Pharynx sat across the floor, absolutely bored. Thorax was supposed to be back in the nursery hive hours ago, and he was nowhere to be seen. Not that it was unusual, Pharynx had gotten used to waiting for him, but it didn’t cure his boredom in any way.
His ears twitched as he heard hissing from his left. Looking vaguely in that direction, he watched other nymphs.
The others were play fighting, wrestling each other until they were both exhausted. The discolored changeling was unalarmed by the sight of blood splattered along the floor, nor did he care. If the other nymphs shed blood, it’s none of his business!
But he knew a certain changeling who would take issue with it.
Steadily, he began to drag himself over to the entrance of the nursery hive. The mouth of the cavern was opened wide, jagged teeth so sharp it would cut through the air. Above him, a large green flame lit the room around him, casting an eerie green glow that Pharynx had gotten used to. As the chamber continued, he could hear newborn larvae hissing, along with the sound of bickering nymphs.
It was all noisy.
In an effort to tune out the white noise, he turned his attention to the ground. With a hole-ridden hoof, he tossed sharp pebbles and decent sized rocks around the floor. They all had a shiny sheen to them, reflecting the light into Pharynx’s eyes.
His mind wandered to his brother, letting out a sigh. That lesson with Instructor Halter is definitely not going well, and that’s putting it lightly!
“What did I expect,” he muttered to himself, kicking the pebbles into the entrance. “The grub doesn’t even try to defend himself. Of course Instructor Halter is gonna be ripping a new one.”
Picking up a rock with his violet magic, he threw it against the wall. It’s clicked against the surface, bouncing ever so slightly as it hit the floor.
Thorax isn’t good at offense or defense, Pharynx mused, picking up another rock. No wonder he is terrible at defending himself. He doesn’t even dodge fast enough!
Then an idea clicked into his head. If he was gonna help train Thorax’s shapeshifting, might as well go the full nine yards, right?
Teaching Thorax to be offensive was going to be impossible, Pharynx knew that. He wasn’t going to lie to himself on that one. Poor grub was a pacifist that would apologize for being assaulted.
But maybe teaching the younger nymph to play defense wouldn’t turn out that badly.
A long shot, but still worth a try.
Hearing the sound of a clicking hoofsteps from within the tunnels, Pharynx quickly checked who was coming. The black changeling nymph was slowly making his way towards the cavern, and the older changeling could feel the exhaustion that radiated from him.
Pharynx waited patiently by the entrance, staying out of sight. His rock of choice was prepared, levitating off the ground.
Thorax had barely made it through the cavern’s mouth when-
“Thorax, dodge!”
“Huh?”
-Pharynx threw a decent-sized rock straight at the nymph’s face.
The nymph let out a frightened chirp, recoiling at the impact. The rock bounce across the ground, coming to a halt near Pharynx’s hoof.
“Pharynx! What was that for?!”
Sighing, Pharynx got onto his hooves. His hoof poked at Thorax’s chitin. “Because I thought you could dodge that. I‘m kinda disappointed you didn’t.”
“A warning would be nice!”
“I gave you a warning.”
“You know what I mean!”
Pharynx couldn’t help but chuckle. The younger nymph frowned, clearly not amused. Before Thorax could say anymore, he yawned. His lips parted, revealing rows of sharp teeth and fangs, and his lower jaw split into two.
Without another word, Thorax stalked out the side of the walls, crawling into their shared bedcave.
As he watched his brother turn in for the day, Pharynx worked on plenty more plans.
Picking up sticks that littered the ground, the discolored changeling stashed them under his wing. Usually, the adult drones would throw out the rumble dragged in from patrols, but Pharynx had a few ideas that he wanted to test against Thorax.
Mostly it was throwing things. Thorax couldn’t miss every single one of these, right?
I hope I didn’t jinx that, he prayed. He sincerely hoped that he would be proven wrong.
Cocoon slime, something’s going to go wrong, isn’t it?
Shaking the feel, Pharynx’s wings rattled as he stretched them out. Gazing across the nursery, his eyes wandered to his bedcave. Thorax had gone for a nap a few hours ago, long enough to be fully rested.
So with quiet steps, he adhered to the warm walls of the nursery hive. His grippers kept him in place as he made his way up towards the mouth of the bedcave, hissing at anyling that got it his way.
Climbing into said bedcave, he let his compound eyes adjust to the lightning. It was much darker, only faintly lit by the green chandelier outside. Pharynx could make out Thorax’s sleeping body, curled peacefully against the feathers and moss.
He poked Thorax’s nose, prodding him to wake up. His younger broodmate let out a whine, and he rolled his eyes.
“Get up, Thorax. You’ve been sleeping for the better part of three hours. Class starts soon.”
Not a lie, per say...just another factor into his plan.
Thorax peeled open his lids staring back at Pharynx with a cold, annoyed expression that’s plastered his face. “Don’t want to...”
“Don’t make me bite you,” he hissed, the threat all too real if Thorax failed to do so.
Slowly, the younger changeling brought himself to his hooves. He wobbled slightly as if the sleepiness hadn’t gotten out of his system. “Fine...I’m up...”
“Good, come on now.”
Thorax's usual playful, frighten, or naive energy was completely amiss at the moment, fueled by complete apathy and annoyance. It radiates such a dull aura around him that almost made Pharynx question whether this was the wrong changeling.
Then Thorax shook himself, plastering the same smile he always gave Pharynx, no matter the circumstance. Soft, sweet, and timid.
...Which is why Thorax could never succeed in anything.
With the sticks still pressed against his side, he lead them both into the open nursery and out the tunnel. Pairs of clicking hooves echoed with the darkly lit tunnel, the sound of Thorax's quiet humming could be heard over the buzzing wings of drones just outside.
Taking one of the sticks from under his wings, he clutched it between his front incisors. Turning towards the distracted nymph, he threw the stick.
“Thorax, dodge.”
“What?”
Again, the stick bounced off of his carapace, and Thorax recoiled. He didn’t wince as he did when the rock hit, but his face wasn’t pleased.
“...why are you doing this?”
“So...you can dodge?”
“Yes, but why?”
Face hoofing, Pharynx growled through gritted teeth. “Because you can't defend yourself. You are going to get yourself killed if you keep this pacifist persona up, so might as well teach you to dodge attacks when they are thrown at you.”
“Great...I feel so loved.”
He gave a sharp poke to his chest, glaring at him. “This is for your own good. What can I expect if you can’t avoid a stick or pebble being thrown at you?”
Staying silent, Thorax continued to hum, albeit much more awkward and quiet this time. Sighing, Pharynx turned back to the tunnel they were on, releasing the rest of the stick from his firm grip. They clacked against the floor, making Thorax stop to see had fallen onto the ground.
“...you didn’t seriously pack all those sticks to torment me, did you?”
“Thorax, pay attention,” Pharynx cringed as he watched his instructor tower over his younger broodmate.
“Y-yes, sir,” Thorax squeaked, pressing against the hard floor. His wings shuttered as he trembled under Instructor Hex’s gaze.
“Make me remind you one more time and I will personally rip your guts out and hang them along the walls of the hive.”
“Y-yes...sir,” Thorax's eyes were wide, terrified of that thought. As the Instructor continued with the lecture, the youngest nymph in the room shivered along the floor. His wings gave a constant quiet buzz as he struggled to keep his eyes off the ground.
Quietly, Pharynx scooted over towards his brother. He pressed himself against the disturbed changeling, leaving a wing laying across Thorax’s carapace.
The lecture went on, and Pharynx himself started to tune out the dry, raspy voice that Instructor Hex talked in.
Seriously, does this guy even drink water? Or was his diet sandpaper?
Time felt like molasses at the moment, but Pharynx felt his brother shaking slowly began to dial down. Thorax had even started to press back against his older brother, relishing the warmth.
“-When Queen Lytic ascended to the throne, she registered an attack on Equestria, hoping to drain the land of its love for the changelings. She succeeded in her mission, able to subdue the ponies and their rulers for almost twelve years. Unfortunately, she-“
A monstrous scream could be heard, shaking the hive. Fast clicking hooves echoed just outside the cavern, and a lanky, wounded changeling came running into the room.
“Sergeant Hex, Tatzlwurms are attacking the east side of the hive, we need back up!”
The lecture forgotten, Hex's eyes harden. “How many?”
“Three as far as we’ve counted, but I think there may be more. Chitin and Toxin have perished, and the team was weakened by last week’s Malwurfs.”
“I get it, I’ll gather the guards and the backup team, go warn the healers and the nursery drones.”
Pharynx and Thorax looked at each other, still huddled near the back of the class. The black nymph was trying his best to hid under his translucent purple wing, while Pharynx bared his teeth at the noise.
The nymphs within the cavern began to flee, rushing back towards the safety of the nursery hive. With quick hooves, Pharynx lead Thorax from out of the carved cave, knowing full well that Thorax was still struggling with the hive layout.
The screeching of Tatzlwurms began to die down, but the shaking didn’t stop. Parts of the walls began to crumble as the monstrous pests attacked the hive, making Pharynx yelp as he avoided the falling debris.
Looking back, Thorax was trying to catch out, fear radiating off of him as he tried to keep up with his older brother. Pharynx watched in horror as a piece of the ceiling came crumbling towards the younger nymph.
“Thorax!” Pharynx rushed towards the black changeling, tackling him out of the way. Behind him he heard the crashing sound as walls hit walls, flatten his ears at the noise.
Thorax stared at the ground, petrified with fear as he realized he would have been dead. Growling, Pharynx lifted the smaller nymph onto his back, quickly making an escape and avoiding anymore falling hazards.
It wasn’t long before they rounded a corner, stopping once they reached the entrance of the nursery hive. Pharynx gasped as his lungs cramped, feeling Thorax slowly slip off of his pointed carapace.
Every nymph crowed the bottom of the nursery hive, a wave of fear washing amongst them. No one seemed to care about the late-arriving nymphs, and Pharynx quickly pulled Thorax aside into a corner.
Thorax leaned against his older brother’s chitin, his breathing shallow and quick.
“...you know?...I think those dodge practices aren’t such a bad idea...”
Pharynx sat in the corner of the class, done with the task on hoof. Now all he had to do was wait for Thorax to come out from training, and they’ll be all set for the day.
Except that could take forever.
And he didn’t want to wait that long.
He sighed, closing his eyes. Oh, how he wished he could speed up time. Unconsciously, he picked up the small combat knife and threw against the wall. It created a sharp whistling noise as stabbed the side of the hive, a good inch of it lodged into the marbled green and blue material.
He ignored the fearful faces of the other nymphs, huffing as some of them quickly left the room.
Wimps, he quietly thought, prying the knife out of the wall. Particles crumbled onto the stone-like floor, and Pharynx stared at the knife with a newfound interest.
It was shiny, probably newly carved by one of the instructors. If Pharynx had to guess, it was probably made from obsidian, with its black sheen and glass-like texture. The handle was of a bright blue, swirled with little patterns of red.
...Thorax missed every stick I threw at him...is this a smart thing to do...?
...
I mean... what’s the worse that could happen?
Pharynx had a devious little smile on his face, turning towards the entrance to the corridor. A small spark of tired energy could felt within the hallway, and he had a pretty good idea who it was.
It's not like he was going to hurt Thorax in any way. He had sharper eyes than most nymphs in class, so aiming just above where Thorax’s head will be would do the same trick.
Groaning could be heard echoing within the walls, and Pharynx crouched beside the tunnel entrances. The knife was encased with his violet magic, prepared to be thrown at his younger brother.
“Pharynx how long was I- oH EGGSHELLS-“
Thorax ducked, throwing his hooves above his head. The knife whistled as it soared right above his crest, stabbing itself back into the wall. The little changeling’s wings buzzed as he opened his eyes, staring straight at the knife.
Then he frowned, looking back at his older brother.
“Did you just throw a knife at me?!”
“Yes, and you dodged it. Yay!” Pharynx clapped his hooves together, grinning, Standing onto his hollowed hooves, he tore the obsidian knife out of the wall, his fangs comfortably place around the handle.
“THAT'S WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT?!” Thorax cried, buzzing his wings as he lifted himself off of the ground. “Pharynx, you could’ve killed me!”
“No. I aimed right above your head, so it would’ve missed either way,” Pharynx replied nonchalantly, his words slightly muffled by the knife in his mouth. The younger changeling’s frown deepened, rapid chirping were emitting from the back of his throat.
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” Thorax muttered to which Pharynx smirked. The older brother was trilled that cyan nymph was able to duck in time, perhaps this training wouldn’t go so badly.
“Nope. Not really,” he pushed against the smaller nymph’s shoulder, before trotting out the door. “C’mon, it’s getting late.”
Thorax was less than pleased, but followed after his older brother. Clicking hoof steps echoed throughout the tunneling hive, only faint buzzing of wings could be heard from a distance.
“Pharynx put the knife down,” the cyan changeling said from behind him.
“Nah. I think I’m going to keep it.”
“Oh for the love of-“
“Hey, Thorax? Have you seen my combat knife? I need it.”
Pharynx peered over his nest, lifting the leaves that laid over the bedding. I was sure I put it here...
“The black one?” Thorax dipped his head over the ledge of their bedcave, buzzing his wings. “I gave it to Tymbal and told her to hide it.”
The crimson nymph snapped his head around. “You what?”
His little brother giggled, buzzing his wings as he flew out of out the nursery hive’s entrance. Rolling his eyes, Pharynx raced after him.
“Thorax get back here!”
Author's Note
I little story to go along with my finished Protective Broodmate. Takes place between chapter 4 and 5.
This is the knife situation.
Pharynx knows what he is doing, don’t worry.
