Bug on the Breeze

Chapters

The Breeze Is Calling!
New Place, Same Zephyr
Reflections And New Destinations
The Adventure Begins!
Don't Wash Away With The Storm
The Sun Will Shine Again
Zephyr Breeze, Survival Expert (In Training)
The Danger In Shifting Sands
What Now?

The Breeze Is Calling!

Fluttershy hummed as she skillfully stepped over the critters scurrying across her floor, careful not to spill any of the hot water in the kettle she carried. It was a relatively peaceful afternoon in her cottage, her animals behaving well in the presence of her guest.

“Here we are Ocellus, sorry for the wait.”

“Oh no worries, Professor Fluttershy, it wasn’t long at all.”

Fluttershy blushed slightly as she set down the kettle. “Just Fluttershy is fine, we aren’t at school right now.”

Ocellus blushed as well, awkwardly rubbing her front legs together as her wings buzzed under her shell. “Of course, sorry Pro- Fluttershy, heh. Um, thank you for letting me come by.”

“You are always welcome here. I know the school can get pretty overwhelming, I still have trouble sometimes being around to talk to students after class.”

“Yeah. I really like the school and all my friends there, but it is nice to be in a quieter environment.”

Fluttershy nodded as she prepared two cups of tea, a calming mix of chamomile and mint wafting from the ceramic. “So, is there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? Oh, how are things with Smolder? I remember you had an argument the other week.”

“Much better now! I took your suggestion to write a letter and it really helped me to figure out what I wanted to tell her and make her understand how I felt. She even wrote me a letter back with her feelings, with help from Sandbar and Silverstream apparently.”

Fluttershy clapped her hooves together. “That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you were able to work it out. It can be hard to talk face to face about your feelings, but it’s important to be able to communicate with your friends, especially after an argument.”

Ocellus nodded and reached down for her tea. “It’s much easier with other changelings because we can sense each other’s feelings, but-”

Ocellus was interrupted by the front door slamming open, sending all of the animals inside scurrying away in fear and making the changeling and pegasus hold onto their cups for dear life. “Oh big siiiiis~! Your darling baby brother is in dire need of some loving guidance- oh! Sis, have you started a professional counseling business or something? I’m sorry little bug but blood comes first, I’m sure you won’t mind waiting, right?”

Fluttershy’s ear twitched and Ocellus flinched into the couch, wings buzzing anxiously from the influx of emotion from her teacher. There was love, of course, but also hints of annoyance and exasperation. It was quite possibly the closest she had ever seen her teacher get to being mad.

Fluttershy huffed softly as she stood and started to try corralling and comforting the animals that hadn’t escaped the cottage. “Zephyr Breeze, how many times have I told you that you can’t just barge in like that? You know I don’t mind you visiting, but you have to be more careful with your entrance.”

“Oh, right, heh, sorry little critters. I forget that my breeze can be pretty strong for smaller beings.”

Zephyr walked in and took a seat next to Ocellus, watching Fluttershy for a moment before turning towards the changeling. “So what’s your deal?”

“U-um, well I-”

“You seem pretty quiet, is that what Fluttershy is helping you with? I mean, if anypony knows what it means to be quiet it’s her. I’m glad she’s trying to help you, I truly am. She’s one of the best and most helpful ponies I know, which is why I’m here. You see, a couple years ago, I was pretty lost.”

He leaned back into the couch, dramatically covering his face with a hoof as the other flailed about. “I didn’t know who I was or what I wanted to do, I was a breeze without a destination, a purpose! But Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, hopeless romantic as she is, believed in me and helped me finish my mane therapy training. I finally had something going for me.”

Zephyr sat back up, scoffing. “I was so sure that was my calling but now I don’t know. I enjoy helping ponies, don't get me wrong, but it’s just not fulfilling. I mean, my big sis is all about helping ponies, I can’t just be following in her hoofsteps, forever shadowed by her accomplishments of saving Equestria a billion times. I need something…more, something that’s just mine.”

He sighed heavily then suddenly perked back up, staring intensely at the changeling. “Say, how did you do it? I mean, all you changelings were just mindless drones for the longest time right? Everything was decided for you, what you did, where you went, what you were fighting for. Your purpose was to serve your Queen. Now that you don’t go sucking love or friendship or whatever it was out of us ponies, what do you do?”

“Zephyr! Don’t be so rude. Ocellus, you don’t have to answer any of that, I know it’s hard to think about what you had to do back then.”

“I-it’s okay, really. If talking about that stuff can help somepony find their way, then I don’t mind.”

Zephyr gasped, “Really? Oh thank you, thank you! Fluttershy, you can really learn something from this…uh, what are you exactly? Like, do I call you a colt, or a filly or…something else?”

“Zephyr!”

“Whaaat? I’m trying to be sensitive here, it’s hard to tell.”

Ocellus’s giggles stifled the stern lecture Fluttershy was about to unleash on her brother. “Changelings don’t really have the same gender binary ponies do, but you can call me a filly if that makes it easier.”

Zephyr nodded. “Sweet, okay little filly, tell me how the changelings have found purpose and meaning in their lives.”

Ocellus took a sip of her tea as she thought, trying to find the right words. “After Chrysalis was defeated, there was a lot of celebration and joy and everyling was so excited for the future. It lasted a couple weeks, but then we slowly became confused. We had friendship, but what else did we want? All we had done before was hunt or fight or infiltrate and steal love.”

“That’s when Thorax had the great idea to start decorating the hive and invest in arts and crafts. He had seen a lot of art when he was in the Crystal Empire and saw how happy it made the ponies creating it, as well as the ponies who saw it. He also started the ‘feelings forum’, where changelings could go and talk in a safe space and have their feelings heard.”

Her wings buzzed cheerfully. “Then we heard about the School of Friendship and thought it would be good for changelings to attend too. I was the only one who actually wanted to though, at least for now. Everyling else just wanted a bit more time to discover who they were and what they liked. I’m still not sure about all that myself, but I’m having a lot of fun learning new things.”

Zephyr pressed his hoof against his chin. “So you all went from a fierce warrior race to a bunch of artists?”

“Er, that’s not exactly-”

Ocellus was, once again, interrupted as Zephyr swept her into a tight hug. “I just knew I felt a special connection with you. This changeling hive is exactly what I need to refresh myself and find my purpose! A whole place filled with creative souls just like moi is sure to break this little block I’m going through. Who knows, maybe my purpose is sculpting! Or painting! Or…whatever else other artist things you bugs have been up to!”

He suddenly stood, wings flared confidently behind him as Ocellus dropped back onto the couch. “Whatever my destiny is, I know I’ll find it there. There’s something poetic about soul searching in a distant land among other lost creatures.”

He chuckled and reached over to ruffle Fluttershy’s hair. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even be able to pick up a counseling gig of my own and help other changelings find their meaning. Whatever happens, I’m sure it’s going to be just as awesome as me. I gotta go pack, love you sis, and I know we just met little bug but I appreciate you. You have a good day now, ta~!”

And then he was gone, closing the door behind him much more softly than his entrance.

Fluttershy stared at the door for a minute before sighing and deflating in her chair. “I’m sorry about him Ocellus, he’s…well, you can see that he’s…”

“...Passionate?”

“Yes, that. I’m sorry to cut this visit short, but I really should go warn, er, tell Twilight and ask Starlight to send a letter to Thorax too.”

Ocellus giggled. “Of course, I really should be heading back too, I promised Smolder we would have a study session. I hope your brother finds everything he’s looking for.”

Fluttershy sighed again before looking at the door with a small smile. “So do I.”

New Place, Same Zephyr

There was a flash of light at the border of the changeling hive and two beings popped into existence.

Zephyr Breeze shuddered and swept his hoof over his fur. “Thanks for the teleport Starlight, really, I appreciate it. I can’t even imagine hoofing it allll the way out here. I just hate what the magic does to my mane.”

Starlight started walking towards the hive, an uninterested ‘uh huh’ her only response. She didn’t believe it was possible to find anyone more self-absorbed than Trixie, but Fluttershy’s brother was a close contender. She quickly learned that any attempt at actual conversation was pretty pointless, so resorted to the occasional nod and one or two word responses.

Zephyr looked around, amazed at the sights around him. There was a lot of greenery, nice soft grass and beautiful flowers and even some trees. “Wow, this place is popping! Though, you’d really think they’d start building a train station or cloud port or something, how else is anypony supposed to know about and appreciate this!”

He looked forward again and galloped to catch up to Starlight. “You have a direct link to the princesses, why don’t you ask them about it? Ooh, maybe you can make an official department of expanding transportation or something. Department of Tourism Interests? OH how about -”

“OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT IT’S PHARYNX, HI PHARYNX.”

The changeling raised an eyebrow at Starlight’s volume. “Hello again Starlight.” He looked at the pegasus. “You must be Zephyr Breeze.”

Zephyr grinned and struck a pose. “Oh ho, I see my reputation precedes me! Well, Ferris-”

“Pharynx.”

“Pharynx, that’s what I said isn’t it? Anyways, It honors me that you would come to personally welcome me to your home, er, hive. You know, it was really only a matter of time before you bugs were blessed by the breeze. So tell me, what kind of artiste are you?”

There was an odd, grinding grumble from Pharynx, his eyes narrowing briefly as he looked back to Starlight, who shrugged apologetically. “He doesn’t know when to shut up.”

Starlight sighed and shook her head. “Unfortunately not.”

Zephyr blew a raspberry. “Oh come now, that almost sounded hostile. Heh, but obviously that can’t be the case cause, well, look at me! Who could be mad at this face?”

Pharynx grunted. “You better hope we don’t come to regret this, Starlight. Come along you two, we shouldn’t stay out here too long.”

Starlight tilted her head. “Is everything okay? There’s not another dangerous animal threatening the hive is there?”

Pharynx shrugged as he looked around, eyes scanning carefully and ears on a swivel. “Not sure yet, better to not take chances.” His eyes flicked back down to Starlight as he added with a smirk. “Just don’t go changing any vegetation trails this time around.”

Starlight sputtered, “Wha- but, but that was only the one time! And it ended up being a good thing!”

Pharynx snickered and jerked his head towards the hive. “We’ll see if history repeats itself.”

Starlight started on the trail with an indignant huff, a slightly confused Zephyr following. The rest of the walk was quick and, thankfully for Starlight and Pharynx, quiet.

It was only as they approached the mouth of the main entrance that the pegasus spoke up again. “You know, you never did answer my question. What are you, a sculptor? You look like you have the muscles for it. Or maybe you’re a model? Ooh, if you ever model ponies, or any creature with a mane, let me know and I can style.you.up. Not to brag or anything, but I am a certified Mane Therapist.”

Starlight rubbed her temple with a hoof, muttering under her breath for a minute before loudly declaring. “OH WOW I TOTALLY FORGOT!” She coughed to regain control of her voice. “Sorry, I just uh, I have very, um, very important things to get back to at…at the school! Yeah! Sooo I’m just going to leave Zephyr here in your capable hooves, Pharynx. Tell Thorax he can send me a letter if he needs anything, okay bye!”

Zephyr and Pharynx watched her quickly walk away, Zephyr humming. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was running away from something.”

“I can’t imagine what.”

“Oh well, she always struck me as more of a science mare than anything, she probably isn’t emotionally prepared to handle the harsh journey that is exploring our souls through - art.”

Pharynx stared at Zephyr intently. “Do you even hear yourself?”

“All the time! I’ve been told I have a very soothing voice. Ponies tend to go quiet whenever I’m around, I guess because I have so much wisdom to share.”

Pharynx opened and shut his mouth a couple times, for the first time in his life at a complete loss for words. Zephyr chuckled and pointed at him. “See! Exactly like that! Oh I tell you, sometimes it’s a curse being this charming. Well don’t you worry about saying anything else, I can handle talking for the both of us, just put your energy into showing me around.”

Still unable to come up with anything to say in response, Pharynx nodded and walked into the hive.

“And here is where we prepare meals.”

“Oh wow! You know, I’ve heard baking is the real art of the soul, so it makes sense you’d have artisans dedicated to the craft. There really is something for everybody here!”

Pharynx moved on without another word, silently cursing Starlight for being a coward and leaving him with this…well, idiot didn’t begin to cover it. The pegasus reminded him of Trixie, but was somehow even worse. At least the unicorn didn’t pretend to be humble. He found some comfort that the tour was almost over and all that was left was the throne room. Then, he could toss the burden of their ‘guest’ onto his brother.

“-am loving the vibes and energy of this place. I swear I can already feel myself healing, my mind and body preparing itself so I can finally realize my destiny! You know, you could make a lot of money charging ponies for a spiritual retreat. Of course, since I’m the first one, I should get it for free because I can help work out the kinks and design the program for maximum healing.”

Pharynx paused, his wings thumping against his side in irritation. “You realize this is our home, right? It’s not meant to be a vacation spot or ‘spiritual retreat’ or whatever for ponies. You are only here because Fluttershy asked Thorax if he minded hosting you for a little bit.”

“Ahh, now I see what’s going on here.”

Pharynx looked over his shoulder with a bewildered look. Could it be? Had he finally broken through the pegasus’s thick skull? “You…do?”

“Sure do! Thorax was so moved by my sister’s plea for help he made a special exception for me to come and stay at the hive.”

Pharynx blinked, genuinely surprised. “Uh, yeah actually, that’s pretty much it.”

Zephyr continued on as if he didn’t hear Pharynx. “The filly bug that goes to the school, Oculus or something, said that Thorax calls the shots now and was really helping lead the changelings into a brighter future. He must be a true master artisan, not only taking the mantle of leadership but also willing to take a pony like me as an apprentice. I can’t wait to meet him and really get started on finding my purpose.”

Pharynx’s eye twitched and he forced himself to inhale deeply, almost to his breaking point. The only thing that kept him from completely snapping was that, pretty soon, he would be Thorax’s problem. Slowly, he released his breath, already too tired to keep trying to correct whatever delusion Zephyr was living under. “Yeah, sure, whatever. We are almost done with the tour, let me take you to meet him.”

“Sounds good to me! Lead on, I think I’m gonna spend some time quietly introspecting to prepare myself, wanna make a good impression with the big bug.”

“Uh huh.”

Surprisingly, Zephyr was mostly good to his word, the walk to the throne room passing quietly but for the occasional mumble from the pegasus. Finally, they walked through a doorway, flowering vines hanging from the top to create a curtain. The throne room was large and circular, tree’s sprouting around the edges and rising above, their leafy boughs meshing together to create a ‘roof’ while still allowing a bit of sun and fresh air through.

Thorax was laying on his ‘throne’, a large, organic made chair with moss and vines creating a cushion in the middle and flowing over the sides. He was busy looking through a large book, a quill and paper held in his magic as he jotted down some notes. “Just a moment.”

Thorax finished the note and set the paper in the book as a bookmark before addressing the pair. “Oh hey Pharynx, and you must be Zephyr Breeze. I heard a lot about you from Fluttershy.”

Zephyr grinned and struck a pose like when he first met Pharynx. “All good things I’m sure. I must say it is a real honor to be here, your artfulness. I look forward to being your student and finding my real purpose once and for all.”

Thorax looked curiously at Pharynx, who shrugged in response. “Well, my job here is done. With your leave, brother.”

Thorax nodded and levitated the book he was reading. “Take this, I’ve highlighted a few sections I think will help you. Be safe.”

“I will.”

Zephyr waved after Pharynx. “See you around the hive!”

Pharynx snorted, muttering. “Not if I see you first.”

Thorax flew off his throne and landed by Zephyr. “So, Pharynx showed you all around the hive?”

Zephyr nodded. “He was an excellent tour guide. I love what you’ve done with the place, all natural and green and stuff, it really puts a pony at ease. It also speaks to me just how many different kinds of art you’ve got going on. Where were you thinking of starting first? Painting? Sculpting? Pottery? I am yours to mold.”

Thorax chuckled and held up a hoof. “Hang on, there’s no need to rush. Actually, I was thinking of showing you the room we had made up. I’m sure today has been a lot so far, it might be good to take some time and soak it all in.”

Zephyr rubbed his chin. “You know what, you are so right. I was just thinking it’s about time for a nice afternoon siesta. Can’t get those creative art juices flowing unless I’m fully rested.”

“Exactly. Here, follow me.”

Thorax led Zephyr down the hallway, stopping a few doorways down from the throne room. “The hive can still be a bit confusing to newcomers, so I wanted to make sure you were close to a central point. Go ahead and take a nap, freshen up, whatever you want to do. I’ll come grab you when it’s dinner time.”

Thorax reached towards a handle on the solid piece of rock and slid it to the side, the door smoothly gliding into the wall. Inside was a decent sized room, a hole in the back wall acting as a window and lighting the space. A comfortable moss rug covered the floor and a large hammock in the left corner seemed to be the bed. A dresser set under the window had an unlit lantern and a box of matches next to it. To the right, there was an archway that led to a bathroom, featuring a large tub carved out of natural rock.

Thorax pointed out the features as he explained them. “Just pull on the rope and natural spring water will fill the tub. The lantern is for when the sun goes down, just strike a match and it will last the whole night. The dresser has towels and an extra blanket if you need it. If you need anything else, I’ll be in the throne room.”

Zephyr slowly turned around the room, soaking in everything. “Wow, I, I don’t even know what to say. You made this all for me?”

Thorax nodded. “We have a few similar rooms set up down this hallway, for whenever we get non-changeling visitors. I hope you have a good siesta, I’ll see you later.”

Zephyr nodded as well. “Thank you, really, thank you.”

Thorax smiled and stepped out, sliding the door back into place.

Reflections And New Destinations

Zephyr stretched out on the hammock, hooves behind his head as he looked at the ceiling, eyes lazily following the natural swirls and variations in the rock ceiling. He wasn’t sure how long he had been in the room, but it was at least a few hours, judging by the slowly diminishing light from the window.

He had tried to nap, but found himself too excited by the prospect of working with Thorax. Who better to help him discover his true potential and destiny than the changeling leader who helped his entire species transform and find a new way?

For the first time since his sister and Rainbow Dash had helped him to finish his mane therapy training he felt hopeful for his future. He had spent much of his life simply going with the flow, drifting from place to place, with no real purpose or destination in mind. If he was really honest with himself, he’d rather live his whole life like that, but that just seemed to disappoint everyone, especially his big sister.

His thoughts drifted to Pharynx and how he had called Thorax ‘brother’ earlier. It was weird to think that changelings had siblings. Zephyr had assumed that they all hatched from eggs laid by the Queen or something, but maybe it was more of a social title? Then again, now that he thought about it, there did seem to be some resemblance between them that was missing from the other changelings he saw. Who was the older brother then? Probably Pharynx.

Zephyr smiled. Yeah, Pharynx definitely gave off older sibling vibes. It was an interesting contrast to his own relationship with Fluttershy, where the younger sibling Thorax was the public leader and shining star.

His smile slowly turned to a frown. Even though Thorax was the one in charge, Pharynx wasn’t just in his shadow, he was clearly doing different things from his brother but they seemed to work together well still. During the tour earlier, it was obvious a lot of the other changelings respected Pharynx too.

Maybe he could ask Pharynx to teach him a bit too. But teach him what? Zephyr couldn’t quite pinpoint what made Pharynx so different from him. They were both confident and doing their own thing, so why did it feel like Pharynx actually had the respect Zephyr wished for?

He groaned and dragged his hooves down his face. Maybe that was a bit too much personal reflection for now.

There was a knock on the door and Zephyr sat up, his lips curling into his usual, easy going smile almost automatically. Light from the hallway and magic brightened the room a little as Thorax carefully slid the door open. “Zephyr? You awake?”

Zephyr did a quick stretch before hopping off the hammock and heading towards the door. “Am I ever! I feel sooo rested and ready to go! This room really is amazing, and the hammock? Oh, it felt like I was sleeping on clouds.”

Thorax beamed. “Oh wonderful, I’m glad to hear it. Come on, we have quite a feast set up for you. It’s not often we have special guests for dinner.”

Zephyr rubbed his stomach. “Sounds good cause I am star-ving!”

Thorax led him back to the throne room, where a large, low table had been brought into the center, cushions set around it. There were multiple platters of food, a variety of vegetables and flowers in different presentations, as well as a few small birds and fish.

Pharynx was already sitting on a cushion near one end of the table. Thorax pointed Zephyr to the seat across from Pharynx and then sat at the head of the table.

Zephyr sat down and rubbed his hooves together. “Mmm-mm! When you put on a feast, you really put it on. Are all these locally grown?”

Thorax nodded. “Yup! It took a couple seasons to learn how to farm, but the ground here is surprisingly fertile and has allowed us to grow fruits and vegetables completely unique to our kingdom.”

Zephyr side eyed the cooked fish and birds. “And uh, you know that ponies are usually vegetarian…right?”

Pharynx suddenly grabbed one of the fish and put it on his plate, staring at Zephyr with a toothy grin. “Yeah. You know that changelings are omnivores, right?”

Zephyr gulped. “O-oh. My apologies, I didn’t know.”

Thorax pointedly cleared his throat, glaring at his brother for a moment before smiling at Zephyr and moving the meat dishes away from the pegasus. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you before. I hope your appetite isn’t ruined.”

Zephyr waved his hoof with a strained laugh. “Pssh, don’t worry about me. Part of why I’m here is to learn after all. I appreciate you sharing your culture with me.”

Pharynx snorted, drawing another glare from Thorax that went as unnoticed as the first.

Zephyr’s wings opened and closed a couple times on his back, the tense atmosphere encouraging his usual ‘flight’ instincts. He forced his wings back to his sides and reached for a plate full of bright green roses, putting a couple on his plate. He also spooned some purple looking mash from a bowl and grabbed what looked like a baked banana sprinkled with cinnamon.

A suffocating silence intensified the tension, broken only by the scrape of utensils and chewing of food. About halfway through, Thorax cleared his throat and looked at Pharynx. “Do you have any updates on the creature you were tracking outside the hive?”

Pharynx nodded, taking a moment to swallow before answering. “I had it in a trap earlier but it escaped before I could fully capture it. Was able to get a good look at it though and it’s definitely a sand kelpie, a young one judging by the size.”

Thorax hummed with a frown. “From what I read, the young ones tend to be more dangerous. That’s…not great to hear.”

Zephyr raised his hoof. “What’s a sand kelpie?”

Pharynx huffed. “Nasty monsters. They are a desert variety of the water kelpies who lie in rivers and lakes. They don’t hesitate to kill anything that’s stupid enough to come close. The young ones are extremely impulsive and aggressive, usually just going straight for the kill. As they get older though, they get craftier, and find amusement in luring their victims in and prolonging whatever death they decide on.”

Thorax nodded and added. “They are scaled and look kind of like dragons, but have an equine head, clawed front legs, and a powerful tail that’s said to be able to whip up fierce sandstorms. They are able to ‘swim’ through the sand by puffing air out their scales.”

Zephyr’s eyes widened in awe, breathing out a soft ‘whoa’.

Pharynx poked at his plate with a grim expression. “I was aware there was a herd living in the area, but they always kept their distance, one predator respecting another. I thought after we ran off the maulworth that everything around us would get the memo to continue leaving us alone.”

Thorax shrugged. “Maybe the increased vegetation and return of life is limiting their territory? This area has been pretty barren and desert-like for a long time, at least a few generations before us. If a young one is coming around, they might be trying to fight for the only home they’ve known.”

Pharynx worked his jaw a bit, considering. “Maybe. I doubt another trap will scare it off again, it’s only a matter of time before it comes back and starts to actually attack us. We need to figure out a plan before that happens.”

Zephyr suddenly slammed his hoof on the table and stood up. “That’s it!”

Thorax tilted his head at Zephyr. “Oh? Do you have an idea of what to do?”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow and leaned forward with his chin in his hoof. “This should be good.”

Zephyr flared his wings. “Now, I don’t really believe in coincidence, I’ve always been a pony following the breeze of destiny, but I do believe that I am here, right now, for a reason. I came here to find a purpose, and you have a little monster problem on your hooves. I don’t really know why or how yet, but I just know that I’m here to help.”

Pharynx snickered, his mirth quickly turning into full belly laughs. Zephyr furrowed his brows. “Wha-wha-what’s so funny? Ohhh, it’s because you don’t think a creative soul like me can handle a monster isn’t it? Well I’ll have you know that taking care of monsters and saving the day is in my blood.”

Pharynx didn’t respond, clutching his ribs with one hoof as pained, gasping laughter still spilled from his muzzle. Zephyr frowned lightly and stepped back from the table, his wings half arched from his sides as he watched Pharynx curiously. His lips twitched like he couldn’t decide if he should be laughing along or not.

Thorax smiled encouragingly at Zephyr, blatantly turning his back on his brother. “Don’t mind him, he has a broken sense of humor. I do think you are right though, maybe you’ll find purpose in being a monster hunter.”

Zephyr’s grin returned as he rubbed his chin. “Monster hunter huh? That does have a certain…pizazz. I like it! And if you think it’ll work, then I’ll definitely try it.”

“In fact,” Thorax said, his smile becoming strained as he sharply turned towards Pharynx’s quivering form, “I think you two should go together. With Pharynx’s knowledge of the area and fighting experience, you two should have no problem taking care of the sand kelpie.”

Pharynx stopped short, staring at Thorax in disbelief.

Zephyr pounced on this new direction and clapped his hooves together. “Yeah! I mean, I’m sure I would do just fine by myself, but it’s always good to have a local guide in unfamiliar territory. Don’t you worry Thorax, we’ll have that thing crying for it’s momma in no time!”

Zephyr whooped and started out of the throne room. “I’m gonna go double check what I have in my duffel bag, but I’ll probably need some more supplies, you’ll be able to help me stock up right?”

Thorax called after him. “Of course, we will provide everything you’ll need to track the kelpie down and make it go away for good.”

Once he was gone, Pharynx glared at Thorax. “You can’t be serious.”

Thorax returned the look. “You know I don’t usually like pulling rank on you, but in this case I will.”

Pharynx sputtered, vaguely gesturing at the doorway Zephyr had disappeared through. “But him?! He won’t last 5 minutes out there!”

“Which is exactly why you’ll go with him and protect him. Look, Fluttershy told me a lot about her brother when she said he was interested in coming to the hive. He just needs a bit of guidance and confidence building.” Thorax’s expression brightened. “Who better to do that than you? It’ll be just like training grubs in the old days.”

Pharynx ran his hoof across his face, a frustrated growl grinding in his chest. “Fine.” He spat and stood up. “But if he dies, it’s on you.”

Thorax laughed lightly. “Well it’s a good thing you won’t let him die then.”

Pharynx looked away.

Thorax gulped. “...right?”

The Adventure Begins!

Just outside the hive, the day was warm and bright as it headed towards the afternoon, but a large gathering of clouds on the horizon promised rain.

Pharynx studied the sky with a practiced eye. With the change to the surrounding landscape came new weather patterns, but they were still largely predictable as long as one knew what they were looking for. He turned his attention to the bag at his hooves, rummaging through it and going down a mental checklist of supplies for the fifth time since he came outside.

Preserved jerky and nuts? Check.

Cured leather roll to mark and update their maps? Check.

Journal with notes on everything they knew about sand kelpies? Check.

Compass? Check.

Rope? Check.

Water canteen? Check.

Bedroll? Check.

Incompetent pegasus who was surely going to get both of them killed? Nowhere to be seen.

Pharynx closed the bag and looked around, ears straining for any sign of the pony he was roped into babysitting. He had hoped to already be miles away from the hive at this point of the day.

Pharynx snorted and pawed at the ground. Just what was Thorax thinking? It was dangerous enough to suggest hunting down a young sand kelpie, but to make him take a soft, untrained and, in his opinion, pathetic pony?

Pharynx turned and stomped a few paces, pitching his voice to mock Thorax’s. “He just needs some guidance Pharynx, it’ll just be like training grubs in the old days Pharynx, Pharynx you need to risk your life making sure he doesn’t lose his.”

“Goood morning Pharynx!”

Pharynx’s ear flicked and he looked over as Zephyr approached, bluntly stating. “It’s afternoon.”

Zephyr laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Right, sorry, this breeze doesn’t really do ‘mornings’. But hey, I’m here and ready now.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes as he swung his bag onto his back, using magic to adjust it until it was balanced. “Better late than never I guess. Come on, we’re losing daylight and I don’t want the trail to keep getting colder. You’ve got everything you need? Once we leave, we aren’t coming back until the mission is done.”

“Yup! I’ve got my tent and my sleeping bag and my sleep mask and my soap and-”

“Anything useful?”

Zephyr scoffed, a wing gesturing at the large hiking bag Thorax had insisted on in place of his beloved duffel bag. “Well, I mean, in addition to those essentials, Thorax gave me some food, a first aid kit, and some other woodsy camping stuff.”

Pharynx shook his head. “Well, at least someone was thinking. Let’s go.”

Pharynx walked past the shredded remains of the net trap that had temporarily held the kelpie, eyes on the forest floor to follow its escape. Despite its relatively small size, the creature was still larger than Thorax, and left behind a wide and easy to track trail of destruction.

Zephyr followed after him, though his eyes were focused on taking in the scenery around him. They were near the back of the hive, which seemed a bit wilder and more green than the front, the trees bigger and more dense. Somewhere nearby was a river or something, the sound of flowing water just evident under the quiet thuds of hooves on packed dirt and the shuffle of leaves.

“You know Pharynx, I just might be wrong, but I don't think you are like the other changelings.”

Pharynx snorted. Just when he thought he couldn’t be surprised anymore… “You just now figured that out?”

Zephyr shrugged. “I came here thinking y’all were a bunch of artists and creative souls now instead of scary warrior types, and most everyone I saw on the tour was. But you talking about traps and predators respecting each other is making me think you are still a fighter at heart.”

“Yeah, well, old habits die hard.”

“Oh yeah? So what exactly did you do? You know, before.”

Pharynx looked over his shoulder, surprised that Zephyr seemed interested in something other than himself. “I was head of patrol. I trained those under me in how to defend our borders from intruders.”

“Ohh, so you were like the captain of the guard. That’s cool. Heh, you were probably crawling with the lady bugs huh? Mares looove a stallion in uniform.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes and looked forward again. Before their transformation, Zephyr would have been a prime target for harvesting. Even now, Pharynx might have been able to find his naivety and obliviousness endearing, like a grub who simply didn’t know any better. That was, at least, until Zephyr opened his mouth and tainted any endearing quality with ignorance and straight delusion.

A surprisingly quiet ten minutes passed before Zephyr apparently got bored of looking at the scenery and needed to hear his voice again. “Sooo…what’s going to happen when we catch up to the kelpie thing?”

“I’ll fight it.”

Zephyr frowned. “Right…but like, I know you seem like a big strong bug and all, but are you going to be able to handle it on your own?”

Pharynx smirked with a teasing tone. “What? Are you saying you are gonna fight it Mr. Monster Hunter?”

“Ehh…I’m more of a lover than a fighter, but being a monster hunter doesn’t mean I have to fight monsters, I’m sure there’s plenty of different ways I could handle them.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“Charm them so they would feel bad hurting me and ask them nicely to leave? Ooh, maybe if we knew what sand kelpies like to eat we could make it such a good meal it’ll be all ‘oh my gosh thank you so much, I promise I won’t ever bother you again’.”

Pharynx laughed, the absurdness of the idea forcing genuine mirth. Zephyr laughed along, though it sounded almost automatic, like he couldn’t help when others laughed at something he said.

Their laughter faded, leaving behind another comfortable silence. Pharynx savored it, knowing it was only a manner of time before the pegasus started on some other ridiculous tangent.

The forest was thinning the further they traveled, and the trail Pharynx was following got less obvious. The wind started to pick up, stronger now that there were less trees to block it and the sky darkened, both from the late sun and increase of cloud cover overhead.

Zephyr looked up, shuddering from a sudden burst of cold wind, his feathers fluffing up instinctually. “There’s lightning brewing in those clouds.”

Pharynx paused, looking up as well. “Hmm. I knew there would be rain, are you sure about the lightning?”

“Mmhmm. My pop worked in the weather factory most my life and I even interned there, I know what lightning feels like.”

Pharynx grit his teeth and surveyed their surroundings. There really wasn’t any form of good cover in their immediate vicinity, but Pharynx was sure there was a cave somewhere ahead. There was a broken line of them around the edges of their territory, easy landmarks and relatively safe places where scouts would weather out storms or rest on their way back home.

His shell split opened and his wings flared out. “Stay here, I need to fly up and get my bearings.”

Zephyr watched him, his own wings twitching on his back. Pharynx descended a minute later, hovering above the ground and pointing towards the left. “There’s a cave that way, if we fly fast we can make it within a couple minutes and get settled before the storm starts.”

Zephyr nodded and flared his wings. He wasn’t the best weather pony around, but deeply ingrained Pegasi instincts told him they had about an hour before things started to get hairy. With a grunt of effort he left the ground, wobbling a little as he adjusted to the extra weight. The backpack was well balanced at least, so he was able to fly up to Pharynx, who turned and began to fly quickly.

They ascended to just above the tree line and headed in the direction Pharynx had pointed. Within a minute, the edge of the forest came into view and as they passed it, Zephyr saw the end of the river he heard earlier spilling into a small oasis. The sweat already forming on his brow made him wish he could dive in and enjoy the water that was certainly cool and refreshing.

Zephyr looked up, his eyes widening as he got his first glimpse of what the changeling hive and lands had once looked like. From this perspective, he was able to see that they were in a valley. A short, rocky mountain range made a sharp and irregular border and small patches of cactus and random rock formations dotted the sandy landscape. In the far distance, there appeared to be a section of sand that dipped down into a swirled vortex.

As they got closer to the border, Pharynx slowed the brutal pace he had set and angled downward towards a large opening. Zephyr panted as they descended, his wings burning. They passed under the rocky ceiling and follows a set of randomly placed, glowing lanterns towards a ledge in the back.

Pharynx landed and began searching the wall as Zephyr collapsed nearby. “W-whew, I don’t think I’ve flown that fast…that much…since I was a colt.”

Pharynx glanced over his shoulder at him. “You good?”

Zephyr laughed shakily. “Pssh, of course! What’s a little adventure without some marathon flying, am I right?”

Pharynx snorted and turned back to the wall, letting out a soft ‘ah ha’ of victory as he found a special marking left by a scout long before his time. He lit his horn and a section of the rock shimmered with a sickening green glow before dissolving.

Zephyr blinked at the hole that had appeared. “Huh. You don’t see that every day.”

Pharynx walked over and helped pull Zephyr onto his hooves. “Changelings have been using these caves for a long time and there were even more dangerous monsters around when the hive was first formed, so they are all well hidden and protected.”

Pharynx started walking into the cave, pausing for a moment to look over his shoulder again. “Oh, and good job keeping up.”

Zephyr blushed and stumbled over his hooves, caught off guard by the first genuinely positive thing that Pharynx had directly said to him. By the time he thought to say something, anything, Pharynx had disappeared.

Shaking his head to right himself, Zephyr walked through the entrance. After a short hallway lit by more of the same glowing lanterns, Zephyr came into the cave proper. It wasn’t a huge space, roughly the same size as the living room of his sister’s cottage, but it would do.

Pharynx was sitting in the middle next to a charred fire pit, his bedroll already on the ground as he dug through his backpack. Zephyr sat on the opposite side, undoing the buckles around his waist and shoulders to take his backpack off too. Looking around, the only other thing Zephyr noticed about the cave was a series of cubby holes dug into the back wall.

Pharynx took out a large roll of leather, unfurling it on the ground and revealing an unfinished map. He grabbed a piece of charcoal from the firepit and began to mark it, filling in where the forest had grown and noting where it stopped.

Zephyr watched him for a few minutes before deciding he was hungry and dug through his bag for some of the food Thorax had given him. “So how long do you think we’ll be in here for?”

Pharynx paused in his scribbling. “Well, considering we left so late, we should wait until morning.” He briefly glared at Zephyr. “And we will be leaving at first light.”

Zephyr rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah ha. Right.”

“I’m serious.”

“Of course, of course. I will try to be ready for an early morning tomorrow. Promise.”

Pharynx nodded sharply and returned to his map. Zephyr bit back a sigh and munched on some granola, preparing himself for a long night.

Don't Wash Away With The Storm

Zephyr sprawled on his back, the plush sleeping bag providing decent comfort against the hard floor. The rain had started a while ago, just barely loud enough to be heard and providing a lulling background noise. Anticipation for the lightning and thunder that he knew was coming kept him from fully relaxing yet though.

He looked over at Pharynx, who had finished the map some time ago and was now looking through a journal. “Hey Pharynx?”

He glanced up. “What?”

“How did you end up changing like the others?”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to do the small talk thing with me?”

Zephyr flushed. He had hoped the earlier compliment from Pharynx and generally warming tone towards him would make the changeling a bit more receptive to conversation. “W-well, yeah. I’ve never really been around an actual changeling before.”

Pharynx looked back at the journal. “I’m just surprised you are interested in something other than yourself or whatever fantasy you have concocted. Are you sure you are open to hearing some actual reality?”

Zephyr frowned, a surprising amount of hurt weighing heavily in his chest. He shook his head and sat up, forcing his frown into an easy smile. “I was just trying to make conversation. You guys did try to take over my home like, twice, but now we are all friends, or supposed to be.” He stretched his hooves above him with a soft groan. “This cave is getting stuffy, I’m gonna get some fresh air.”

Pharynx closed the book after Zephyr left, pressing his lips together. He wasn’t the best at understanding the nuances of complex emotions, that training was reserved for the infiltrators, but he was still a changeling, and the waves of emotions rolling off the pegasus were not good. He had subconsciously tasted Zephyr’s emotions from their first meeting, another old habit, but for the first time he seemed genuinely hurt because of him.

Pharynx furrowed his brows. Now that he really thought about it, did Zephyr ever fully shake off or deflect his prior insults and sarcastic comments? He rubbed his temple with a groan. He wasn’t good at this mushy feelings junk. If Thorax were here, he’d probably be able to tell exactly what was going on and what Zephyr needed to hear.

“He just needs some guidance and confidence building… Who better to do that than you?”

Pharynx had senseda strong wave of positive emotion earlier when he complimented Zephyr…

Pharynx growled and stood up, pacing the cave with heavy stomps. Zephyr was a certified idiot, so what if his feelings got hurt? Pharynx had been coddling him thus far and it was about time the pegasus got some hard truths, especially if they were going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future.

…So why did he feel like when he was young and came across his brother crying from the harassment of other grubs?

Thorax and Zephyr were very different, in many ways. Thorax was a true leader, having overcome years of ostracization and adversity. Zephyr didn’t seem able to face anything negative and put on a front to seem more than he was. That frustrated Pharynx more than he’d like to admit. A chain was only as good as the weakest link after all, and it could be a disaster if the weakest link pretended it was the strongest.

For all their differences, his brother and the pegasus were also both weird and soft and weak, relatively speaking. And it was these traits that stoked Pharynx’s protective nature.

Pharynx turned to face the entry of the cave, muttering, “That pegasus is going to be the death of me…”

Zephyr sat on the ledge, his long legs dangling over the edge. Out here, he could hear the rain a little more clearly, but the ground was too dark and far away for him to see if water was starting to run into the cavern.

He sighed. “Oh Zephyr, what are you doing?”

He let out a short laugh. “Doing what I always do, following the breeze to another new thing and hoping this little adventure sparks something I can turn into my destiny and purpose. Zephyr Breeze the monster hunter, that’s sure to make my sis proud isn’t it?”

“You shouldn’t pretend to be something you aren’t.”

Zephyr yelped, almost falling off the edge but just managing to keep his balance. Heart pounding, he looked behind him, where Pharynx had snuck up. “W-what?”

“You heard me.”

Zephyr scoffed. “Oh joy, it’s time for you to give me a lecture is it? Well, go ahead, get it out of your system.”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow at the deadpan that bordered on sarcastic. “I’m not going to lecture you.”

“Oh yeah? Then what are you going to do? Stare at me, tap your hoof and tell me you’re not upset, just disappointed?”

Pharynx snorted. “Nah. I’m gonna try to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours.”

Zephyr side eyed him before turning back towards the edge again. “That sounds suspiciously like a lecture…”

Pharynx laughed and sat next to him. “You asked me earlier how I was able to change like the others, well, it wasn’t because I insisted on being something I’m not. I didn’t even really change who I was at my core.”

Zephyr looked over, his brow furrowed. “Well, then what did you do?”

“I just updated my perspective a little, realized that who I was and what I did was my way of showing love, and I could still protect my home and brother while accepting their form of love and friendship.”

“Huh. Well that’s a sweet story and all but I don’t really see how that applies to me.”

Pharynx huffed. “Alright, I’m not good at the whole ‘gentle encouragement’ thing, and I’m not going to apologize for hurting your feelings, but I hope you are going to take these next words to heart and not just be offended. Think you can handle that?”

Zephyr shifted away from him slightly and wrapped a wing around himself. “Don’t bother, I already know what you are going to say.”

“Do you?”

Zephyr scoffed and stood up, turning away from the edge. Outside, there was a faint rumble of thunder. “Of course, it’s the same thing everybody says to me at some point or another.” His voice became bitter. “They say I’m stupid. And lazy. A slacker.”

He growled, hissing the next insults. “Pathetic. Bum. Loser.”

He stomped his hoof, screaming now. “LEECH! FAILURE! USELESS!”

The cavern illuminated with a crackling flash of lightning, followed almost immediately by an explosive crash of thunder that caused the lanterns on the wall to tremble.

Zephyr shook in the almost deafening silence that followed, before lowering his head and mumbling. “Disappointment.”

“Are you done?”

Zephyr blinked and looked back at Pharynx, who simply patted the ground next to him. Zephyr opened and closed his mouth a couple times, exhaustion from the emotional outburst already weighing heavily on his shoulders. He shrugged and slowly walked over before taking a seat. At this point, whatever Pharynx could say couldn’t be worse than anything Zephyr had heard before. “Okay. Your turn.”

“You are weird, even by pony standards. You are most definitely not smart, street or book wise, and you stubbornly live in a fantasy world of delusion and grandeur.”

Zephyr laughed, mostly out of shock, as a couple tears rolled down his cheeks. “I, I don’t suppose there’s a ‘but’ coming in that sentence?”

Pharynx smirked. “Nope. You are all of these things, and probably more that are seen as negative traits, so why do you pretend otherwise? It does no good to pretend your many weaknesses don’t exist and try to plow over them with such a fake confidence it makes me wonder if you aren’t a changeling in disguise.”

Zephyr scoffed, trying to sound offended, but his trembling lip betrayed the hollowness of it. “Just because you are a changeling doesn’t mean you are a mind reader. You don’t know who I am.”

“Maybe not fully, but I know you are holding back. You’ve buried your true self deeply, what I can’t understand is why.”

Zephyr was quiet. There was another flash of lightning and more rumbling thunder, but it wasn’t as close as the last one. “Why do you care?”

“Because I can’t trust you if you won’t stop lying to both me and yourself. And if I can’t trust you, we will never be able to take care of the sand kelpie.”

Zephyr sighed, a profoundly resigned tone to the exhale. “Nobody likes my true self.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face. “Well it can’t be any worse than the Zephyr I’ve known.”

Zephyr laughed again, this time more genuine. Pharynx’s teasing tone made him feel like maybe, just maybe, the changeling might actually be trying to be his friend.

Pharynx chuckled and nudged his shoulder. “Seriously. Tell me who ‘Zephyr Breeze’ really is, how he wants to live his life, and I’ll judge whether or not he’s worth keeping buried.”

Zephyr licked his lips and wrung his hooves together. “Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Nope.”

Zephyr shook his head with a smile. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Well, I have a hard time staying in one place. I need to follow where the breeze takes me. I love to travel and just go wherever sounds fun. I do like trying different things too, like my mane therapy training, or painting or maybe learning how to play an instrument someday.”

He waved his hooves around, frowning a bit. “The problem is that everyone has all these expectations of me. They want me to settle down and stick with one thing. And travel and stuff cost money, which means I’d need a job, but I haven’t found anything I want to stick with for more than an hour or so. There’s just so many wonderful things in life, I wanna be able to experience it all, or at least as much as I want to but that lifestyle just makes ponies disappointed in me.”

Pharynx poked at Zephyr’s back. “You got wings don’t you? Just need a decent tent and some basic survival skills and the whole world is yours. As for the money, well, find some basic gig work, temporary things that work to your interests. You have the mane therapy thing right? Find a random town square to set up in and charge a few bits per therapy session or whatever you do for it.”

Zephyr looked at him, fighting to keep back the surge of hope that the changeling’s words sparked. “You make it sound so simple.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Life is only as complicated as you try to make it. It feels hard because you are trying too hard and fighting your true self. Stop trying to make everyone else happy and actually follow your own breeze.”

Zephyr looked down at his hooves. “You know, you are the first pon- er, creature? To tell me that I can be myself. My actual, true self.”

“If anyone doesn’t like what you are, then they can go pound sand. Anyone who makes you be something you aren’t doesn’t actually love you.”

“Heh… Thank you Pharynx.”

Pharynx feigned surprise. “Oh wow, did I actually get through? And here I thought I would have to literally smack some sense into you.”

Zephyr snickered and shook his head. “I think you should save the smacking for the kelpie.”

“Hmm, maybe.”

Zephyr yawned and rubbed his face. “I should probably hit the hay if we have an early morning.”

Pharynx nodded. “Good idea. You’ll need rest for your return to the hive tomorrow.”

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said we weren’t going back until the mission was done.”

Pharynx returned the look. “I thought you wouldn’t want to keep going. I was pretty sure the only reason you came was because Thorax said you should.”

“Well, that might have been how it started, but I want to see this through. Even if I don’t find any luck in being a monster hunter, I still feel like I’m here for a reason.”

“Huh… okay then.” He smirked. “Just know that I won’t be taking it easy on you - I will drag you out of here in the morning if I need to.”

Zephyr stood up and stuck his tongue out at Pharynx. “You joke but ‘the breeze’ may just take you up on that.”

“Who said I was joking?”

The Sun Will Shine Again

The next morning, Pharynx did not have to drag Zephyr out of the cave. The pegasus was roused, if grumpily, after only a couple firm shakes.

After a quick breakfast, the pair re-packed their bags and exited the cave, flying through the cavern and into the early morning light. Pharynx looked around, grumbling as he realized the storm had wiped away any trace of tracks the kelpie would have left. “Hmm…Stay here, I’m going to check something.”

Zephyr nodded and yawned loudly, lazily hovering just outside the cavern and trying to rub the remnants of sleep from his eyes. He smacked his lips and watched as Pharynx flew close to the ground and then came back up beside him.

“Alright, here’s the plan. We are going to fly for a couple hours until the sun starts getting hot, then take a break under whatever nearby outcrop or cave we find first. We’ll cover more ground again near dusk and then settle in for the night. I have a feeling the kelpie headed back home to lick its wounds before coming back for another shot at the hive.”

Zephyr groaned. “Do we have to fly the whole time?”

Pharynx nodded. “Yes. I have no idea where the kelpie is or how far ahead of us it may be.” His tone grew more grim. “These monsters are deadly, Zephyr, and could drag you under the sand before you have a chance to scream.”

Zephyr gulped, much more awake now with the seriousness of Pharynx’s warning. “Riiight, okay, absolutely no walking on the sand. Got it. Um, wait a second, what if it’s just getting reinforcements?”

Pharynx shook his head and started to fly into the desert at a leisurely speed. “They never would have allowed a young one to go alone. It’s likely the older ones moved on to find new territory after Chrysalis’s defeat and the return of vegetation. It will be a while before life fully overtakes the sand again, if it does at all, but they wouldn't want to stick around and find out either way.”

Zephyr followed, grateful for the slow pace. “Huh. Why not?”

Pharynx shrugged. “Sand kelpies are finicky creatures. They are attracted to harsh environments and like having large territories. The only reason they didn’t attack us before is that they knew we were strong and would put up a fair fight.”

“Wow… They really aren’t nice are they? Hey, how come you know so much about them?”

“They only moved in shortly after the changeling hive was founded, when the dark stone of the throne started to leech all non-changeling magic and life out of the area. Early scouts started to notice strange activity in the sand and documented their findings so we wouldn’t accidentally lose anyone.”

Pharynx pointed at the sand below. “For example, we know that during the heat of the day, kelpies tend to stay below the sand, but they leave behind distinct patterns on the surface.”

“Like when you see a shark fin in the ocean?”

Pharynx waved his hoof in a ‘so-so’ motion. “They don’t always appear at the surface like that, but you have the right idea. The ‘waves’ we see on top is the displacement of sand from their movement.”

“So you can see them coming, but if you are on the ground you don’t have a lot of time to react.”

“Exactly. Even hovering above the sand isn’t guaranteed to be safe though, there are reports of them leaping out of the sand to snap at a passing gryphon or dragon.”

Zephyr eyed the ground, trying to judge how far away they were flying and if it would give him enough time to dodge out of the way. Pharynx glanced back and chuckled. “Don’t worry, we should be fine for now. I know the signs to look for, I’ll let you know if we need to climb higher.”

Zephyr nodded, but kept his eyes on the sand still.

The morning was thankfully uneventful, and even a bit boring. It was interesting to hear about the sand kelpies and some of the changeling’s history in the area, but Zephyr wasn’t really sure what to do with the information.

He also didn’t know if he wanted to hear more about their ambush and fighting tactics. He was decidedly not a fighter and would likely be too far away to really help Pharynx in any battle. He rubbed his face, eyes burning from staring at the sand as the sun climbed into the sky behind him, the illumination of the grains growing increasingly hostile.

“Ten more minutes and we’ll take a break. You’re doing good so far Zephyr, just a little longer.”

Zephyr smiled with the praise, but lacked the energy for a proper response. He glanced back at his wings to make sure they were still there, the soreness having long passed into a disassociating numbness that was slowly spreading across his back. Thankfully they were, indeed, still there, dutifully flapping away. Zephyr silently promised them a looong and luxurious spa day after this adventure was done.

Sooner than Zephyr expected, Pharynx was descending towards a small rock formation, the top rock curving over and providing shade to a slab sticking out of the sand. The shaded portion was roughly the same size as the cave they stayed in.

Zephyr collapsed in the shade in a similar manner as when they reached the cavern the night before, his wings simply refusing to work anymore as they splayed out from his sides with the occasional twitch. Zephyr let out a long groan. “You know, if I survive this, I don’t think I ever want to go on another adventure ever again.”

Pharynx laughed as he sat down, taking his backpack off and setting it beside him. “Well, once we are done, you shouldn’t have to. Unless you suddenly decide to see if your calling is in treasure hunting or want to become a forest ranger.”

Zephyr laughed a little, then grimaced as his sides protested the motion. “Ha, ha, ow… Hey you never know, ponies might just pay good money to be guided by ‘the breeze’.”

Pharynx shook his head and walked over to the back wall, tapping along and flaring his horn with magic until a small section of it vanished. He reached in and turned a crank, lowering a small bucket before bringing it back up, filled with cool mineral water from a deep spring hidden beneath. He couldn’t remember if it had been naturally found, or if a changeling before him had created it for the scouts that passed by.

After draining and filling the canteen hanging from his neck, he filled the bucket once more before walking over to Zephyr.

Zephyr lifted his head from the ground as a bucket, seemingly carved from smooth stone, was placed right in front of him. “Drink.”

Zephyr’s eyes widened as he looked inside and found it was filled with what looked like the freshest water he had ever seen. “You are just full of surprises aren’t you?”

“Changelings usually are.”

As Zephyr drank his fill, Pharynx returned to his bag. He then dug out some rope and a bunch of reeds, sticks, and leaves that he had taken from the cubbies of the cave.

“Alright, once you’ve had a bit of rest, I’m going to teach you some basic survival skills. Take out whatever Thorax packed in your bags and I’ll show you how they work.”

Zephyr blinked at Pharynx, water dripping from his muzzle. “Wha?”

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “If you want to survive while traveling and doing whatever ‘the breeze’ calls you to do, you are going to need some knowledge.”

“And…you want to teach me?”

Pharynx shrugged and looked away. “Most of what I did before was training changelings, this isn’t that different. Besides, it’s something to pass the time until it’s cool enough to fly more later.”

Zephyr cringed at the mention of flying even more that day, and was sure if his wings could talk they would be crying at the very thought, but he would persevere. He had insisted on coming along, and even if Pharynx wanted him to live to his true self that was currently screaming to go find a comfy bed and sleep for a week, he wanted to see this one last thing to the end. And whatever information Pharynx taught him would be useful for his future self.

His legs shaking, Zephyr pushed himself into a seated position and fumbled with his backpack. “I’ll try my best, but you should probably know I’m not exactly the most…survivalist pony out there.”

“No, really?”

Zephyr huffed and tossed his head in mock offense before opening his backpack and digging through it. His sleeping bag, which had been rolled and stored at the top, went beside him. Underneath was a few smaller bags, a couple containing food and one containing soap. There was also a satchel with first aid supplies, and a large canvas roll near the bottom that had some other random camping stuff in it. Zephyr took that out and set it to his other side before repacking everything else.

He rolled it out, the inside filled with pockets and loops holding various tools. Pharynx scooted over and looked through the kit. “Wow, Thorax really set you up. Okay, let’s start with this firestarter here.”

Zephyr Breeze, Survival Expert (In Training)

Zephyr stuck his tongue out as he worked with the sticks and reeds Pharynx provided, weaving them into what Pharynx described as a ‘fish trap basket’. He found the process surprisingly easy and even a bit soothing, the basics of it similar to the braids he learned in mane therapy training.

Once it was clear Pharynx wouldn’t need to supervise him as closely for this skill, he left to do a quick scout of the perimeter to see if he could find any sign of the kelpie.

Zephyr finished the basket and looked it over. It had a circular opening on one end and gradually got smaller, the tapered end secured by a small section of rope. Just inside the opening, a series of sticks were placed at an angle. According to Pharynx, when placed in a river or some body of water, this would allow fish to swim in but not back out.

Even if he wouldn’t eat fish himself, it was an easy enough skill to make some quick bits. This particular trap in his hooves probably wasn’t big enough to be actually practical, but he was proud of finishing a product all by himself. And now that he knew the process, it shouldn’t be too hard to make it again, but bigger.

So far, Zephyr had a good idea on how to use a firestarter and what kind of kindling to look for to build a good fire with. He also knew a few basic knots and, now, how to weave together a fish trap basket. With a little creativity, he could probably make other kinds of baskets too!

Pharynx returned, pausing to drink some more water before walking over to Zephyr and looking over the basket. “Huh, well look at that. Looks like you might actually have some useful skills after all.”

“Well duh, even a crooked clock is right once a day right?”

Pharynx inhaled deeply, his lips tightly pressed together as he was once again reminded just how dumb the pegasus really, truly was. “Ahem…The expression is ‘a broken clock is right twice a day’.”

Zephyr rubbed his chin, squinting at Pharynx. “Are you sure? I think my version sounds better. Anyways, were you able to find any sign of the kelpie?”

Pharynx grounded himself with another breath before answering. “Not really, but I didn’t see any sign of it heading back towards the hive, so my guess is that it’s going home towards the heart of their territory.”

Zephyr nodded. “Where exactly is that anyways?”

“It’s at the other end of our lands and looks like a giant vortex of sand. We should be able to reach it by the end of tomorrow as long as we can keep the same pace.”

Zephyr gulped and looked at his wings. He had just regained feeling of the limbs a little while ago and the sound of more flying made them ache. “Right… More flying…”

“Is that going to be a problem?”

“What? Oh, no, no no no. As long as we don’t have to race another thunderstorm I should be fine. Probably.”

Pharynx stared at him for a moment before going over to the roll of survival tools Thorax had packed and reached towards a small tin he hadn’t yet shown Zephyr. “Alright, next lesson. See this tin? This is a salve changelings made for when we had to hold other forms for extended periods of time.”

Zephyr raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

Pharynx opened it, letting out a strong minty smell. “When we hold other forms, our bodies tend to wear out faster, especially if we are flying. This will help numb and relax the muscles so you can keep going a little more. Turn around, I’ll help put it on this time.”

Zephyr looked between Pharynx and the tin a couple times before hesitantly turning his back to the changeling. He jumped at the sensation of tingly magic on his back, followed by an intense cooling sensation at the base of his wings. Pharynx spread it up his wings a little bit before deciding it was enough and popping the cap back on the tin. “We’ll leave in an hour or so. That should be plenty of time for it to soak in.”

Zephyr mumbled a quiet ‘uh huh’, marveling in the wonders of the salve with a cross eyed gaze and a bit of drool gathering in the corner of his mouth.

Pharynx bit his lip to stifle his laughter at the ridiculous expression. He figured Zephyr had earned some mercy - from his genuine attempts to learn what Pharynx was teaching him earlier as well as general lack of complaint for the journey so far. That, and, Pharynx was still reeling from the ‘crooked clock’ comment and hadn’t found any correction that the Pegasus would accept.

Pharynx took the basket Zephyr made and carefully deconstructed it so he could use the material for other demonstrations. He then set about cleaning up the rest of what was still out, packing the tin and firestarter back in their respective slots of the canvas roll and the natural materials into his backpack.

Zephyr stirred after a while, wiping his face before shaking his head a bit. “Brr. Man, that salve really is something. You use it a lot?”

Pharynx shook his head. “Nah. I mostly stayed around the hive, didn’t have a need to transform or hold another form for that long. The collectors raved about it though, and I guess Thorax hoped it would work as well for you, which it seems to have.”

Zephyr nodded. “Like a charm! Of course, I know it’ll only be temporary and whenever we get back to the hive don’t expect me to leave that room for at least 3 days, buuut… I appreciate it. Thanks for showing me and putting it on.”

“Sure. I just didn’t feel like having to drag you around yet. Make it through tomorrow though and I just might feel bad enough for you and your weak pony body.”

“Hey!” Zephyr pouted, “I’m just not used to flying this much at one time. The flow of the breeze rarely requires this much exercise.”

Pharynx snickered. “Sure, okay.”

Hours later, they were flying again, and Pharynx tried to not show his frustration that he hadn’t seen a definitive sign of the kelpie again. He still felt good about his assessment that it would be heading home, and they were at least going in that direction as well, but he would feel better if he knew for certain they were actually closing in on it.

As dusk approached, he began to wonder if they shouldn’t turn around, prepare barriers at the edge of the forest and wait to confront the kelpie when it inevitably came back again. That was until they passed a large patch of cacti and he finally saw traces of what he was looking for.

He flew close to the ground, hovering above it and pointing out a trail of displaced sand that curved like a snake. “Look! These are the ‘waves’ the kelpies leave behind, see how the sand dips in the middle, almost like someone was drawing with a stick?”

Zephyr squinted at the ground, the setting sun casting long shadows from the small crests of sand. “Yeah, I see it.”

Pharynx laughed with a mixture of relief and a new source of frustration. “The hardest part about tracking these things is that it’s almost impossible to tell how long it’s been since it came through here. Judging by the length of this trail though, we are probably still about half a day behind it if it keeps on its current track.”

Zephyr’s eyes followed where Pharynx gestured, the lines stretching further than he could see in the current light. “Are we going to stop soon or did you want to try and catch up?”

Pharynx looked back at him. “Do you want to keep flying?”

“Ehh…Not really no, if I’m being honest.”

“Then we’ll stop. Tomorrow will be a big push so we should get all the rest we can tonight.”

Zephyr breathed a sigh of relief, trying not to think about how soon that relief would go away when he had to get up again in the morning. That did raise a question though. “Say…Will it be better or worse if we don’t catch up before it gets back home?”

Pharynx shrugged and ascended towards the mountain range. “Depends.”

Zephyr followed him up towards a ledge and landed unsteadily next to the changeling as he looked for another secret entrance. “On what?”

“On if there are still others.”

Zephyr gulped. “O-oh. But you said that they probably moved on right?”

Pharynx dissolved the wall and walked into the cave. “Probably. We won’t know until we get there though.”

Zephyr wasn’t sure if the shaking in his legs was from exhaustion of travel or fear of coming across a whole herd of sand kelpies within the next couple days. He looked over the desert, just barely able to make out the vortex they were heading for.

As much as he didn’t like the idea of facing one kelpie, he couldn’t help but hope the one they were following was all that was left. He shook his head and followed after Pharynx.

Pharynx watched in amusement as Zephyr messed with the firestarter, striking the scrapper against the rod over and over and showering the kindling with sparks.

“Remember to introduce oxygen.”

Zephyr paused, looking at Pharynx with confusion. The changeling sighed. “You have to breathe on it, slightly. It’ll help catch fire.”

“Ohhh, right, right. Cause breathing makes oxygen. Got it.”

Zephyr striked the rod again and blew a breath at the same time, the sparks finally catching as a piece of kindling started to glow. “Oh! Oh look! It’s doing it! I MADE FIRE!!!”

Pharynx reached out to steady Zephyr so he didn’t knock over the bundle and destroy the progress made. He leaned down and blew on the fledgling flame, encouraging it into a small fire.

Zephyr beamed with pride and tucked the firestarter kit back into his roll. “Well that’s one more skill down pretty well if I do say so myself. What do you think?”

“You got it going, which is good. Just keep practicing and it’ll become easier.”

Zephyr nodded and rolled out his sleeping bag before stretching out on it, watching the flickering flames. “Hey, Pharynx?”

Pharynx glanced over as he unrolled his bed roll. “Yeah?”

“When you fight the kelpie, are you going to transform into one of them? Ya know, to make it a fair fight?”

Pharynx snorted. “Not likely. It takes a lot of magic and energy to hold something that big and complex. There are a couple smaller yet tough forms I know that might do well against it. We’ll see what happens.”

Zephyr looked past the small fire pit at Pharynx, his voice small and worried. “What if it beats you?”

Pharynx blinked, momentarily frozen by the pegasus’s concern and fear. “Well, in the unlikely event that something happens to me…I guess you fly like hell and get back to the hive. Get Thorax and however many changelings you can and avenge me.”

Zephyr shifted around. “I guess I could do that. You… aren't scared at all?”

Pharynx shrugged. “Not really? I don’t really worry about that sort of thing. I am defending my home and if I die, I am honored to die in battle.”

“I would rather you didn’t, just to be clear.”

Pharynx chuckled. “So would I. What’s got you so worried? You really think I’m gonna go down easy?”

Zephyr blushed and looked away. “I don’t know. Maybe I just don’t want the first being to accept me for who I am to die in front of me?”

“I won’t. I still have more training to give you, I’m not gonna let you loose until I am mostly certain you won’t die within a week of leaving civilization.”

Zephyr laughed. “Alright, I’ll hold you to that. It’s only because of you that I’ve survived two days so far.”

“I know.”

Zephyr looked over again and stuck his tongue out before yawning and stretching out. “Well, here’s to day three tomorrow.”

Pharynx shook his head with a smile. “Yeah, day three. See you in the morning, Zephyr.”

The Danger In Shifting Sands

Zephyr grunted as Pharynx shook him awake, his wings aching fiercely as he stretched and tried to shake his sleepiness off. “Mmm…I reaaally hope that day three is the last day. I don’t think my wings can take much more of this.”

Pharynx smirked. “You need more salve before we start?”

“Yes please.”

Pharynx laughed at the immediate response and grabbed the tin from the roll that was still on the ground. Zephyr rolled onto his stomach and sighed into his sleeping bag as Pharynx applied more of the wonderful magic cooling gel to his back and wings. It also had the dual benefit of waking him up almost completely. “Oooh yeah that’s the stuff…Could you teach me how to make this? I bet I could make a lot of bits selling it.”

Pharynx shrugged as he started putting everything away. “Sure. You’ll need to give me a cut of the profit though, as it requires changeling magic.”

Zephyr blew a raspberry. “What would you even do with the bits?”

“I don’t know, take it as payment for all the valuable skills I’ve been teaching you?”

Zephyr sat up and gasped lightly. “You aren’t really going to charge me for that are you?”

Pharynx grinned and made a point to not look at Zephyr. “Why not? I’m sure ponies would pay big money to get authentic survival skills training from a head scout.”

“Buuut since I’m your first pupil I should get it for free. Especially since I can help you smooth out the course material and make it more user friendly.”

Pharynx sharply turned his head. “Are you saying I’m not a good trainer?”

Zephyr sputtered and waved his hooves around. “W-what? No! No, you are doing great with me, it’s just, well, for other ponies, it might be a little…intense.”

Pharynx seemed to consider this, tapping his chin with a hoof. “Hmm…Maybe I’ll give you a discount then.”

Zephyr groaned. “Aww, you really are going to charge me aren’t you?”

Pharynx stared at him for a couple seconds before breaking out into laughter. “Of course I’m not going to charge you, what use would I even have for money? Changelings use a barter system around the hive and it’s not like we import a lot of pony goods.”

Zephyr pouted and crossed his hooves. “Don’t mess with me like that, I really thought you were going to.”

Pharynx snickered. “I can’t help that you are so gullible. Now come on, grab some breakfast, we need to get going.”

Zephyr kept up the pout for a little longer before his grumbling stomach made him reach for his backpack and dig out some food.

Soon, they were packed up and walking out into the early morning light. Pharynx walked along the ledge, the sun now revealing that it ran a decent way along the mountain side. “We can walk this until this ends. It will keep us in about the right direction and give your wings an actual break.”

Zephyr perked up a bit. “Oh! That sounds great because honestly, I’m not sure even with that magic gel stuff I would be able to fly much right now. I wasn’t joking when I said I don’t usually fly this much. I don’t think I even did this much flapping when I was a kid in flight school.”

He thought for a minute. “Hey wait! If there are these trails along the mountain why have we only been flying so far?”

Pharynx gestured out towards the sand, towards the trail they found last night. From this vantage, it was just barely visible. “Because we didn’t have that. If the trail curves off too far we will leave the ledge and start flying again, but as long as I can see it then we can walk.”

Zephyr accepted this logic begrudgingly. It had taken them a while to find the trail, it made sense to keep following it in whatever way was easiest. He was grateful that, for now at least, it meant they could walk.

“So, what’s on the lesson plan for this afternoon?”

Pharynx shrugged. “Not sure yet. Might show you a basic trap for small game, maybe build a slingshot. You any good with those?”

Zephyr scoffed. “Am I any good with a slingshot?”

Pharynx looked over his shoulder with an unamused expression. “Yeah, that was my question.”

Zephyr tossed his head. “Well I’ll have you know that I am more than just good, I am great with a slingshot.”

“I’ll be the judge of that, but if you are half as good as you think you are, it might come in handy against the kelpie.”

“You really think a slingshot could do damage against one of those things?”

Pharynx laughed sharply. “Oh no, no no no. No. You’d have no shot actually injuring it, not even if you could send a big chunk of diamond whizzing at it. I would want you to use the slingshot to distract it, keep it unbalanced.”

Zephyr nodded. “I think I can do that, yeah. That’ll work?”

“Yes. Sand kelpies are dangerous, don’t forget that, but they are also arrogant. They usually only attack small groups or single travelers because they have the advantage of size, intimidation, and usually surprise. It’s unlikely that it will see the two of us as a threat, which will make it sloppy.”

Zephyr bounced up on his back hooves, striking his front hooves out in a mock boxing position. “Ha! That thing won’t even know what hit it! Especially if I then surprise it with a HYAH! Or a Wha-Bam! Or maybe even a Whaaaa-Yaaa!!!”

Pharynx stopped and looked back at Zephyr, his lips twitching as he tried to smother a smile from the pegasus’s antics. Zephyr grinned and winked confidently as he remained reared up. “What? Like what you see, tough bug?”

Pharynx shook his head and quickly looked forward again. “I might be more impressed if you actually knew what you were doing. Come on.”

Zephyr dropped to all four hooves again and trotted after Pharynx. “Being more impressed implies that you are already at least a little impressed, you know. I knew my charm would get you to sooner or later. Be careful you don’t go falling in love with me. I got a mare back home that would be just devastated if I connected to someone else, I’d hate to break your heart too.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes, but the smile he had been fighting finally won. “Noted.”

They walked for a while longer before Pharynx noticed the trail sharply turned away from the mountain. “Time to fly. We should stay higher now, we may be closer to the kelpie than we think.”

Zephyr nodded and walked to the edge, having to resist the urge to simply step off and glide. Between the weight of his backpack and the tiredness of his wings, he was confident it would end up being a very short flight. Instead, he forced the tired limbs to heed his commands and flap enough to lift him from the ground and propel him after Pharynx.

They followed the trail until it disappeared at the foot of a rocky hill sticking out of the side of a tall sand dune. Pharynx paused and held a hoof out. “Wait here, I’m going in for a closer look.”

Zephyr gulped and wrung his hooves as he hovered, watching Pharynx descend towards the rocks. Pharynx carefully scouted the perimeter, ears on a constant swivel. He disappeared for a moment as he flew behind it and then came back around and flew up to Zephyr. “Looks like it rested here for a bit and then continued on behind the rocks. The trail seems to stretch on for a while, so I’m pretty sure it’s gone. Should be safe enough to rest for at least a couple hours.”

Zephyr breathed a sigh of relief and followed Pharynx down towards a large opening near the base of the hill that extended farther inwards than the pegasus expected. He was hard pressed to really call it a ‘cave’ as it felt far too open, but there was still a back wall, a floor, and a ceiling a dozen or so hooves above him. Maybe there was such a thing as ‘open-concept’ caves?

Zephyr almost voiced this thought out loud but decided against it. Now was not the time to be considering the technical names of nature and its constructions. He shook his head to clear it before turning his attention to Pharynx as he dug supplies out of his pack.

The changeling grumbled to himself as he looked through his bag, unable to find any rubber or suitable elastic for Zephyr’s slingshot. He gave up with a huff and tossed a u shaped stick on the ground. “Alright, turns out I don’t have everything I thought I did so we’ll have to be creative in making your slingshot.”

Zephyr laughed as he took off his own backpack. “Ha, I’m sorry but have you met me? Creativity is practically my middle name. What did you have in mind?”

Pharynx held some leaves in his hoof. “Something you probably won’t like but will have to deal with.”

Zephyr tilted his head in confusion as Pharynx began to chew on the leaves. The pegasus then reared back in disgust as the changeling spat a bright green and sticky looking substance into his hooves and stretched it out a bit.

Pharynx nodded in what seemed to be approval and strung the spit between the ends of the stick. He then hit it with a beam of magic and the substance solidified into a thick band that was slightly darker in color.

Pharynx wrapped a couple non chewed up leaves in the middle of the band to create a cradle for whatever ammunition would be loaded and then offered it to Zephyr. “Here, try it out.”

Zephyr shuddered violently, unable to verbalize just how much he did not want to try out the weird spit slingshot.

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Oh don’t be such a grub, my magic changed it into a rubber like material, it’s barely even my spit anymore.”

Zephyr whined and Pharynx sighed loudly. “Fine, maybe you’ll want to try it after you see it in action.”

He blasted the back wall with magic, littering the ground with various chunks of rock. He levitated one such chunk into the cradle of the slingshot, pulled it back with his hoof, and aimed right next to the hole he had just created. The rock streaked through the air, shattering against the wall and spraying even more small pieces around.

Zephyr’s eyes widened. “Whoa…That’s got some zip to it huh? Hrmm…Okay fine I’ll use it, but you better find me a spring or something so I can wash my hooves tonight."

Pharynx simply pushed the slingshot into his hooves without a word, then used his magic to weave together a small sling that went around Zephyr’s neck. “Remember, your aim is to distract and annoy the sea kelpie. That should be easy for you.”

Zephyr frowned slightly. “Heeey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s a sound strategy to use your talents in battle.”

Zephyr pursed his lips and scooped up the rock chunks on the ground, moving closer to the edge where some had skittered from the initial blast. “So you are saying that I’m annoying?”

“Well, yeah, but in this case it’s a good thing. How often do you get to turn something ponies don’t like about you into an actual, useful skill? It’s a compliment!”

Zephyr grumbled quietly. “It doesn’t feel like a compliment…”

Pharynx rubbed his forehead. “Are you really trying to pick a fight right now over this?”

Zephyr huffed and stood up, turning to face Pharynx. “Well maybe I am. Look I appreciate all you’ve been teaching me, but you can still be nicer in how you present things.”

Pharynx rolled his eyes. “Zephyr…”

Zephyr stomped his hoof. “No. No. I am taking a stand here, you don’t get to dismiss me just like that. I know that you got this big tough guy thing going on and it works for you, it really does. And I know you also have this whole thing about ‘not wanting to change yourself’, but it wouldn’t kill you to think about how you are saying things.”

Pharynx huffed but then froze, his voice quieter now. “Zephyr.”

Zephyr ignored him. “Like, seriously. I know how ponies see me, what kind of mean thing they’ve said, even when they don’t mean to be. But you seem to have this whole ‘brutal honesty’ thing which is fine but you don’t have to be like that alll the time.”

Pharynx slowly shifted his body downward into a lunging position, his shell open and wings flared and ready. “Zephyr.”

The serious tone took Zephyr by surprise and he finally started paying attention to Pharynx’s body language and how he seemed to be staring at something just over the pegasus’s shoulder. Zephyr gulped as the hairs on the back of his neck rose and he became acutely aware of the sound of shifting sand and the bellowing breath of something much much bigger than him.

Zephyr’s legs began to shake. He looked at Pharynx and, not trusting his voice anymore, mouthed ‘fly?’

Pharynx subtly nodded and spoke again, his voice low but clear. “On my mark.”

“1.”

Zephyr shifted his back hoof slightly to give him a better push off.

“2.”

A whimper caught in his throat as he opened his wings, his heart pounding and blood rushing in his ears.

“3!”

Simultaneously they rushed past each other, a flash of light enveloping Pharynx as he transformed into a large creature that looked like the cross of a beetle and a wasp. Zephyr turned around once he was close to the other side, his jaw dropping as he caught sight of the sand kelpie for the first time.

The overall shape and form reminded him of a seahorse, if a seahorse was covered in interlocking scales and had dragon-like arms. It was colored like the desert, all muted yellows and browns that surely provided excellent camouflage.

It was only half in the cave, but the frills on top of its head almost reached the ceiling and its upper body blocked most of the opening. If this was small for a kelpie, Zephyr sure didn’t want to meet any of the adults.

Pharynx was currently grappling with the beast’s long muzzle, his massive front legs holding the top and bottom lip to try and keep it from chomping down on him with its many, many teeth. The creature reared an arm back and Zephyr cried out right as the kelpie tossed its head and smashed its powerful claw into Pharynx’s side.

The monster bug that was Pharynx went flying into the back wall and landed with a resounding thud. Dust and bits of rocks plumed from the impact as a spider web of cracks branched outwards, making the now normal Pharynx look like a fly caught in a web.

The kelpie then turned towards Zephyr and roared, its mouth open as it rushed at him. Zephyr yelped and scrambled backwards, fishing one of the biggest rocks out of his sling and firing it straight at the back of its mouth. The kelpie choked on the projectile, stopping just short of the pegasus as it grasped at its throat.

Zephyr sprinted to an empty spot in the cave entrance and took flight, pushing himself to fly as high as he could as fast as he could. The kelpie recovered and continued after him, screaming at him from the ground. Zephyr hovered at what he felt was a comfortable height and started pelting it with more rocks, trying to aim towards its eyes and mouth.

The kelpie roared in pain before diving into the sand, letting Zephyr have his first look at the rest of its snakelike body and appreciate just how long it was. He watched the sand undulate as the creature moved underneath it, tunneling a twisting path around the hill. It finally stopped a bit away from the cave.

Zephyr watched the ground with baited breath, waiting for the kelpie to continue having its temper tantrum or try and attack or something. After a couple minutes, his worry for Pharynx made him descend towards the cave again. He made sure to keep an eye on where the kelpie had stopped though, ready to dart back up at the first sign of movement.

Zephyr lowered his head to be able to peek in the opening. “P-Pharynx? Are you okay?”

There was a quiet groan and Zephyr let out a breath he didn’t realize was holding, floating down a little more. “Phew, okay, you are still alive at least. That’s good. Oh you should have seen me Pharynx! I was pelting that thing with rocks like crazy and it was all hissy and mad and then went back into the sand.”

Pharynx shakily stood up, his carapace dusty as he smiled at Zephyr. “G-good,” he coughed, “Good job.” He blinked and frowned. “Wait, did you say it went back into the sand?”

Zephyr caught a rush of movement from the corner of his eye, but it was too late. Time slowed down as Zephyr stared into Pharynx’s face, an increasing amount of fear and worry contorting the changeling’s features. A moment later, Zephyr became vaguely aware of crushing pressure around various points of his body.

Time sped up again as he was slammed into the ground, the air brutally knocked out of him. Zephyr gasped desperately and feebly flailed about as the kelpie then started to press him into the sand, apparently intent on burying him.

As the sand started to enclose him, Zephyr both felt and heard Pharynx roar his name and then the pressure on top of him disappeared. Panicking, choking on the sand and half blind Zephyr fought to get himself uncovered. His face and front hooves broke the surface and he dragged himself up, coughing violently.

The ground shook with the dual roars of two big somethings fighting and Zephyr wiped his eyes to try and see what was happening. Through blurred vision, he saw what looked like a second sand kelpie, though this one was much darker in color.

The kelpies seemed to be wrestling with each other, the darker one wrapping itself around the lighter one. Zephyr’s sight cleared enough to see the darker one, probably Pharynx now that he thought about it, grab the other kelpie's muzzle and wretch it upwards, exposing a soft fleshy throat. Zephyr turned away and closed his eyes as Pharynx bared his fangs.

What Now?

Pharynx held the kelpie close until he was certain it was no longer a threat before releasing it. He then reverted into his normal form to conserve what little remained of his energy, both magical and physical. He staggered across the sand towards Zephyr’s prone form, an unusual amount of worry gripping his heart as he searched for any sign of life from the pegasus.

As he got closer, he could see Zephyr’s sides rising and falling and almost stumbled with relief. He regained his footing and continued on, some of the hope washing away as it became clear Zephyr was unconscious.

Pharynx nudged his side and sighed when Zephyr didn’t respond. “Just had to make me carry you at some point, huh?”

Digging deep into his magical reserves and personal strength, he levitated Zephyr off the ground and flew up back into the cave. He placed Zephyr down as far back as he could, not liking that they were stuck in such an open area but knowing there was absolutely no way he could get them to safer shelter in his current state.

He located both his and Zephyr’s backpacks and dragged them over with his magic. His horn sputtered as his magic finally failed, spent for now. Pharynx growled and stomped his hoof to bleed some of his frustration out before digging through Zephyr’s bag for the satchel full of first aid supplies and turning his attention to the pegasus.

Darkening bruises mottled Zephyr’s body and there were even patches of fur missing thanks to the rough grit of the sand. Around his midsection were scratches and bite marks from where the kelpie had grabbed him, but thankfully most of the marks seemed relatively shallow, with only a couple teeth penetrating deep enough to be concerning.

Pharynx grabbed his canteen and used some water to carefully clean the more pressing injuries, saving the rest of it for when Zephyr woke up. He flipped open the satchel and grabbed a few rolls of bandages and patches of gauze. It took much longer than he liked to dress the pegasus, the process slow and grueling as his limbs grew heavier and began to shake uncontrollably. Pharynx gnashed his teeth and forced himself through it, a heavy string of internal curses directed at himself urging him to just.keep.moving.

Eventually, he felt confident Zephyr was wrapped up enough to not bleed out within the next day and flopped to the ground unceremoniously. Pharynx shut his eyes for a minute, tempted to drift off and finally let his body rest, but there was one last thing he had to do before that.

Groaning, he peeked an eye open and flailed a hoof out to grab the roll that held Zephyr’s survival tools. He dragged it over and opened it, pawing at a pocket near the middle that held a small, glass like orb inside.

He forced a spark of magic into his horn to activate the communication crystal and it glowed with the green light of a successful connection. Thorax’s voice filled his mind. Oh! Hey Pharynx, I’m glad you found the crystal I stashed in Zephyr’s kit. How is everything?

Pharynx almost laughed. Well, we took care of the problem. Both of us are in rough shape though, think you could put together a recovery squad?

OH MY GOODNESS ARE YOU OKAY?!?

Pharynx winced. No need to shout, we survived. I’m almost completely burned out though and Zephyr is unconscious with some bad wounds. How soon can you get here?

There was a long pause, long enough that Pharynx worried the connection had severed, but then Thorax spoke again.

I’ve got your location. I’ll start assembling everyone right now, we should be there by late tomorrow morning. Can you hold out for that long?

Don’t have much of a choice. I’m going to rest now, I’ll see you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

With immediate injuries addressed and help on the way, Pharynx finally allowed himself to sleep.

It was near dusk when Pharynx suddenly woke up with the startling sensation of being watched. He didn’t have to look very hard to find the source, his body freezing almost as soon as he opened his eyes.

Directly outside of the cave, with a head big enough to block the entire entrance, was a sand kelpie, staring directly at him. When it sensed he was staring back, it swung its massive head away, towards the body of its young before looking back in the cave. Pharynx snarled as he stood up, protectively spreading his wings over Zephyr, who was still laid up behind him, and puffed his chest out.

The kelpie snorted, sending a gust of sand and wind at him, but Pharynx stood his ground unflinchingly. Seconds crawled by as neither blinked, Pharynx barely letting himself breathe. Finally, the monster let out a low growl that rumbled like thunder before turning away. It paused to pick up the smaller kelpie in its mouth before disappearing under the sand and leaving behind a tall, winding wall of dunes behind it.

Pharynx gasped as it left, his legs buckling beneath him as he let himself collapse again. He looked over at Zephyr, a small smile forming at the blissful expression on the pegasus’s face. His smile faded as his eyes scanned the various injuries and bandages, some already tinged red, and a weight grew in his chest.

He closed his eyes and turned away, silently promising that he would never allow Zephyr to get hurt again.

Zephyr groaned as he became aware of his body again, the recently formed aches and soreness in his wings quickly overshadowed by the pain that seemed to permeate every other inch of him. He couldn’t even feel specific injuries or body parts, just an overwhelming sense of ow.

He struggled to open his eyes, his lids feeling incredibly heavy. Finally he was successful, and looked around. The room felt familiar, with natural stone walls and a hole to his side letting in the soft light of the moon. He looked down and saw he was almost cocooned in a comfortable hammock, the bottom cushioned with extra blankets to cradle his abused body. He saw a lot of bandages, a few randomly wrapped around his legs and one that went around his neck and tucked into the largest concentration binding his midsection.

There was movement beside him and he sharply turned his head, regretting the quick motion with a wince and hiss of pain. “Ow…”

Pharynx stepped into his field of view, an uncharacteristic amount of worry on his face as he steadied the hammock with a hoof. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s just me. Do you know where you are?”

Zephyr licked his lips, surprised at just how dry his mouth and throat felt. “Yeah,” he croaked, “We are at the hive.” He furrowed his brows. “How did we get here?”

Pharynx offered up a cup, holding the straw near Zephyr’s lips. Only when the pegasus took it and began to drink did he answer the question. “I called Thorax. He put one of our communication crystals in your tool kit and I used it to get a rescue squad to us.”

Zephyr leaned away from the straw and sighed, already feeling a bit better from the bit of water. “And the kelpie?”

Pharynx’s expression hardened. “I did what I had to to protect you.”

Zephyr blinked, and as he processed the specific word choice began to blush. “Y-you mean protect the hive, right?”

“You heard me.”

Zephyr gulped and looked away from Pharynx. “So…by ‘to protect me’ do you mean…”

Pharynx snorted, making Zephyr look back at him. Suddenly, the changeling looked a little nervous, unsure even. “I… I don’t know. I mean, I do feel…love… but I’ve only felt that way about my brother or the hive, and that’s different. I don’t know if this, between us, is the same or something else.”

Zephyr smiled weakly. “I don’t know either. Why don’t we start with what we do know we feel and then go from there?”

Pharynx shrugged. “Sure, okay.”

He worked his jaw a little, considering his words. “This last day has felt like torture waiting for you to wake up. You vex me, and confuse me, a lot, with the things you say but there’s an almost refreshing sense of wonder about you too. You see the world much differently than me, and while you have known hardness I have seen the harsh depths the world will stoop to and it makes me want to protect you. I want to see you live your life and follow your dreams, wherever the breeze takes you.”

Zephyr’s smile widened and Pharynx returned the look before becoming sober again. “When I hit the wall, I wasn’t even thinking about the pain I was in, I was thinking about you. I watched the kelpie chase you and I hated that I couldn’t move. Then you were there again and you were okay. But then…”

Pharynx looked at the bandages, an extremely guilty look on his face. “I wasn’t strong enough or fast enough to save you. You got hurt because of me.”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, once more looking in Zephyr’s eyes intensely. “But no matter what happens between us, I swear that I will never let you get hurt again.”

Zephyr’s eyes brimmed with tears and Pharynx reached out, as if to wipe them away, but hesitated. Groaning with effort, Zephyr lifted one of his hooves and brought Pharynx’s hoof to his cheek. “I don’t always like how you say things, and sometimes you come off as a bully, but you believed in me. You do believe in me, in the real me that lives with my head in the clouds and goes with the flow. You are strong and make me feel strong too, even when I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

Pharynx gently rubbed his cheek and Zephyr sniffled, choking up. “I, I would love to travel with you, to see where the breeze can take us, together.”

Pharynx nodded, his face twitching as if trying to fight back tears himself. “I’d, ahem, I’d like that too.” He chuckled. “Once you're healed of course.”

Zephyr laughed a little, then immediately winced in pain. “Ah haha, ow…Heh, yeah.” He glanced down at his body. “You know, I sure hope I don’t have a ton of scars, the tough guy look is better on you.”

Pharynx grinned, teasing. “I don’t know, being such a tough bug and all, I might just find scars attractive.”

Zephyr’s blush returned with a vengeance as he giggled and tried to cover his face, laughing and wincing all the while.

Pharynx chuckled and waited until Zephyr had calmed down before clearing his throat to grab his attention, feeling awkward again. “You know, you did mention a mare at some point…Is that going to be a problem?”

“Who? Rainbow Dash? Oh I mean, she’s been pining for me practically my whole life but never made a move. This will probably hurt her…” Zephyr sighed. “But she’s strong, and I’m sure she’ll be able to move on. Eventually. My charm can be a hard thing to forget.”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow, now doubting the sincerity of Rainbow Dash’s love for Zephyr, but decided to let it slide. Zephyr Breeze was an enigma, a frustrating, confusing, and sometimes very, very, dumb enigma…But he was Pharynx’s enigma now.