Thorax had tried to make it work. He had tried so, so hard to make things work out. He had tried, in his own way, to show them that they had it all wrong. He had tried to show by example rather than speech, as he knew his words would never reach them. He had labored for months on end to carry out his promise to Twilight, to be better than his peers, and show all of them that there was a better way. That they didn’t need to live their lives as solitary monsters that preyed upon the innocent.
But it never amounted to much. His ‘example’ was discarded as an oddity. His passive behavior was, as it ever was, ignored as nothing more than a persistent annoyance. What respect he managed to earn in the weeks and months that followed Twilight’s departure was far from enough to sway any drones to his way of thought.
But then the wedding happened.
He had been forced to participate in an atrocity the likes of which he had never seen. He had hated every moment of it, from start to end, but he had forced himself to endure it… Until he saw Twilight in the chaos. She had been at the heart of the invasion, fighting back against the swarm with all of her might, defending her friends and being defended by them in turn, in stark contrast to the swarm tactics of the changelings.
In the end, the invasion had failed, and every changeling in the city was blasted miles away in a wave of blinding light. It was an abject failure, and Queen Chrysalis’ impotent rage had been tangible in the quivering walls of the Hive for weeks afterward.
For most drones, it was a humiliating defeat. They were known to the world now as a dangerous threat to be stamped out on contact. Their entire way of life had been jeopardized by one failed assault.
For Thorax, it was the last straw…
The towering spire of stone that was the Hive loomed high above Thorax, darkened into a silhouette against the night sky, and threatening to tear a jagged tear into the heavens with its sharp tip. He looked up at it from his place at its base, feeling so small and inconsequential when compared to the monolithic structure of stone and resign.
It was his home. It always had been. It was where he had been born, where he had grown up, where he had lived ever since he hatched. Almost every single struggle and accomplishment in his life so far had come and gone within this place…
And he could no longer say he felt anything for this place but pure, abject hatred. Hatred of what it represented, and perhaps a little fear of what it could come to be. The seat of power for a power-hungry queen dead-set on spreading her influence and controlling everything she could.
He couldn’t be part of it anymore. He wouldn’t.
He took a deep breath and turned to go, his eyes set on the south. He had to get to Equestria. If he could get there, then...
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Thorax froze in place, his blood turning to ice in his veins on hearing that voice. His ears fell flat against his head. He slowly turned in place, his eyes reluctantly flicking to look at the new arrival.
Two purple eyes glowed at him from the shadows beneath an overhang of jagged stone. They narrowed with scrutiny before their owner stepped forward, and Pharynx came into view. Thorax shied away from his brother’s intense glare, his heart hammering against his chest in terror.
“I… I, uh…” he stammered, taking a few steps back. He couldn’t find the words. They all kept dying in his throat. He should have known that Pharynx would find him. Thorax was an excellent infiltrator, that much had been proven numerous times already. But to think he could ever hide what he was doing from Pharynx… It was beyond stupid of him.
Pharynx lifted his head up, staring down his nose at his little brother. “...Speak up, Thorax. I can’t hear you,” he ordered in a cold, stern growl.
Thorax screwed his eyes shut and shuddered. No use in lying, he decided. With a deep, shuddering breath, he opened his eyes and met Pharynx’s gaze. “I… I’m l-leaving, Pharynx,” he said simply.
Pharynx stared at him long and hard, his brow furrowing. “Is that right?” he asked slowly, closing the distance between them with measured steps.
Thorax stepped back and offered a reluctant nod of his head. “Y-yeah, it is.”
“Why?”
Thorax paused. “...Huh?”
Pharynx gestured at him, his expression impossible to read. “Why? Why are you leaving? I suspect you have a reason.”
Thorax stared at him, wide-eyed and baffled. He had been expecting Pharynx to tear into him the moment he said those words, to violently chastise him and drag him, kicking and screaming, back into the Hive to make sure he didn’t go anywhere.
Pharynx raised an eyebrow. “...Well? I’m waiting. Spit it out, already.”
Thorax jumped in his shell and shook himself. “S-sorry, sorry!” he babbled before finding his words. “I just… I can’t stay here. After what Chrysalis did, after all of the innocent creatures she made us hurt at that wedding in Canterlot… I can’t be a part of this anymore.”
Pharynx hummed quietly, glancing up at the Hive again. “...You do realize why she had us launch that invasion, don’t you?”
“Of course I know,” Thorax replied, his ears drooping. “But that doesn’t mean I think she was right!”
Pharynx gave off a heavy sigh and turned to face Thorax directly. “Are you even listening to yourself? This is what we are, Thorax. It’s what we’ve always been. You may not like it, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is how we have to do things in order to survive.”
“I don’t believe that,” Thorax shot back, shaking his head. “Not for one minute.”
“That so?” Pharynx challenged, stalking forward, starting to hunch like a predator about to pounce. “Then please, oh enlightened one. Explain to me how else we could be doing things.”
Thorax took another step back. His heart slipped up into his throat when he felt his hind legs pressing up against a stone wall. He swallowed heavily, fear clawing at his throat with every step his brother took. “...W-well, we… we don’t have to steal love, you know,” he offered weakly. “Remember Twilight? She offered her love to me freely when she and I became friends. And I’d never felt so full before.”
“Of course I remember her,” Pharynx remarked, halting his advance. “How could I forget? Ever since she left, you’ve been acting even more passive and gentle than usual. You even risked your life for that intruder.”
“Right, but you let me,” Thorax countered. “I cared about her, and she cared about me. Me. Thorax. Thorax the changeling. Not some face I was wearing, not some fake skin I put on to deceive her. She was my friend, Pharynx, and there was no feeling better than the love she gave me of her own free will.”
“So a gentle pony met a gentle changeling,” Pharynx noted clinically. “Miracles happen from time to time, I suppose.”
If Thorax had a coat of fur, he would have bristled at that remark. “You don’t understand! She’s not really all that different from most ponies! She told me all kinds of stories about Equestria and the ponies that live there! For them, good, gentle, caring ponies are a lot more common than bad ones! If we opened up to them, maybe we could actually get somewhere!”
“After the wedding?” Pharynx asked with a scoff. “Tch. Don’t make me laugh. Maybe the ponies are nicer than we are, and maybe they could have opened up to us. But they are also superstitious and spiteful creatures. I don’t see them warming up to us any time soon after what we did to them.”
“Then I’ll get us started,” Thorax pressed, taking a slow step forward. “If I go to Equestria, make some more friends, then maybe-”
“No.”
Thorax wilted. “W-what?”
Pharynx stamped a hoof for emphasis. “Absolutely not. You are not going to Equestria all on your own! Even if we assume you survive the journey there, then what? What will you do? The ponies will hate everything you are, and the moment they catch wind of you, they will tear you apart! There won’t be any love for you there!”
Thorax grit his teeth. “You say that as if there’s any love for me here!”
“THERE IS!” Pharynx suddenly bellowed, his wings flaring out. He pressed a hoof up to his chest, leaning forward slightly. “From ME, you idiot!”
Thorax paused, his ears folding back. A heavy silence fell over the two of them for what felt like an age. Pharynx snarled and set his hoof back down on the ground. “...Do you think I don’t care about you? After everything I’ve done for you? Every hoop I jumped through for your sake? It wasn’t all out of pity, you know. I’ve always stood up for you and tried to make you stronger because I care about you! How many times do I have to give this speech before you get it through the only thick skin you have?!”
He reached out and shoved Thorax back against the wall. “So don’t you dare tell me that there’s no love for you here! At least in this place, you have a family! But what will be waiting for you in Equestria, huh? Answer me that!”
Thorax blinked several times, his eyes wide in shock. Pharynx’s words rolled around in his ears for several seconds before he swallowed heavily and put on a small smile. “...Twilight will.”
Pharynx hesitated, his wings wavering slightly. “...you really think she’ll be happy to see you again?” he asked skeptically, his voice lowering. “After what we did to her family? Do you really think that Twilight will want to see you again?”
“I know she will,” Thorax insisted. “She’s a good mare… she’s my friend. That has to count for something, right?”
Pharynx stood still for several seconds, his eyes shifting with indecision. He took in a long, deep breath and looked away. “...If you go through with this, I won’t be around to guard you if you ever come back,” he said slowly. “Out there, you will be on your own. You won’t have me or any other part of the swarm to watch your back. And even if you find Twilight, and she still cares enough about you to do it for me, the rest of Equestria will not be so kind. It will be harder for you there then it will be here…”
“I know,” Thorax acknowledged, looking down. “I know that. But I also know that they will give me a chance to prove myself, to make amends for what we all did wrong… and maybe I can get them to reach out to the Hive as friends instead of enemies.”
Pharynx stared at Thorax for a long time, his expression impossible to decipher. Eventually, though, the facade broke. A small smile crept onto his face. “Huh… you know? I think this might just be the bravest thing you’ve ever done,” he said quietly, a hint of pride in his voice.
Thorax returned the smile, holding his head up. “What can I say? My big brother wouldn’t settle for anything less.”
The two shared a small chuckle at that. Pharynx shook his head as his died down before affixing Thorax with a more critical look. “...Be careful out there, brother,” he instructed simply. “You find Twilight, and you be safe, you hear me? But more than that, just…” he sighed and looked down. When next he spoke, his words were laced with a solemn regret that Thorax had never heard from him before. “Just… be happy for once… If you’re so sure that you can make some actual friends there, then make them, and be happy with them… That is my final order to you, Thorax.”
Thorax swallowed heavily, his heart convulsing in his chest. His eyes began to mist over. “R-right… y-yes sir,” he replied, straightening his posture.
Pharynx lifted his head and stared at Thorax for a moment. Then, with a tiny smile, he stepped forward. To Thorax’s shock, his older brother then pulled him into a hug. It was stiff and awkward, but it was nonetheless genuine and heartfelt. He was so blindsided from the unprecedented act of affection that he didn’t even return it for several seconds.
“...Goodbye, brother,” Pharynx said to him quietly before pulling back. “Make me proud.”
Thorax stared up at him for a few moments before sniffling and nodding. “I will… thank you, Pharynx. I… I’m gonna miss you.”
Pharynx nodded and backed away. “So am I. Now get a move on. You’re wasting time, and once word gets around that you’re missing, there will be scouts looking for you all over. I can buy you some time, but I won’t stop them from looking once they get started.”
“R-right,” Thorax nodded. He took a deep breath, his wings buzzing into life. He lifted a few feet off the ground, his eyes locked onto those of his brother all the way. “Thank you, Pharynx. I love you!” he called down before turning and flying to the south.
Pharynx watched him go, his expression unchanging. “...I know, kid,” he finally muttered. He turned back to the Hive and began to trot forward, his head held high.
That meeting with Pharynx had taken place several months ago, now. Thorax had made his way across the Badlands as fast as he could, all too aware of the possible threat of more changelings appearing out of nowhere to drag him back before the Queen. He had no desire of being brought before her as a deserter, and the fear of what might happen to him if he was, drove him on to fly faster than he ever had before.
It had taken him less time then he had thought, but he was soon slipping out of the badlands and passing into the savannah that lay beyond the mountains. He had done his best to remember what Twilight had told him of Equestria’s geography, deciding to try and find Dodge Junction. He had blundered around aimlessly in the wilds for a while before the small town eventually came into view on the horizon.
The locals, few of them as there were, had surprised him. When he had walked into town, disguised as a skinny blue stallion with a swept-back black mane and tail, he had been expecting an air of suspicion and skepticism or at least indifference. A lone pony walking into town from the south? He was sure that was going to turn some heads.
But no. Not a single pony he met had been at all aloof or suspicious of him. They all welcomed him with smiles and cheerful greetings. It had been beyond shocking to him. Even with all of Twilight’s glowing testimonies of the nation, he had not been expecting them to be this friendly. Culture shock hit him hard, and he struggled to find an adequate way of composing himself.
The next month or so had passed in something of a blur. He had no idea where Ponyville was, or how to get there. There was also the small matter of money. He had heard of ‘bits’ before when talking with Twilight, but the concept was still incredibly hard for him to fully grasp. Small gold circles that could be given in exchange for services and items? Everything about his old life in the Hive screamed at him that such a concept was wrong, but he forced himself to adapt. He had to.
It had taken a bit of time, but he had actually learned from a nice mare named Cherry Jubilee that apparently, one of Twilight’s friends, Applejack, had actually worked on her farm for a week or two once upon a time. He had been beyond happy to hear about that and had been given his first look at an Equestrian map when he asked about it. At last, he had been gifted with a direction and had set out not long after, carving his way across the land for Ponyville.
The savannah had soon given way to lush grassland scattered with copses of trees. He had never seen so much green before in his life and had more than once stopped to just stare at the grass or the leaves.
And then he had found the edge of the forest. He flew over it for most of that day, believing this to be the ‘Everfree Forest’ that he had heard so much about. A less than pleasant place. It seemed to be the opposite of the badlands in terms of the contents of its threats. Where Thorax’s home was dry, barren, hot, and devoid of vegetation, the everfree was damp, lush, cool, and made of nothing but vegetation, a lot of which would try to eat anything that wandered too close.
From one extreme to the other, he supposed.
Now, though, it was getting dark. The sun dipped for the horizon in the distance, its light fading fast and plunging the world into the cold. Thorax grimaced at it, his wings buzzing a little harder in irritation. “Oh, no…” he muttered, glancing down. He had to stop to rest, he knew. But right now, all he could see was forest in every direction.
Swallowing heavily, he resigned himself to his fate. “I’ll just have to find some cover.”
With nothing else for it, he descended below the tree line. Immediately, whatever light the sun afforded him was washed away, replaced by an almost all-consuming darkness. He shivered slightly as he was met by an invisible wall of cold air that contrasted starkly with the warmth overhead.
As his hooves touched down on the damp, mossy ground, his ears were assaulted on all sides by the sounds of life. He turned on his hooves, looking around with rapidly growing anxiety. Chirping birds, hooting owls, the growls of distant beasts, the hissing of snakes, the rustling of the trees. So many sounds when all he was used to was a hollow, empty breeze.
It was almost overwhelming, and he had to take several deep breaths to try and calm his nerves. It worked, albeit only slightly. Steeling himself, Thorax lit his horn to light his way. Everywhere he looked, his eyes were met with densely-packed trees with crooked branches that reminded him of claws. Moss and vines hung from every conceivable surface, while mushrooms and spikey ferns rose from the soil.
Lush, but not friendly.
Thorax gulped and started to slowly trot through the forest, hoping for somewhere to lay down and get some rest. He must have been wandering for an age before, finally, he found what he was looking for. He broke out into a small clearing, at the center of which was a collection of stones that led down into a cave.
A small wave of nostalgia came over him. Fond memories of the time he met Twilight, and all the time he had come to see her afterward, filled his mind with a pleasant haze. He took in a deep breath and poked his head into the cave. It was small, probably only big enough to give shelter to a grizzly bear or two. It was mossy, and he could hear the faint drip of water periodically coming from within.
Still, it was better than nothing. With a nod to himself, Thorax stepped inside and put out his light. He felt around for a while before coming across a small patch of moss. He settled down on it and gave off a quiet sigh as he finally took the weight off his hooves. Now he could rest.
Setting his chin down, he closed his eyes, the sounds of the forest reaching him through the mouth of the cave.
Thorax mumbled drowsily as something stirred him from his rest. An annoying sound reached his ears, and he flicked them a few times in a hopeless bid to shut the sound out. Something was moving around outside his cave, but just then, he couldn’t be bothered to care. “Just five more minutes,” he thought in annoyance, his cheeks puffing up like those of a spoiled nymph.
The sound continued unabated, though, drawing Thorax fully from his slumber. Resigning himself to an early rising, Thorax opened his eyes and looked up. He immediately regretted it, as a beam of morning sunlight stabbed directly into his retinas, filling his skull with fire.
“OW!” he yelled, flailing back with his hooves flying up to cover his eyes. He fell back to the ground on his back, a strangled oof tearing past his lips on impact. He curled up into a ball, his already stiff and sore body now complaining at him even more from the sudden movement. He took a deep breath and let it out in an annoyed hiss. “...Today’s gonna suck, isn’t it?” he asked quietly.
“Hello?” a new voice suddenly pierced the air. Thorax’s eyes snapped open again, his heart skipping a beat. Now he knew what the noise he had been hearing was! It was footsteps! There was someone close by!
Panicking, he rose to his hooves, his ears folding back. He turned back to the mouth of the cave, trying to think of a good disguise.
Too late. He had already been seen.
The creature that stood in the mouth of the cave was unlike any he had ever seen before. It was short and looked remarkably young. It stood up on two stubby little legs, while equally short arms at its sides were held up in fright. Big, emerald green eyes with reptilian slits for pupils stared back at Thorax, perfectly accenting the wave of raw fear that was coming off of him in droves.
The creature’s body was covered in purple scales, while his underbelly was a pale green color. Spines ran down the center of his head and down his back, tapering off to an end near the tip of a short tail that was standing up and pointing at the sky.
Thorax stared at him for a moment before opening his mouth and saying the only thing that came to mind. “...Uh…”
The creature screamed.