Chipped Shield

Pharynx was many things, a soldier, a brother, and a leader. Brave enough to confront the Queen, disrupting the flow of command? That was not part of his job description.

A layer of wool was what stopped his steps, the last chance to go back. To wait things out and let her figure it all out.

Looking above he saw gray clouds begin to form on their own, he knew he had to make this quick if not to give more reason to upset his Queen.

He gulped, he was starting to get second and third thoughts. It wasn't just his anxious thoughts either, he could feel the overwhelming aura behind the doorway. It tightened any drones nearby, he's seen them flinch and square up with muscles tensed.

Somehow his strength of will was enough to keep himself going, bringing a hoof to wave off the wool he stepped inside.

His eyes widened at the crime scene of a space, papers, books, and ink were spilled onto a desk and on the grass.

She broke away from the focused trance of her work. Her voice was like venom, stinging as words punctuate her victim. "Who's there?" Annoyance and anger seeped into the words smoothly. His attention snapped to her, sat down on the grass with her haunches, still engrossed in her studies.

Pharynx straightened up with his head up high, "General Pharynx of Script 4, your Highness."

Chrysalis rotated her head two-hundred seventy degrees like an owl, her eyes burning into his mind. "So it is." Turning back she gripped a book in a dark emerald green aura, "Tell me what your purpose is and then leave."

Pharynx collected himself swiftly, "I wish to know our plans heading forward."

That made Chrysalis stop.

Her head slowly turned back to him. Chrysalis spoke the next words slowly in understanding. "You want to know what comes next?"

Pharynx didn't buckle. "We've been here for nearly eight days and yet we are not any closer to home."

Her eye twitched at that. "I would choose your next words wisely, drone."

Pharynx felt a bit of his pride chip at that. "I am just asking to know what is next, we've been doing what you've asked. Sketching out land and looking for anything out of the ordinary but I highly doubt we'd find anything." He felt like biting his tongue at the end. That was a bad play to find fault in the Queen's reasoning. He cringed at the poor use of words.

He grit his teeth and braved for the worse.

Chrysalis turned back to her studies, gripping the book with her aura again, throwing it at him without a care or focus on him.

He caught it in his purple hue, "What is-"

Chrysalis cut him off before he could ask more. "This book possibly holds our ultimate weapon. I have been looking around the area for a tomb mentioned in this tome. If you cannot find it then we end the search here and continue on our way to the hive, licking our wounds like animals." She snarled.

He opened the old book to a bookmarked section.

The word 'Failsafe' was magically bolded with a strange bipedal figure in it's yellowed page. He could hear her chuckle, switching his attention to her he found she was towering over him with a malicious grin. "But, if you were to find an instrument to our ultimate and supreme victory. I would reward you and your efforts generously." She focused on him with anger sparking behind her eyes. "But if I find you had damaged this book-" She pushed her face closer to his. "I will gut you and splay you on the battlefield as a sign. Understand?"

Pharynx stumbled a bit before finding his voice. "Understood."

"Our recent excavation has led to some clues at site ten, you have until the end of the day." Her eyes became narrow. "Now go!"

Pharynx flinched before galloping out. As his hooves pounded against the dirt he heard the malicious laughter of the Queen echo out to the world with rain drowning in it.