A soft patter of rain filled the air with its soothing sound, slowly waking a certain changeling.
Groaning, Pharynx pried his head from the pillow he had buried himself in. Being inactive for such a long time left a noticeable indent in the stuffed fabric, the fluff bulging out at the sides. Luckily changelings didn’t need that much oxygen, or else he would have suffocated.
Or unluckily, depends on how you see it.
...and Pharynx saw it as unlucky.
He tried to stretch out his back and legs, stiffening as he felt another body curled up next to him. Turning his head, his eyes landed on a black figure that snuggled into the crevice between his foreleg and his carapace.
Pharynx also noticed a soft, white blanket that covered his back, tucked in tightly by his sides. Thorax must’ve done this...or was it Miss Fluttershy? I’m not sure...
Whatever...it doesn’t matter...
Sighing, he detangled himself from the wrapping cotton, his wings finally able to breathe from being under it for so long.
Has it been long? Maybe it’s only been a few hours...
He jumped onto the windowsill, grimacing as a loud clack sounded from his chitinous hooves. It was a miracle that Thorax could sleep through anything.
The window was still partially opened from the day before, gazing out at the outside world. Streaming tears of rain blurred the usually crystal clear glass, and Pharynx could feel the wet air as water collected by the open window.
...rain? Wasn’t it all sunny a few hours ago?...why does this feel early...?
...don’t tell me I slept that entire afternoon...
“...Pharynx...?” A quiet, just-barely-waking voice called out from behind, making him flatten his ears. “Do you feel better now...?”
“...’feel better’...?”
“Yeah...” Thorax yawned, his lower jaw clicking. Rubbing his eyes, he continued. “Yesterday you were feeling nauseous...I guess I fell asleep when I tried to make you comfortable...”
Pharynx stayed silent. So I did sleep that entire afternoon...great...just what I needed to feel better, thanks...I’m going to blame-
“So do you feel any better?” Thorax inquired, cutting off his thoughts. Pharynx frowned slightly, the wings along his back buzzing at an uneven pace.
“...still a little headache...but not that bad...” he said after a while. It was a lie, his head hurt like hell, but compared to yesterday?
He’d rather deal with this than that slough of agony.
Thorax gathered himself together, shaking himself awake. With a slip, he ungracefully crashed into the floorboards, making Pharynx wince.
“....’m okay!” Thorax popped up, smiling as if hadn’t just hit his head on the floor. The older changeling let it slide, as he couldn’t see any physical or emotional discomfort from the fall.
Cyan eyes seemed much more awake now, alert to his surroundings. Cocoon shards we’re gone now, though Pharynx wasn’t sure who had cleaned it up. Not that it mattered, because Thorax tugged as his hooves, dragging him down from his elevation.
“...why are you pulling me?” He asked, knowing full well he wasn’t going to like whatever answer he was going to get. Thorax was much giddier than he usually was, especially this early in the morning.
He didn’t like it.
“I don’t know why. You haven’t been downstairs since yesterday though...just please come down with me?”
The eagerness from the smaller changeling made Pharynx wince, a sudden rush of sweet, almost revolting joy washing over him. It only worsened his headache.
There was a reason why I ate disappointment...
“...I really don’t want to...”
”Pleeeeeease?” There was a begging tone to his voice, an effort to make his older brother more willing. Too bad cute, pleading voices and a....genuine...sadness....wasn’t going...
Oh for Chrysalis’ sake...
Pharynx frowned. “Fine...I’ll humor you for a second...”
A soft sigh emitted from his throat as Thorax cheered. This also made Pharynx wince, but loud noises didn’t hurt as much as the emotional overload.
Seriously, how can Thorax stay this cheerful and not get sick?
If only he could learn to weaponize those emotions...he’d probably be the strongest changeling in the hive!
Shaking his head, he begrudgingly followed his younger nymph. Their pairs of hooves clacked against the wooden stairs, off-sync steps echoed as they made their way down. He quietly listened as Thorax hummed a soft tune. He didn’t have a good sense of rhythm, but it didn’t bother Pharynx much.
It was just...nice.
“Fluttershy? Are you up?”
Rustling feathers and a few more hoof steps, a yellow mare appeared from near the living room couch. Her mane was carefully braided at her sides, seeming more visually put together than usual
“Oh, hello Thorax and Pharynx!” She smiled, her soft grin shown to the both of them. The red changeling frowned, looking away. All of his instincts told him to not trust her...or anyone, for that matter. She hasn’t done anything to warrant trust...or at least...his trust...
“Good morning, Fluttershy!” Thorax giggled, Pharynx left standing on the stairway alone. The younger changeling trotted the rest of the way down, smiling up at the Pegasus as he made his way closer. “Can we do something today? Maybe gardening?”
Fluttershy sadly shook her head. “Sorry, Thorax. It’s raining right now...I wouldn’t want you to get sick...”
“Oh...” Thorax looked down, tapping his chin. “What about something inside?...can we do things inside?” An unsure expression crossed his face, as if asking if he could do something illegal.
Which was stupid, because why would that be illegal?...
...it...it wasn’t illegal...right?
Luckily, Fluttershy nodded. “Oh! Of course, I have a few board games we could play, if that’s okay...”
“...’board games’...” Thorax parroted. Pharynx had noticed that Thorax would repeat words he didn’t know.
“Mhm...I have games like ‘Chess’...’Sorry’... ’Scrabble’...” Fluttershy mumbled a list, pulling out boxes hidden under her couch. Even from Pharynx’s stance on the stairs, he could see that most of the boxes were white, pictures of varying detail drawn of the top. He particularly liked the ones with black covers, though he wasn’t sure why.
“You can pick one! I’m sure you’ll find one you’ll like,” she placed the boxes onto the table, everything cluttered atop. Thorax stared blankly at everything, before giving a panicked look towards his older brother. A look that says ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, you make a decision.’
Sighing, he quietly stepped out of the shadows, crawling over to where Thorax and Fluttershy sat. He briefly looked over the covers, realizing that there was writing atop each one, with presumably the name of each game written on it.
“...I dunno...’Chess’...I guess...” he muttered, shoving the chosen game forward. He wasn’t even sure what the premise was, the cover just wasn’t an eyesore. That was the most important part.
Fluttershy tilted her head. “It’s a two-player game...so who wants to be the first to play?”
“Me!...if that’s okay,” Thorax said sheepishly, looking over towards his older brother. Pharynx shrugged, buzzing his wings as he climbed into one of the cushions on the couch.
“Well...okay...um, how do you play?”
Pharynx listened to their conversation, mentally keeping notes of what was the premise and what each peg on the board did.
Pawn; can move two spaces on its first turn. Only moves one space afterward, and can only travel in a straight line. Attacks at an angle.
Bishop; only moves diagonally...doesn’t sound all that useful.
Guard; moves one space, the three spaces in another direction. Weird rules...Instructors always did say Equestrian military sucked...
Rookie; Moves only in straight lines...Fluttershy said they are one of the most important pieces...they don’t sound all important...
King; the price you need to ‘checkmate’ and win. King is...useless, practically...
...Queen; can move wherever it wants...unless someone is standing in her way...
...
...I...
...never mind...
His head just took a trip and a half, internally already hating the game set forth. It didn’t matter though, it probably was a very unfortunate coincidence that happened to make his headache worse.
“...shi-“ Thorax cursed, realizing the predicament he landed himself in. Hearing his brother cursing and the strained voice of Fluttershy scolding held his attention once more, and he turned his violet eyes towards the table.
Though it had only been at max, five minutes, Thorax had found his ‘king’ cornered by Fluttershy’s ‘guards.’ Somehow, the nymph had found a way to not only get his king in a vulnerable spot, but also no other piece was left in the area to help him defend against them.
“...Thorax, how did you get yourself into this...?” Pharynx chuckled, lifting his head from his hooves. His ears stayed flattened as Thorax shot him a glare.
“...shut up, I’m not good that this..”
“I can see that.”
“I said ‘shut up.’”
Pharynx giggled, it was amusing to see Thorax frustrated. It rarely happened, but when it does, it usually full of entertainment.
Thorax sighed in defeat, begrudgingly moving a piece completely unrelated from the situation forward, allowing the feathered mare to win.
“Checkmate!” She said in triumph, before giving Thorax a comforting glance. “Don’t be too hard on yourself for this, it’s not exactly a game that’s easy...”
“You won it super easy...” Thorax mumbled.
“Well, yes, but it because I’ve played it much longer than you have. I know the ins and outs of the game. You only started today, so of course, you aren’t going to amazing at it. I promise if you keep practicing you’ll get better.”
Thorax mumbled something incoherent under his breath, sighing. He turned to Pharynx, smiling once more. “I guess it your turn, now?”
The older changeling blinked. I...was getting a turn? He tilted his head. His headache seemed to lessen its pressure, but he was still on the fence of actually playing...
“...okay...I guess...” He finally said, crawling off of the couch and swapping places with his brother. His crimson tail wrapped around himself as he patiently watched Fluttershy rearrange the pieces on the board.
“Okay...so the rules are-“
“I know,” he said bluntly, looking up. Teal eyes widened with surprise, before nodding. “So...who’s going first...?”
“I’ll let you go first,” Fluttershy smiled, waiting for him to make his first move. Pharynx only nodded, carefully examining the board in front of him. It took him a moment, but he finally decided to delicately move one of the front ‘pawns’.
He concluded that they were pretty useless, anyway.
Fluttershy quickly followed thereafter. Her moves were quick and light, barely making a sounds as he moved her piece forwards. The red nymph blinked; it took a moment to process that it was his turn already. After more deliberation, he settled on moving another one of his ‘pawns’.
Then Fluttershy moved her ‘pawns’.
Pharynx stared at her, his ears flattening. Their game became a back and forth trial, consisting of him being slow and careful and while she was quick. This went on for quite a while, both of them concentrated on the game.
He pushed his ‘rookie’ into the front lines of enemy territory. The layout of the board was fully memorized, keeping in mind every move Fluttershy could and couldn’t do. Her ‘king’ stayed still the entire game, while his was off to the side by a few spaces.
Fluttershy placed a hoof onto her ‘king’ piece, moving it forward to claim his rookie piece. Her wings fluttered at her side, anticipating anything Pharynx would throw at her.
Then, he smirked. Moving his ‘bishop’ backward diagonally, he slowly took hold of her ‘king’, placing it by his side. “...Checkmate.”
It was silent for a few moments, Fluttershy staring blankly at the chessboard. Thorax, who had been watching the game unfold, jaw dropped. With a click, he clapped his hooves excitedly.
“Pharynx!” He cheered, smiling towards his older brother. “You won!...How did you do that...?”
Fluttershy giggled after a while. “Looks like I forgot you can move backward, too. Congrats, Pharynx! Good game,” she held out a hoof. The red changeling tilted his head, his crest folding along his spine. Awkwardly, Fluttershy gestures a hoof shake with her other hoof, still with an outstretched foreleg. Pharynx hesitated, before lightly putting a hole-ridden hoof on her’s.
She smiled. “You did really well for your first time, it not every day someone wins their first chess match!”
Pharynx pulled his hooves back, looking over the finished game. All the pieces were scattered about, practically at random. White and black were mixed all across the board, almost none of them in their original place.
...except for one...
His compound violet eyes gazed down at one of his pieces. A white piece, that stood taller than the rest of them.
...the queen...
“Pharynx, are you okay?” Thorax’s high pitched voice brought him back, and he shuffled his hooves against the ground.
“...yeah...’m fine...” he murmured, rubbing his eyes. His headache returned with a burning passion, but for the most part, he ignored it. He also chose to ignore the worried looks of both Thorax and Fluttershy as he once again traded places with his brother. “...I don’t mind sitting out the next game...”
“Well...okay...” Thorax's tone was pouring will worry, but Pharynx couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. He curled up onto one of the cushions watching Thorax pick another game. “Um...what about this one? What’s it called?”
“Oh! ‘Connect Four’ is really simple.”
Watching the two of them play and talk was entertaining to some degree. Thorax getting frustrated about losing or complete confusion over concepts was amusing to watch. He always ended with a smile and a laugh though...
Flattening his ears, Pharynx curled deeper into the soft cushions. He turned away from the scene in front of him, a soft chill creeping up his spine.
The patter of rain was louder now, the sky’s tears falling harder and faster than ever...
I probably shouldn’t be laughing at this, but...
Typos aside, another good chapter. I see we’re getting into “PTSD from the hive life” territory here.
Makes sense that it would turn out sadder than what the prompt suggested. Pharynx isn't the kind that gets cheered up easily.
Oh and
Just you wait Pharynx, he'll blow your mind a few years from now!
I guess the wording of the queen piece's movement capability was too similar to the mentality of Chrysalis, and with the changeling indoctrination being what it is the queen piece was Chrysalis in his mind, someone who would destroy anyone who so much as thought of trying to command her to do anything.
No, it's fine xD I'm glad you used my idea.
Plus, if you ever read any of my stories, they're all a bit sad like this, or play with reader's emotions, so you're all good ;3
Now we see why Pharynx doesn't trust her.
Jokes aside, I really enjoyed seeing him recover at least somewhat.
Aww, cute chapter! Poor Phar though, that chess game didn't help...
10638448
10638475
Crap I just realize the typo noooooo
10638484
Heheh... it happens.
Again, this was an enjoyable chapter with wonderfully done exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. REALLY feeling bad for Pharynx right now, but I DID like the bits of ironic foreshadowing when he was reflecting on what Thorax could do if he learned to weaponize his energy and emotions. And I could see how Pharynx could notice how similar chess is to life in the hive. Anyway, board games ARE a good way for families to bond AND also pass the time during rainy days, but it IS still going to take quite a while before Pharynx is truly feeling noticeably better.
Possible ideas for later on: Fluttershy gives her Gala ticket to somebody else (probably either Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle so that they can use the opportunity to do some bonding with their big sister) so she can stay home with Thorax and Pharynx.
On Gala Night, meanwhile, Fluttershy treats Thorax and Pharynx to a night-time picnic and get joined by Luna (who might have gotten word of the young Changelings from Twilight or Celestia and, not having the bad experience with Changelings that Celestia has had [at least not yet], decides to introduce herself to the youngsters and help Fluttershy ease them into connecting with others [this could also lead into a major recurring "Season 2" arc that has Thorax and Pharynx, with Fluttershy's help, slowly showing the Princesses that they CAN be trusted and all they need is a loving home {which Fluttershy is already providing}]).
This one is for the "Discord introduction" chapters (and was already mentioned in another review actually): Discord tries to brute force brainwash Fluttershy, but the maternal love she feels for Thorax and Pharynx is strong enough to overcome the attempts to brainwash her on sheer willpower and Discord basically decides "Aww, bleep it. I already got four of the other five anyway. The elements are still useless without the complete set and it's not like she and Sparkle are powerful enough to stop me even without the Elements. At worst, Sparkle's friends are now 1 - 4. Besides, even *I* hate hurting children (at least children that AREN'T evil enough to deserve it) - children are SO wonderfully chaotic."
And I apologize. I let my mind run away with me. At any rate, very definitely looking forward to more of this.
Queen.... Queen.....
Well I guess things are pretty okay but pharynx is still feels awful what's going on through his head but you notice that thorax is sleeping next to him apparently he slept through the morning while Fluttershy is still out probably at pinkie pie surprise party but few hours later thorax wanted him to come downstairs with him and probably doing something together and though it's pretty sweet and it looks like they're playing some board games and it looks like they're going to play chess which I was not good at it I suck at it lol but it looks like pharynx have no trouble playing at which I guess because he knows how to plan his attack so I guess the day was okay for him at least but somewhere in his mind he still feel like trash half the time and I hope he does comes out and probably tell us how he feels at least I guess we'll find out next time
10638638
I'm assuming he's thinking about Queen Chrysalis
I’m all little disappointed that no one seemed to notice that Thorax swore
10638652
I noticed, I just didn't feel the need to comment on it
10638652
10638697
Indeed. Same here. I noticed, but figured the other stuff was more important.
10638697
10638756
Ok, I guess that’s fair. I’m probably being childish for saying I’m disappointed.
10638652
people usually comment for criticism, so its probably usually a good thing when people don't comment.
Can we just give Pharynx his Moment With Dr. Wolf already? I want my bugs to be happy!
10638902
No happiness here
Only PAIN
He's talking in full-sized letters again, that's probably a good sign.
I do the same thing
Too bad doing so turns him into a neon green and orange moose :p
little bit close to home, eh?
That is impressive. For both of them.
Slaps 10638922 with a fly swatter.
"No! Bad author! That is not how Buddhism works!"
10639243
TOO BAD IM ATHEIST COME AND GET MEEEEEEEEE
Shouldn't that be two spaces in another direction?
10638619
Why would Fluttershy give up a gala ticket to stay home with the "kids"? It's not like she hasn't been gone for a day (few days I believe) before while meeting with Celestia. She would still need to learn one of those life lessons at the Gala about her cutie mark. If Spike hasn't already got his hands full dealing with the CMC, he could keep an eye on those two? Not that they need it, unlike the CMC. Faust help us if the fillies of the Apocalypse ever get together with those two.
Two spaces, not three. He must have mixed up the fact that they move three spaces in total.
10639247
Too bad for you, Buddhism is compatible with Atheism!
PEACE AND LOVE, BITCH!
10640412
Wait really? I was taught it was three spaces...
10640428
Might have been a different version, like how some versions let Pawns move forward by two spaces on their first move while others have them always move only by one space.
10638652
Oh yeah now you mentioned it thorax
And to be honest I didn't see that coming especially from thorax 😅
10639457
But Spike was ALSO invited to the Gala
10640414
Only old school Buddhism, modern Buddhism has merged with Hinduism.
10828912
Shinto is damn near exclusive to Japan, Hinduism is the dominant religion in India. Buddhism has long held second place throughout a sizable chunk of Asia, and has intermingled and mixed to varying degrees with both Hinduism and Shinto (I have no idea if it ever did the same with Taoism over in China).
A pawn that reaches their final destination, becomes the strongest piece of the game.