//------------------------------// // The Arrival // Story: Plus Ones // by Hammerhead //------------------------------// “I have no idea how you got me to do this” a dark green pony-like bug uttered in annoyance, as he flies alongside another, lighter green bug, in the night sky approaching a palace sitting on a mountain top. “There were other changelings you could have brought along with you to this fancy-schmancy pony tea-party. But no, you had to make your big brother go.” “First off Pharynx, it’s called the Royal Canterlot Gala, and for the ponies, it’s their largest event” the lighter green bug refuted, “and secondly, I thought this would make a good break for you. Not to mention, I was invited because my friend Twilight is hosting this Gala.” The pair landed in the square; Pharynx practically stamped the ground hard while his brother landed gracefully. “You were invited because you’re the King, Thorax. Surely, it would have been more responsible to leave your General in charge of protecting the hive when you were gone.” His attempt at judgement did not seem to falter on his brother, who just let out a sigh. “You’re more than just a General, Pharynx, you’re my brother. You should be able to trust the changelings under your command to take care of the hive when both of us are away.” Thorax ended with a solemn stare, making it clear that enough was enough. Pharynx tried to return with his own, but after a minute, Pharynx yielded with a grunt and the pair continue their way to the Gala. The pair briefly stopped just outside the venue, the Royal Canterlot Palace. Both could not help but awe at the size of the palace, not to mention the number of lights and features emitting from the palace. They also noticed the number of well-dressed ponies making their entrance into the Palace, although Pharynx’s focus was on the Royal Guards, all in full armour and some wielding their spears while remaining still and dignified. Out of all the ponies he had come across, he could not help but admire those who remained on guard even at night. “Isn’t it weird? Years ago, you were here to help the changelings take this place over, now you’re their honoured guest.” Pharynx remarked with a smirk to anticipate some mild humour, but upon looking at his brother, his smirked quickly went away. Thorax, even after leading his entire kind through peace, and making good relationships with other leaders, could still remember the day he was part of the attack fleet under his former Queen. His face filled with unease; can he be sure that the ponies in Canterlot do not fear him like they used to? Pharynx was considering an apology as Thorax turned to him, but his brother cut in. “Pharynx, now that we are here. Can you please promise me that you won’t cause any trouble?” Pharynx suddenly felt aggrieved at what Thorax was suggesting, that he was bound to cause trouble before even going inside. Thorax continued. “You don’t have to pretend to be friendly and having a good time, or talk to everyone inside, but I don’t want anyone to think either of us are scary or intimidating.” Another short pause set in, with Thorax’s ears drooping as anxiety was starting to rise. Pharynx used the pause to think through what was being asked. He should not have made that remark if what it did was started worrying his brother. If making a promise was enough to get his brother to forgive him, as well as allow him to get fully involved in the party, then so be it. “Okay, your majesty” he began with a frustrated sigh. “I promise that I won’t cause trouble for you or any creature at this party.” He locked one of his arms around Thorax’s head, holding it upwards and giving light pokes on his abdomen. “You can have fun at this party, and I’ll be out of the way unless you need me. Is that good?” Thorax knew that Pharynx was trying to make him smile, even if it was by abusing his more ticklish spots. “Okay, okay. That’s good.” He answered, quick to yield and take on Pharynx’s assurances as the two entered their way into the palace. Two dragons were flying over that same night sky, making their way towards the palace. “Ugh, why is it that I have to go to this stupid pony party?” The red dragon groaned, resenting the long journey as he lags his light-blue counterpart. “Because I ordered you to come. Now stop whining, we aren’t that far!” The light-blue dragon defiantly snapped back. She flew ahead whilst holding a sceptre, one that made her Dragon Lord. Although the red dragon did not want to defy her authority, he still was not satisfied with the answer. “You could have made Smolder go, at least she’d enjoy hanging around with ponies wearing frilly dresses.” The remark caused the Dragon Lord to stop and turn around with a raised eyebrow, it sounds like she was not aware of his younger sister’s interests as he thought. “Well Garble, I don’t know why you’d think that of your own sister, but she’s busy with school. I spent weeks going throughout the Dragon Lands, trying to think of some dragon who’d be good to bring along to make the dragons look good and have nothing else to do.” Both still in the sky, she moved closer and poked one of her claws into Garble’s chest. “In the end, I ended up choosing you. You might not like ponies, but you have spent more time with them than other dragons usually do. You are also nicer and creative than you look, even Smolder agrees with me on that. Perhaps you can be THAT dragon for a few hours and you might find ponies you’ll like.” Garble could not help but feel confused at how the Dragon Lord had described him, it’s true that for a while now, Garble had become more open about his interest in poetry. It had made things slightly better for him, as he no longer had to hide away in order play on his drums and recite lines, as none of the other dragons paid any attention to it on most days. But the thought of it making him artistic just felt weird. As for nice, if that is what Smolder was saying, perhaps he should not feel as bad as letting slip her interest in cute and silly stuff. The two dragons landed hard on the surface just outside the palace, the impact startling the guards standing at the entrance. They remained tense, even after the Dragon Lord assured them, they were invited to the Gala, even showing them the invitation at hand. Before they made their way into the main hall, the Dragon Lord stopped Garble. “Okay Garble, now apparently no other creatures have been at these Galas before. We’re not just here to make ponies look good, but other creatures as well.” She kept her voice stern as she spoke, Garble couldn’t do anything but keep his eyes on her. “So, if I find out you’ve been causing trouble, I might have to sort you out till you live up to your name, understood?” It was only then, that Garble could look anywhere else, and his eyes were now fixed on the Dragon Lord’s sceptre, as she was repeatedly tapping it against her own hand like it was a mace. He gulped in fear as he looked back to her. “Yes, Dragon Lord Ember.” Each guest entered the main hall of the palace with a proclamation from an announcer, and although most guests would pay little attention to each one, many turned their heads when changelings and dragons showed up to the Gala. There would be whispers amongst some of the ponies, which did not surprise either of the other creatures, being fully aware that they were very new to such event. Although any concerns were phased out when friends were excited to see who arrived, Thorax could not hide his when Ember arrived leaving Pharynx rolling his eyes. Twilight and Spike were happy to welcome all those who arrived, and conversations were being had with everyone. Everyone that is, except Pharynx and Garble, who were left quiet and disinterested while the noise of laughter, the clinging of glasses and music could be heard. “It looks like I have some more guests I need to welcome; I hope you all enjoy your time here.” Twilight mentions, for politely making her departure towards the entrance to greet more guests. “Oh hey, perhaps I can give you all a tour of the palace? You all probably haven’t had a good look around since the coronation.” Spike suggested, Ember and Thorax showed interest but when both turned to Garble and Pharynx, neither of their interests had risen. “I guess it’ll be okay if you just give us two the tour, Spike. Garble shouldn’t be any trouble,” she remarks with a glare in the red dragon’s direction. “Yeah, if Pharynx doesn’t want to join, it’ll be fine.” Thorax included, although his look was more of concern, although his brother just replied with an uninterested shrug. With Spike, Thorax and Ember making their way through the main hall, Pharynx and Garble remained on their own. Aside from some ponies giving short glances, no one was uttering a word to or from them. “So then, you were forced to come here by your leader?” Garble asked first to break the ice, giving a quick glance up and down at the dark green changeling in front of him. “No. I was forced to come here by my brother…” he answered defensively, although Garble noticed he was trailing off. Pharynx continued with a short sigh “…who happens to be the King of our pack.” Garble only responded with a “hmm”. But now it was Pharynx’s turn. “Let me guess, that was your sister who dragged you here?” “Uh…no! Ember isn’t my sister, she’s the Dragon Lord. I’m here because Dragons have to do what the Dragon Lord orders them to do.” His answer was also defensive, as he also attempted to hide the hint of embarrassment at the thought of being related to Ember. Having one defiant younger sister was enough for him, having one more would be a nightmare. “So that means we’re the plus ones…” Pharynx remarked. Garble appeared to agree with him, they looked around at the other ponies happily talking amongst each other. Some would look over and silently comment about the two bored pillars, but quickly change their attention if either of them makes a glance at them. Garble conjured up a smug grin. “At least it seems no one is running in fear from us being here, I can just imagine the chaos if a whole load of dragons showed up here before Dragon Lord Ember became friends with Spikey-Wikey.” Pharynx raised his eyebrow. “Spikey-what now?” “Uh…Spike, the little purple dragon” Garble tried to clarify. “He’s also friends with my little sister at that friendship school. The twerp gets around.” The pair observed Spike, walking across the hall proudly with a gold medal around his neck, as Thorax and Ember followed behind. “He’s also one of my brother’s good friends,” Pharynx included, “So we can blame him for us being here.” The pair found a bit of humour out of that remark. Garble took a moment to focus on Thorax and looked back at Pharynx to compare. The two looked pretty similar aside from a slight height difference and different colour scheme. It was not a surprise that the two were related. “So if you’re the King’s brother, that makes you Prince, right?” “That took you a while to figure out…” he remarked with an eye-roll, a title he wasn’t a fan of. Quick to defend himself, Garble snapped back. “Well, excuse me for not noticing any creature refer to you as Prince when your brother is happy going around as King Thorax.” “That’s because I prefer to be known by my actual duty in the hive.” Pharynx retorted. “Before Thorax took over, I was Head of Patrol. After the takeover, and after the hive realised a peaceful Kingdom needed a way to protect itself, I became its lead protector. So it’s General Pharynx if you don’t mind.” The idea of Pharynx being a protector did explain a detail he didn’t notice previously, down the back of Pharynx’s neck were a series of course lines going across. He assumed they were just an odd feature of his skin, but when he talked about being a protector, it became clearer that they were scars. “So if you’re the tough one, you think you could take on a dragon? Cause I doubt it from your marks.” Goaded Garble. Pharynx felt a nerve plucked. “You wanna bet, hothead?” he quickly shot up to show dominance, the two locked eyes. Both would be at it like dogs if Pharynx quickly recalled he wasn’t supposed to cause trouble, and slowly backed down. Garble upon seeing this could not help but treat it as a victory, “Lemmie guess, don’t cause trouble?” he remarked with a smug grin. However, Pharynx was not easy to take down, even if he couldn’t be physical. “Takes one to know one, what happens if I told your Dragon Lord how you’re treating another guest?” Now Garble was reminded of Ember’s warning, and he quickly backed down. Now it was Pharynx’s turn to be smug. “Guess you didn’t think that one through, wonder what else you don’t think about?” With that, Garble had a plucked nerve. “I'm thinking I'd rather be writing some poem about how I don’t waste my time thinking of ways of pretending to be tough. You know what, I’m gonna find someone more decent and upstanding to talk to.” He declared, turning away from Pharynx, and walking off. “Fine, maybe there’s someone else who’s better to talk to at this party,” Pharynx responded, walking off in the other direction.