A continuation of sometime ago...

Orange. Orange, orange, orange, and more orange. It's almost bleeding into a reddish taste!

The vicious smile threatening to separate Pharynx's skull in half only continued to grow as he continued to intentionally stop and make this Tempest Shadow recite useless trivia and rag on and on about certain paintings, doors, artistic choices, even the three centimeter crack in one random tile on the floor.

This might be the most intoxicating taste of annoyance boiling into outright rage he'd ever concocted off of a pony. And it didn't even take a short time. Matter of fact, we're reaching record levels of rapid emotional build up.

Her eye was violently twitching as he leaned in ever so closer to her ear with that child's grin, eyes slitted while he held back his laughter with an actor's poise. "Say.. what's that window right there? What's all that shiny stuff on it? Why does it look like the Sparkler?"

Her neck flexed as taut as it could be, her jaw moving minutely as her teeth ground. "That is a mosaic of Princess Twilight Sparkle, NOT Sparkler, teaching the future generations of Equestria's youth about concepts of friendship. It is more of a symbolic mosaic of her passions and who she is as a pony, as well as her as a Princess."

"...Practiced long for that one, didn't'cha?" He was verbally waving that giant red flag for the bull of Tempest Shadow to huff and puff and charge at.

"Matter of fact, milord. Yes."

And the sails had lost some wind.

However still satisfied, Pharynx continued trotting along, basking in the wondrous tastes of her misery and suppressed rage that she directed at him. She seemed so much more in tune irregardless of Pharynx's chicanery. From what he could deduct, and obviously tell at even a skimming glance, the Royal Guard was infamously inept, and this Tempest saw to it to straighten it up as Twilight's acting steel hoof behind an agenda of friendship.

A treaty of heavy handed friendship dosages with a light smack following it up if you still didn't choose friendship. To Pharynx, it seemed as if Twilight had learned a thing or two about being the only on-demand defender against outward evils, and made to correct her predecessors' faults of installing proper leadership to guide a more effective defense.

It was possibly the only thing Pharynx could respect her for. Begrudgingly, naturally.

"Anything else you would like to see, milord?" Her tone was strained. He smacked his lips as the sweet sugary flavors furrowed down his tract and into his belly. A pleading, imaginary relief she was feeling. Anticipatory that Pharynx had nothing else to pester her with for at least one minute in this room. The orangey flavors of her annoyance still danced as an aftertaste.

"Yeah. Take me to th' room where this meeting is happenin'." He rolled a hoof as if to usher her along casually, internally smiling as a shot of fury spiced up his sugary meal so far. Robotically, she performed an about-face with perfect mechanics and grace. She marched to Pharynx's cadance, a stomping and authoritative stroll that bargained no interruptions or conversation unless he deemed it.

The hallways of this place were grandiose - the guards less than. A bunch of recruits as clear as day were trying their best to maintain parade rests and serviceable patrols, but were definitely under-qualified. A byproduct of Twilight Sparkle's new regime in progress.

He would laugh if he didn't have his own incompetence issues.

His jolly mood soured to a misery train of frustration and long-held grudges of quality assurance. He hadn't even heard her mention some random trivia she tried to pre-fire him asking to annoy her. A statue of some pony standing in between two young guards. Who cares?

His eyes narrowed and his frown turned to a tight-lipped line. Pharynx stopped abruptly, Tempest stopping as if she knew he was going to all along. A brow raised from her ever so slightly, a questioning gaze in her naturally slanted eyes. "Yes, milord?"

"Don't you just hate it?"

She blinked. Off balanced mentally at the bored, but bitter edge to his voice. He sidewards-glanced at her, his changeling gaze piercing into her with the silent fury of a thousand reprimand reports and at least three insubordination stacks of fifty a day. And being the only one to sort it.

"Pardon?"

He waved a lazy hoof around at the bumbling guards, civilians, and workers alike. Though his scanning hoof stopped at certain guards making fools of themselves. "That. What is that? Do they not know how to hold parade rest?"

She followed his waving hoof, swallowing a weary sigh. "Not yet, milord. They're not the most experienced of guardsponies and military personnel, but Twilight saw to it to create a guard detail that would only gain experience under her assignment. A personal guard."

Not as bright as I thought Pharynx monologued. "She saw it fit to create basically.. a conscript guard for her own whims?"

"In the simplest terms, yes."

Definitely not as bright as that spark that fizzled from your shattered horn recently. Pharynx inwardly grinned as he catalogued this information. "Can't be any better than mine, pfah! Couldn't identify even a friendly entering their sensssssooorrrs..." He trailed, his face going blank.

I'm an idiot, too.

"Ah, so the peace conversion hasn't been merciful to discipline, I assume?" Tempest said.

She's making fun of both you and the Hive. And you allowed it. Opened the door and ushered her in.

If she had any face that showed she was trying to coax information of his own military out, or at least the enjoyment of getting that out of him, she didn't show it. It was as if she never even considered it. As if she was at peace.

Given the fact that he had just surrendered crucial information concerning incompetencies of his own underlings, he wasn't sure she was playing the dumb peace card. Remain vigilant. Do not slip up again.

"It's being rectified. Nearly completed," he lied brazenly, dismissing her with a wave. He failed to notice her rolling her eyes.

While that happened, he stole a glance to a triplet of pegasi guards fluttering above, trying to keep a grip on some gaudy piece of brass that looked like an abhorrent amalgamation of shapes, a single letter, and what looked to be a cartoonishly large mallet.

Why they decided to fly this offense to modern art, it was to be determined. Why they decided to haphazardly fly right above their Marshall and her Prince ward, it was another GIANT red flag to be determined. What was already determined, though, was that it was going to drop in about five seconds on top of them because the lead of the triplets was a skinny stallion who was shaking like a leaf at the aspect of holding onto it for another nanosecond.

"BAIL DUDE!" He squeaked, rolling it off his hooves to the surprised cry of the other two holding it before screaming, "HEADACHE!"

And thus this devil of imagination was plummeting right towards them. Even the shadow was beginning to form larger and larger around them as Tempest just now caught sight of this soon-to-be celebration of destruction.

She couldn't do anything but yelp when a carapace body-slammed her out of the shadow.

"LORD PHARYNX!"

"MILORD!"

"YOUR EXCELLENCY!"

"MY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAART!"

Did I just save this fleshbag?

Pharynx pondered this revelation as he effortlessly held the statue up with his magics. This brass piece, a meter or so from crushing him completely, floated without a crackle in stability from Pharynx's glowing horn. He wasn't focused on that, however, he was focused on the idea of saving a pony. Not just any, but the only semi-capable military mind he's ever come across that was equine in nature.

"Huh," he garbled to himself, stepping out of the shadow of the piece.

"Thank you!" The voice distantly said.

It was dropped, shattering the flooring and causing several pieces of the "art" to go flying without danger to anyone around it.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Agony filled his gullet, a bitter but relishing taste that he found himself chewing on just a little bit before swallowing. The rush of such a wave-like emotion had caused a single-fanged grin to grow on his face, stealing a glance over to the slightly disheveled Tempest Shadow.

She looked stunned.

He grinned at her shock adding a minty freshness to the tidal wave of agony of a terrible sculptor.

Yeah. This ain't too bad of a day after all.

"Shocked, Marshall? Thought I expected better from you."

Author's Note

Quick little drabble drabble I popped up to resurrect this story. Actual story progression on the way, I swear it this time! I do, I really do! There is a plan now, with actual plot points and milestones! I swear! However, I will be writing little things like this and the previous chapter to flow the story for funsies or just to have a random anthology type chapter! I swear!

Enjoy this tangy chapter!
🍊