurf,” Spiny casually pointed out as Venom began cowering under Pharynx’s stone cold glare.

“I… I… I—”

“What do you guys think you’re doing out here?!” Pharynx finally bellowed loudly, causing the six changelings to jump and flinch. “Do you guys have any idea how dangerous it is to be all the way out here on your own?!”

“Well, uh… I… we…” Venom desperately tried to search for an explanation as his eyes darted side-to-side.

“Don’t even bother explaining yourself, you little pest! It won’t do you any good!”

The blue changeling bit his lip, his ears starting to lower. He then heard Pharynx sigh heavily.

“You guys are in so much trouble once we get back to the hive. Now let’s go.” Pharynx firmly turned around and began walking towards the forest’s opening.

The Change Gang looked at each other with worried and unsure expressions. Spiny reached a hoof out towards the departing changeling. “But Pharynx…”

“No buts, Spiny, now come on.”

“Pharynx…” Spiny began slowly trotting after him

“We can talk later,” Pharynx spat, ignoring the slight trembling of the ground.

“Pharynx!”

“Oh for Celestia’s sake, what is it?!” the taller changeling yelled in a loud voice, only to be followed by an even louder roar. He stood in place for a good minute, before turning around to see the mole-bear thing itself roaring over the crackling of the thunder as the lightning flashed in the sky.

“Maulwurf! RUN!” the changelings screamed as they fled back into the woods, dragging the changeling prince with them.

“Guys, wait, what are you all doing?!” Pharynx shouted as he tried to pull away from all six of their surprisingly strong grasps. “Let me take care of this thing!”

“Not now! He’s gaining on us!” Cricket yelled behind him. “We have to outrun him first!”

“I don’t have time for this!” Pharynx grunted as he pushed his way through the group and began charging towards the rampaging beast.

Venom’s jaw dropped as he watched this happen. “What are you doing?!”

Pharynx didn’t answer; he shapeshifted into what appeared to be a huge winged-spider, big enough to start ramming into the maulwurf in a desperate attempt to take it down.

“Pharynx, that’s not going to work!” Thistle yelled. “We need an actual plan!”

The maulwurf let out a deafening roar, knocking away the spider-like monster, which immediately turned back into the changeling prince upon hitting a large tree trunk. “Augh!” Pharynx grunted loudly as his carapace met the unpleasant surface of the wood, then slowly looked up to see the monster closing in on him while letting out a low growl…

THUNK!

The beast grunted as a large stone was hurled against its back. Pharynx’s eyes widened as he saw Scorch, Spiny, and Flutterwings tossing as many rocks as they could. How much damage they did didn’t matter, it was the best distraction they could think of for the moment.

Fortunately, it was enough time for Pharynx to get back up on his hooves and start darting away from the creature. “This way, guys!” he yelled.

The wind continued to pick up as they got closer to the opening. Harder and harder it blew through the trees, until a loud cracking noise was audible.

“Guys! I think that tree’s gonna pull a timber on us! We might not make it!” Scorch yelled.

“We have to try! Keep running!” Pharynx yelled back as they began going faster and faster.

By the time they all made it out of the forest…

CRASH!

The seven changelings turned around to see the large fallen tree… which had crashed right on top of the snarling maulwurf’s back, pinning it to the ground. They watched and cringed as the creature attempted to take a few swings at them with its free claws, before eventually giving up and burrowing its way into the ground.

“...I think we’ve had enough excitement for today,” Pharynx said.

“Pharynx! There you are!” Thorax galloped over to his brother, who was shaking himself dry along with the rest of the Change Gang. “Where have you been? I was worried sick!” he said, grabbing Pharynx’s shoulders.

“Thorax, I…” Pharynx sighed heavily upon seeing the Change Gang’s sullen expressions; they knew what trouble they would be in. Venom was especially ready for the verbal smackdown of his life, squeezing his eyes shut and biting his lower lip. Though, Pharynx couldn’t help but recall what had happened back in the forest. He was about to become sliced up like a fish, but the Change Gang…

“Well?” Thorax asked impatiently.

Pharynx shook his head before finally answering, “I wanted to see if any changelings had gotten lost outside, and… and…” He swallowed before continuing. “I decided to take these guys with me,” he said, gesturing towards the six changelings next to him. “Just so they would be… you know…”

Thorax sighed, facehoofing. “Pharynx, why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve let you out for only twenty minutes or so!”

“I know, I know,” Pharynx mumbled. He looked to the side, noticing the Change Gang’s stunned silent faces. Thistle and Cricket were staring with eyes bulging out of their sockets, Flutterwings looked like she wanted to say something, while Scorch and Spiny were staring at each other as if to say “is he really gonna do this?”

Of course, the one expression that stuck out to him the most was Venom’s; his jaw had dropped to the floor and his lips moved wordlessly as he continuously uttered, “But… but… but…”

“You guys go ahead and settle down somewhere, I’ll… take it from here. I really need to have a word with Pharynx here.” Thorax waved a hoof towards the six shocked changelings with a forced grin.

The Change Gang nodded, and they began trudging past the thousands of sleeping changelings… or at least five of them did, anyway.

Venom simply waited in the corner until the brothers were done with their conversation. He didn’t exactly listen to what was being said and exchanged.

For once in his life, he didn’t care about that.

For once in his life, he actually wanted to talk to Pharynx after this.

Author's Note

...Well, surprise. Another chapter. A loooong chapter.

Also, if you guys couldn’t tell already, the rain idea was inspired by NavelColt’s works, such as this one and this one,

It was also slightly inspired this song by CG5.

So... yeah. That’s that.