//------------------------------// // 16: Recuperation // Story: Son of a Dragon // by The Bricklayer //------------------------------// The Dragon Realms were not at all what Thorax actually expected. He’d heard the stories, really. Of the monstrous brutes who ransacked, pillaged and ruined entire villages all in search of their next addition to their already considerable hoard. He’d heard the stories of how brave knights sent to slay the dragons only ended up gobbled up or turned to ash, with only the remains of their armor to remember them by. Okay, granted, all of these stories were from ponies who’d only seen one side of the dragon nation. One side of the nation who hadn’t admittedly done much good in eliminating one very nasty stereotype. But admittedly, what Thorax did not expect was to be treated to a full four-course meal by the Artisans dragons. Actually, come to think of it, Thorax didn’t know dragons could be artisans of any sort. “Ah, really guys, this isn’t entirely necessary…” Thorax tried to protest even as Alvar shoved another dish in front of him. “I mean, I can cook for myself!” “Ah yes, but where’s the fun in that?” the burgundy red dragon asked, his apron covered in all sorts of foodstuff. “Food is fun, food is meant to be shared and from the look of you, you need food. So no arguing!” Argus, nearby, was about to chomp on some of the poached egg going to Thorax’s salad, before Alvar tugged him away via his scarf.  “L-Look, guys, this is all a bit much…” Thorax mumbled idly stabbing at his food. “So, you’re all skin and bones. Or chitlin and bones I guess, really…” Alvar murmured before shrugging. “Anyways, the point is, you cannot be seen like that. It’s just wrong. We’ve got to put some meat on those bones of yours!” “Well, you could just cover me in steak, so job done I guess?” Thorax said before laughing at his own lame joke. Alvar looked rather unimpressed and unamused.  Thorax felt a sharp pain on the back of his head, and he looked up realizing Alvar had smacked him. “Now you listen here kid, Spike asked me to get some food in you and that’s what I’m going to do, understand?” “...U-Understood…” Thorax stammered.  “Whoever starved you like this…” Alvar said shaking his head, his nostrils letting out small puffs of flame. He slammed a fist into his outstretched palm. “I’d like to have very strong words with them.” Alvar looked at Thorax. He, admittedly, couldn’t really tell the changelings age and his smaller than usual size probably didn’t help matters but at his best guess, he couldn’t be older than 23. Too young. Way too young to be put through hell.  Dragons, by Alvar’s own admission, had a unique way of looking at things age-wise simply because of how long-lived they were. To them, 23 was basically still that of a child’s. Spyro and the rest of his generation, even in their early 40s were still just children. And Spike, Smolder and Gallus and now Thorax were even younger. They were just barely out of their cribs by a dragon’s perspective. Alvar was in his early 200s but that was still young for a dragon, not even approaching middle-age yet. The greatest and longest-lived of the dragons, the great wyrms lived for well over 1000 years.  Take the great Dragon Lord Torch of the Eternal Flame. Truly ancient, he had seen it all. The rise and fall of ages and the collapse of kingdoms. He had seen Celestia and Luna when they were children, just babes in their cribs. He had seen Discord’s first reign, the might of Lord Tirek before the Sisters rose up to meet him in battle, and dethrone him.  Of course, not all dragons lived this long. Most didn’t even reach 700, to live to 1000 was a rare blessing. Dragons were exceptionally hard to kill, yes, but quite a few were slaughtered in their cribs. Killed before they hit 50. During this early period, their scales weren’t as hard and their minds weren’t as wise to the world around them. They were easily picked off. Now, Alvar didn’t know how long a changeling lived but he intended to see at least this one living to reach his middle age. He wanted to see all of Spike’s generation reach at least that much. He knew it was probably a pipe dream at best, but it was still a wonderful dream. How someone could do… well, -he cast a glance to Thorax- that to one of their own people was beyond him. Children -and yes, he was well aware Thorax probably wasn’t a child anymore- was beyond him. Children were the next generation and should be treated as such. It was their job to succeed their elders and create a better world than the one their parents had left them with. He had heard rumors of course, of the tyranny of Queen Chrysalis the ‘Great’.  While he obviously had yet to see her for himself -and had no real honest desire to- he had seen the Badlands which she ruled. It had long been suspected Queen Chrysalis had been responsible for their horrible state, but no real proof had been offered. Now though, looking at Thorax, Alvar had to wonder… NO! What was he thinking? By Lady Tiamat and Lord Bahamut, what was he thinking? The last thing this poor kid needed was to be pumped for information. He was traumatized enough as it was. “Please forgive me Lady Tiamat…” Alvar thought as he placed another plate in front of Thorax, and watched as the grub shoveled the food into his mouth. Alvar’s eyes felt themselves growing wet. “By the inferno, it’s like he hasn’t been treated to a single decent meal in his life…” And, of course, Alvar knew he most likely hadn’t been. “Well then,” he thought to himself. “Time to fix that!” And when Thorax nervously asked for that second course, well Alvar was only too happy to oblige him. Thorax laid peacefully on the bed that Spike and Smolder had given him. Being a refugee of Chrysalis’s reign of terror, he needed some kind of peace in his life in the middle of all of those attacks he and his people had made. He felt kind of bad for intruding on both Spike and Smolder’s lives, but he knew that anywhere was better than back there with her, so he couldn’t help but feel grateful for them taking care of him. All the same though, he still couldn’t help that lingering feeling he was… well, he was basically mooching off their kindness and generosity. He didn’t want all of it to just be handed to him on a silver platter; especially given how notorious Changelings had become in the realms. Chrysalis had painted his species in a horrible light, to be frank. He just had to hope and pray that, when all was said and done and the realms finally had enough of her, that he could repair the damage and reinvent the Changeling race for everyone else. Yeah. If that ever happened, that was. “Right,” Thorax said as he picked himself up. “No more angsting about what’s happened and what may never be. You’re here, in the present, so focus on that. One day at a time, isn’t that what Smolder said?” He took one hoof in front of the other. One step at a time, one day at a time till he was back at his full strength. His attempt at walking seemed to be going well, that was until a sudden jolt ran up his leg and he buckled under the pain. As he fell, Spike darted over and caught him. “You alright, Thorax?” Spike asked as he lifted Thorax back onto four legs again. “Yeah, just a bit of a misstep, that’s all,” Thorax said. “It happens.” “You still a bit scared from the whole thing with Chrysalis?” Spike could tell whenever someone was feeling a little bit rattled by something. Though, this was the first time he had ever taken in someone from an evil queen’s kingdom. “Look, I’m sure that it’ll all work out just fine in the end.” “Tomorrow’s going to be a brighter day, and all that right?” Thorax asked with an awkward little grin. Okay, truth be told he didn’t like Spike treating him as if he was a doll about to break. He could handle himself, he could!  For a brief moment, he re-considered telling Spike and his mate everything. Yeah, sure, Sonata had said to get everything off his chest and he had but now Spike looked at him if he was going to break down any moment. At least, that’s what Thorax saw. He wasn’t going to do that! He wasn’t! “I swear, he’s as bad as Pharynx at times, treating me as some gentle flower. While I admit, there’s plenty of love for me to feed on right now, it’s… getting out of hand.” Thorax found himself needing to take a walk, and as soon as he got outside he was treated with a blast of hot humid air. It was strangely comforting, and one of the few reminders of home this place had. Despite everything that had gone on there, Thorax still longed to return to his hive one day. While he knew it was a long shot at best, the possibility of freeing his hive from Chrysalis’ tyranny was a wonderful prospect. “So, how long has this Chrysalis been a problem for you, Thorax?” Spike had asked back then. If Chrysalis really had been causing so much trouble for Thorax and his people, the least that he needed to know was the rest of the details. “Few months? Couple of years? Well, whatever the case, I’m sure that someone’s gonna be there to put a stop to her eventually.” “Decades. Nobody knows how long, really. For me, she’s always been… just there,” Thorax answered before shuddering. “Keeping to the shadows, ruling us with an iron hoof. Starving us. And… other things.” For a moment, a brief moment he heard her voice in his ear. That evil voice, sounding like a mixture of poison ivy and deadly nightshade. Telling him to attend to her. He could never forget that voice. Just… that voice. To him, it was always giving off the impression that she was a demon from the darkest pits of Tartarus. Spike hadn’t known, of course, not until Thorax had told him and his mate exactly the lengths of Chrysalis’ depravity. They had reacted with the appropriate amounts of shock, horror, and visible disgust. It was… it was nice to hear someone think that, for once, Chrysalis and what she was doing was wrong. His hive seemed not to care, or at least if they did they were too scared to speak. Thorax betted on the latter, as for the longest time -and even now in some ways- he’d always thought it was his fault. It was his fault that he’d been so weak, and unable to stop her. He knew better now. From the door’s archway, Spike observed. “You know, I’d think Thor would have had enough of being spied upon, just saying,” Gallus commented and Spike had the decency to look ashamed of himself. “Pretty sure he got enough of that from his hive!” “Oh. Hey, Gallus,” Spike limply lifted his claw. “How long have you been there?” “Oh, long enough,” Gallus remarked, the griffon having put on a bit more muscle now that he was out of his lanky teenage years. “So this is your new mate?” “He’s… he’s not my new mate! I’m a one dragon type of dragon!” Spike protested, probably aware the blushing and stuttering wasn’t helping his case. “Oh, yes, sure. I’ve seen it before you know. Take in a poor boy from a poor family, and watch what happens as ‘whoops’, you’re accidentally in love!” Gallus laughed. “Are you sure you’re not drawing from personal experience?” Spike asked, narrowing his eyebrows. “Just sayin’,” Gallus said. “He’s cute, I guess, if you’re into bugs.” “If you want him, you can take him yourself!” Spike said. “Oh, so now you’re throwing him out on the street?” Gallus drawled in that seemingly consistent deadpan tone of his that he’d mastered. “You’re so cruel to all of us Spike.” “Just get to the point, Gal,” Spike said. “What are you really after?” “Oh, this and that,” Gallus said. “That’s not really clear…” Spike said. “Oh, I heard rumors you had old Alvar stuff Thorax’s face,” Gallus said. “So that means you do let your new boyfriend out of the castle from time to time!” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Spike asked hesitantly. “Oh, just saying. Most creatures don’t respond well to being cooped up anywhere for any long length of time,” Gallus said. “Consider this, by basically imprisoning him he-” “I’m not imprisoning him!” Spike argued. “He may not see it that way,” Gallus pointed out, poking his friend in the chest. “His previous captor certainly didn’t let him go out and about all that much did she now?” Spike’s horrified expression said volumes. “I thought so,” Gallus said, laying a paw on his friend’s shoulder. “You’re a good man Spike, your heart’s in the right place. You’re just not handling this correctly. And see, that’s why I’m here.” “...well, your job has basically been to kick my ass when I needed it…” Spike admitted. “Exactly!” Gallus beamed. “So, let me have Thorax for a few hours. He needs… enlightenment.” “...You’re going to introduce him to online gaming aren’t you?” Spike said with a deadpan, somewhat worried expression and tone. “Yup!” Gallus said popping the P and for some reason, Spike felt very worried. Okay, a little bit of backstory is needed here, just for the record. For Gallus, most of his time had been boring and uneventful. He needed to break the mold. And for all the good that being with Spike, Smolder, and the others was, it wasn’t enough. He needed to be… inventive. Do something that none of them would have expected. Only thing was, not a lot of things came to mind. At least, none of the obvious ones, that was. During one of his realm-jumping trips, he eventually found something that caught his eyes. In the Magic Crafters’ realm, a lone flyer had struck him square on the face. Probably tossed around by one of those wind-magic users. Or however they were called. Gallus didn’t really care for that kind of stuff. He was about to toss the flyer away when he saw exactly what it was. Apparently, there was gonna be some kind of tournament coming up with a hefty sum of gems as the prize. The only catch, it wasn’t a sport tournament like he was used to. None of that hockey, football, or whatever other sports dragons were used to. Instead, it was known as an eSport. Gallus was curious about what an eSport event was, prompting him to read the rest. The tournament was about a competitive game known as Bane. Sounded badass. Gallus just had to check it out. Sure enough, Gallus picked up Bane and actually had a good time with it. A fast-paced, tactical hero shooter with varying heroes of different species. From dragons, riptocs, gnorcs, even some creatures from the same species as the Sorceress. Gallus was spoilt for choice. But in the end, he decided to become something known as a “Celadin Main.” Whatever that was. He just chose that because of the character. The more and more that he played, the more he thought of that tournament. And of the money. He could actually win money for playing video games. Whoever said it was a bad life choice? Poor boy from a poor family he would be no longer, if you excuse the reference. But that was then and this was now. ‘Now’ being, well introducing Thorax to the fantastic world of video gaming. “Now, you see, Thorax. What you’ve gotta do with this game, is that it’s all about not being an idiot and going off on your own,” said Gallus. Clearly, very eloquently put from a griffin. “This is all a teamwork game, really. You don’t have good teamwork, you’re gonna get run down—”  Literally, the moment he stopped talking, he was nailed by a Gnorc-like character “Uh, hello? You’re playing Sel’zar! Literally NOBODY LIKES HIM because of how broken he is!”  A creative mixture of swears filled the air, staining the air blue. Several comments about someone’s mother were involved and that’s all I’m going to say on the matter. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess the swearing’s part of it all?” Thorax said in a surprising moment of deadpan. Gallus let out an exasperated huff. “Sorry about that, Thorax. This kind of thing will do that to you once you spend enough time with it.” “I gathered,” Thorax said. “Well, it could be worse. I was with a mare on-” “Wait, you had a marefriend?” Gallus teased. “Here I thought you swung to the other side of the fence!” “Are you always this irrelevant?” Thorax asked in an annoyed tone. “Anyways, anyways, I was with a mare once. I was desperate, okay? I needed love, and so I may or may not have posed as her marefriend.” He said this a little too quickly. “B-But that’s besides the point, so let’s move away from that okay? Anyways, she was a fan of this game, Hoofnite, or something or other.” “Oh Enlil, Stablenite?” Gallus said with an expression of great pain. “I got Silverstream hooked on that game once. I have regrets, many regrets.” “Was it a bad game?” Thorax cocked a brow. “No. It’s just that, once you get too deep into it, you end up doing all those dances looking like a total joke. Not to mention, the game’s completely festering with something called microtransactions,” Gallus explained. “And for someone like me, a griffin, the last thing that we want is to get conned out of our hard-earned money. Especially when you consider that most of that stuff goes for an arm and a leg…” “Oh yeah…” Thorax said with a pained expression. “Oh yeah, now I remember… Though, uh, wasn’t it a griffon who came up with the game to begin with?” he asked innocently, in a tone that was way too innocent to actually be innocent. Something he picked up from Sonata actually. “Yeah. Kinda weird when you think about it.” Gallus rubbed the back of his head. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that weird at all. If a griffon wanted money, they’d get it any way they could. “But it wouldn’t be so bad if they focused less on skins, emotes, and all that other stuff that means nothing and actually kept the game interesting. My sister likes it, not sure why, but that’s Gabby for you. Though apparently she has a feud with someone called SirenSinger9000.” Thorax vaguely wondered if this SirenSinger9000 lived in a swamp and was annoyingly nosey. Gabby peeked her head in, along with Silverstream. “...hey, uh, I thought the point of getting Thorax out of the house was to get him out of the house?”  “Well, I mean uh…” Gallus stammered. “No, it’s no trouble,” Thorax said nervously, somewhat fearful of the angry hippogriff. “I’m perfectly fine…” “Nonsense!” Gabby said holstering him up by the arm -Thorax had to stop himself from shaking as he heard Chrysalis in his mind: “Now attend to me…”- and giving her brother a look. “You need to see the sights, really. Because trust me, sitting around here is just going to turn you into a lazybum!” Being sufficiently gamed out and wanting to do something else for a change rather than risk the wrath of his wife and risk his marriage, Gallus made a decision. That is, to take his friends and family to the Artisans town square and treat them for a night on the town. And no, this time there were no drinks involved. Something which Gabby whined in protest at, I can tell you that much. And no, it was totally not because she was missing out on free blackmail! No sir!  Once again, The Withered Claw beckoned. This, if you remember, was the home to the famous or infamous depending on how you look at it- Tiamat Hellfire Mukbang Challenge. Patent pending. “Wow, she’s lousy,” Gabby remarked at the singer on stage. Karaoke night, and everyone and their mother was out. There was some good, and some bad. And some really bad. “...can someone get her off the stage before I go deaf?” “Oh, I don’t know,” Silverstream said. “I mean, she’s not bad.” “Yes, well, she’s not very good either is she?” Gabby countered before covering her ears with a mumble of: “Dear Enlil in heaven. Make it stopppppp…” “I thought you said your sister was nice,” Thorax said as he leaned over to his friend. “She can be, she’s just really passionate about some things,” Gallus explained. “Karaoke night’s really important to her, that’s all. Like super important! My sister has some interest in one day getting on Equestria’s Got Talent so…” “Equestria’s Got Talent? Hivemother, I hope and pray for her, then,” Thorax knew how tough it was to get far in Equestria’s Got Talent. “Unless your sister’s got a really good voice, I don’t know if she’ll go that far.” “You worried about the judges then Thorax?” Silverstream asked, taking a sip of her drink. “Oh Hivemother, of course, I’m worried about the judges,” Thorax shivered. He wasn’t completely pop-culture illiterate, really. “There’s literally a judge who’s seen it all and has absolutely no patience for people who can’t surprise him. I think his name was Simon Cowbell… or something like that.” “Oh Enlil yes!” Gallus nodded along. “He has to be the single most snobbiest judge I’ve ever seen! Like, did you see him on the last episode? Tell me you did. You heard his remarks didn’t you?” “Oh yes, I did. Colder than the ice in the Icy Wilderness realm. And that is saying something!” Thorax shivered even mentioning that realm. “I feel awfully sorry for those guys and gals who get to see him.” “I know, right?” Gallus nodded. “Like, brrrrrrr… Mister snark snark snarkiness with his Trottingham accent!” “Oh, she’s done,” Gabby said as the mare got up off the stage. “Wish me luck boys!” With an extra spring in her step, Gabby practically strutted to the stage. She took the mic, opened her beak, and sung.  “Well I'm just out of school Like I'm real, real cool Got to dance like a fool “Got the message that I got to be A wild one Ooh yeah, I'm a wild one…” The applause was almost immediate. Gallus’ eyes widened, he knew his sister could sing but this was something completely different. He looked to his left and saw a few males swooning. Thankfully, before he could go into overprotective big brother mode, Silverstream pulled him back into his chair with a whisper of: “Hush, and enjoy yourself for once. No need to play big brother to Gabby anymore, she’s a grown griff now.” Thorax guessed this was a reoccurring thing, really. It had to be. Eventually, Gabby’s turn ended and she blushed under the praise, giving an awkward little smile and flipping a nervous peace sign. “You killed it out there, Gabbs,” Silverstream said kindly. “They’ll be signing you up for record deals in no time flat, just you watch!” “Well, um, if you say so…” Gabby mumbled some of her earlier confidence gone, and replaced with feathered flusterment. “Y-You think so?” “Oh, I know so!” Gallus said with a smile, nodding along with his wife. “Like, seriously, you killed it. Ya absolutely did!” “Um, well, thanks…” Gabby mumbled feeling like a kid again. She perked up almost instantly as an idea hit her. “Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyyy now, I’ve got an idea!” “S-Should we run?” Thorax asked nervously, his shiny gossamer wings buzzing.  “What, no, nonsense!” Gabby said looking directly at him. “I was thinking, hey maybe we should get you up there!” “M-Me?” Thorax squeaked.  “Hey, that’s a great idea!” Gallus chimed in with Silver nodding along. “She’s absolutely right!” “Oh, I don’t know…” Thorax said. “I’m probably not very good…”  “Well, we’ll see,” Gallus said before getting an idea of his own. He started to bang his fist on the table and chant: “Thorax! Thorax!” Soon, the crowd began to follow. “Thorax! Thorax! Thorax!” “See, they’re cheering for you, man!” Gallus said poking his new friend in the chest.  “Oh, I don’t know…” Thorax said. “What if I’m not very good…?” “Does it matter?” Gallus asked. “Oh, I’d say it does,” Thorax said. “I mean, you saw how Gabby was with the mare before her…” Gabby, at this, had the decency to look guilty. “Oh, I’m sure they’re not all like that,” Gallus waved his concerns off dismissively. “Besides, it doesn’t really matter, does it? You’re here to have fun and that’s what matters, right?”  “Yeah, fun. You’re right…” Thorax said taking a few nervous steps forwards slowly growing in confidence as he stepped up to the microphone. Tapping it nervously with his hoof, it squeaked a little. The feedback nearly made Thorax flinch. He opened his mouth and began to sing… “Hail (hail) What's the matter with your head, yeah Hail (hail) What's the matter with your mind…” Gallus snorted, of course. How so appropriate. He watched as Thorax slowly grew in confidence, only a few times stumbling over his words. Block it all out, he mouthed to the young changeling. Block it all out. Thorax saw this, and little by little the crowd began to fade from his mind as he reached the chorus section. “Come and get your love Come and get your love Come and get your love Come and get your love…” Yes, Thorax realized this was playing to stereotypes of changelings but this song served another purpose. It served to remind him of what he’d broken free of, and how he looked at his new life. He wasn’t Chrysalis’ personal pet, he wasn’t Drone 3756 anymore. He was just… Thorax, friend, and maybe more if anyone would let him. This was his oath now. The crowd roared in approval, Thorax’s heart skipping a few beats. They liked him, they really honest to Hivemother liked him. No, loved him. He wasn’t an agent of fear and discourse. He wasn’t some love-stealing monster. He was a friend to them. His eyes felt wet before he wiped away the tears. Oh, he shouldn’t be crying should he? Pharynx always said crying was for the weak. And Thorax, he was anything but weak. Pharynx had said as much, he remembered. He was a strong changeling in his own way. “You. were. Awesome!” Gabby said as she pulled Thorax into a tight bear hug. Thorax’s heart stopped for -”Attend to me. Attend to me.”- a moment or two before it eased. No no, Gabby wasn’t her and she never would be. She was sweet and kind and actually… kinda cute. Cute, did he just think cute? Of course he did. She was cute, she was.  “I… I can’t breathe…” Thorax coughed out, Gabby blushing a bright red and releasing him.  “Right, um, sorry, guess I don’t know my own strength,” Gabby babbled. “Gallus keeps telling me I don’t know my own strength but I never really believed him until today and… oh Enlil I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry, it’s just you were so awesome and my god I’m still trying to process all that!” “She’s right you know,” Gallus said as he placed a supportive paw on Thorax’s shoulder. “You were awesome, bud.” “Bud?” Thorax asked. “I-I never had anyone call me that before…” “Well,” Gallus smiled. “You do now…” They returned home to Gallus’ house. Silverstream couldn’t help but smile as Gabby and Thorax laughed and joked together.  “They’re good for each other, you know that right Gall-Gall?” Silverstream said with her husband blushing under the cutesy nickname. “I thought we promised never to call me that again…” Gallus hissed out, his face blushing a bright red. “I don’t do cutesy nicknames. I am Gallus the Great and Awesome after all! I deserve better!” “Yeah, sure you do,” Silverstream teased, patting him on the back. “Keep telling yourself that one, hun.” “B-But, I do!” Gallus stammered out. In the meantime, Gabby and Thorax talked. “I… I hesitate to ask, but… but what was it like for you?” Gabby asked. “B-Back in the hive I mean? I’m… I’m sorry if that was too forwards of me.” “No, it’s okay,” Thorax said. “I have to talk about it with friends sometime I suppose… Sonata said as much.” “Who’s Sonata, your girlfriend?” Gabby inquired. “Well, not really,” Thorax said. “Pretty sure she’d crush me if we ever tried… well, you know!” He flushed red. “You’re not a normal changeling, are you?” Gabby asked. “Oh, and how would you know what a normal changeling’s like?” Thorax inquired. “Oh, I’ve had… experiences,” Gabby said with a wistful tone. Thorax blinked, wow he certainly wasn’t expecting that. The more you knew right? “Oh, don’t tell my bro okay? He gets so overprotective at times!” Thorax snorted. “Oh yeah, I’ve noticed.” “He means well, he does,” Gabby said. “But there are times when… well, I do want to smack him upside the head.” “I know how you feel,” Thorax admitted. “Not sure if I’d ever be brave enough to smack my own big brother upside the head but… Yeah, been there!” “Big brothers are like that, you can’t live with them…” Gabby said and Thorax finished for her. “...you can’t live without them!” Thorax laughed. “But yeah, my brother? Pharynx? He was one of the only ones who looked out for me in the Hive. Everyone else was too scared of her, Chrysalis. Hivemother, can’t even believe I was just able to say her name right then!” “She was that bad huh?” Gabby asked, and noticed the look on Thorax’s face. She sucked in a breath. “...shit. Like, wow… Well, don’t worry. Gabby’s got your back Thorax. We all do. Family looks after family, and you are family now.” And this time, Thorax didn’t bother to fight the tears as they came. Drone 6719 had news. Big news. The traitor had been found. The deserter! Everyone in the hive had heard of him. The one who left Queen Chrysalis for… them. The ponies. Drone 3756 had always been weak, everyone knew it. Even his own clutchmate. It had been a wonder Queen Chrysalis had even considered taking him for her own. Never mind actually doing it! By the Hivemother, what had she been thinking? Drone 6719 was a much better lover anyways! His many mates could attest to that! He would have been a much better choice for the queen anyways! But all the same, he along with many others had been placed around the Kingdoms in search of information. Possible ways to take one of these Kingdoms, maybe. But what nobody had expected was seeing Drone 3756 out in public with dragons. Socializing, and fraternizing with them! He’d probably even laid with one by this point! How disgusting. Yes, Drone 3756 was something of a problem. A problem that would have to be dealt with. His Queen deserved to know about this. Maybe, Drone 6719 thought hopefully she would deal with this herself. The dragons would bow down in fear and wonder at the glory of his Queen! And then maybe, just maybe, she would lay with him! Yes, Drone 6719 thought to himself. Life was potentially looking up. Pharynx, since his brother had left months back, found himself worrying and fretting over what had happened. His brother was strong yes, but not that strong. The realms beyond the Badlands presented many challenges. Chiefest amongst them was the fact that changelings were hated and feared. Personally, Pharynx didn’t mind this but his brother was softer and gentler than he. He had… sympathy for the other races, something that beguiled Pharynx at him. He’d always known his brother was different. Maybe a good kind of different, but still different.  In some ways, this might have been his greatest strength and his greatest of failings. At times, Pharynx wished his brother was more of a warrior. A more traditional warrior anyways. He wouldn’t have to protect him so much. Starting from childhood, he’d been nothing but a thorn in the others’ sides. Considered weak and not fit for service in the hive. Pharynx, as he grew up, believed this at times as well.  That’s when he slowly but sure began to realize, well maybe Thorax’s kindness was his greatest asset. Made him easier to assimilate into pony villages and steal love out from under them. But what nobody had realized, not even Pharynx himself at the time, was that perhaps Thorax’s kindness was too great. He simply did not like stealing love from others. He wanted to experience it for himself, true love. That was an impossibility for a changeling, even a kind one. It was the harsh truth of the matter. Changelings could steal love, but they could never truly experience it. They were far too hated and feared for it. And yet… Pharynx rejoiced when Thorax had finally made his escape. The Hive wasn’t right for him, and Queen Chrysalis…  Queen Chrysalis, well she was not the kind of Queen his brother should associate with at all. Pharynx would have been a fool if he lied to himself. He, at times, did harbor traitorous thoughts to his Queen. He quickly squashed them whenever they returned, but still, they came. He knew why. It was because what his Queen -should he even call her that?- had done to his brother. It was… Honestly, Pharynx didn’t know what to think of it at all. He just hoped wherever his brother was, it was somewhere far better than here. It had to be, for his own sake. For both of theirs. Queen Chrysalis the Great had been called many things in her time. Tyrant. Lover. Monster. Witch. Queen of all that is.  She accepted every title with great affection. The world would be poorer without her. Under her guidance, the other kingdoms were kept in line. None bothered to rise against one another. All stayed in their places. Love was keeping them in line. Oh yes, and fear also. Whenever the kingdoms threatened to unite, she just stepped in and had them fight amongst themselves once again. A few whispered words here, a few seeds of distrust sown there…  Well then, it was hardly her fault that nobody really liked each other. Oh, they liked to pretend that they were all allies but in truth? Given the right incentive, they’d all turn against one another yet again. That was how it used to be, really. Then came Spike the Brave and Glorious, the bridge between realms. He was both of the Dragon Realms and of Equestria. He preached love and tolerance between the two races, not fear and distrust. That could not stand. If ponies and dragons were to ever unite… well, the safety of her kingdom was at risk. Her drones deserved better than to be assimilated into pony and dragonkind. She was the only friend that they ever needed. However, it seemed one drone begged to differ. Of course, Chrysalis should have known it would be him. Yes, Drone 3756 was something of a problem. He’d always been weak. It shouldn’t have surprised Chrysalis that he defected, and yet he did. And now… And now! Here, she took several breaths to calm herself. And now he was living amongst dragons and griffins and hippogriffs and Hivemother only knew what else. This could not stand. This could not stand.