Venom continued walking alone. He sighed heavily as he continued walking. “Dang that Pharynx…” he muttered. “Always getting all the attention…”
He continued walking. After a few more steps, he stopped and looked around. No one else seemed to be in this particular area. Perfect.
Venom sat down at a nearby rock. He sighed again, laying back against it. “Why is it always about Pharynx? Whether he wins or loses he always gets some form of recognition.” He clutched his hoof in anger, growling quietly. He looked up, and tried to break the wall the same way Blue did.
Pain shot up his front hoof. “Gah! Dang it! Stupid piece of… Aargh!” He shook his hoof, teetering a bit. He stared at his hoof. “H-How did— gah!”
Venom fell backwards, landing smack onto his shiny blue carapace. He sighed angrily. How the buck does Blueberry even pull it off so dang well?
“...Venom?”
Speaking of which...
Venom looked up. He noticed a certain blue-fanged changeling standing over him.
He sighed and sat up. “What is it, Blueberry?”
“Very funny. I came to see how you were doing, Blue Raspberry.”
“I’m… fine.”
Blue sat next to him. “You sure? I mean, you just punched a wall out of anger.”
“And I nearly cracked a bone in the process. Everything’s dandy.”
Blue rolled his eyes, then tilted his head. “Hey… can I ask you a question?”
“...Yes?”
Blue cleared his throat. “Are you… jealous of Pharynx?”
Venom froze. “Uhh…” he didn’t know what to say. Was he to lie, or tell the truth? Why was he even debating about whether to tell him or not? “Uhh… no… no I’m not.”
Blue chuckled. “You’re a terrible liar, y’know that?”
The reformed changeling let out a huffy breath. “Whatever. So lemme guess, you’ve been watching me for the past five minutes? Why?!”
Blue nodded sheepishly. “Well… I was just… curious.”
“...Curious?”
“I mean, you did slip off unnoticed, that was bound to raise at least some suspicion,” Blue pointed out.
“Pfft. Really? I thought you’d be too busy praising Pharynx to notice.”
Blue tilted his head. “Sooo, you are jealous?”
“Isn’t it obvious, Blueberry?” Venom folded his arms.
“Isn’t there something you’re better than Pharynx at?”
“Well, I… uh…”
Blue waited for Venom. “Anything? Like… uhh… more siblings?” Blue said jokingly.
“...Does that even count?”
“Hey, it’s something you could beat him in.”
“Er…”
“What else are you good at? Besides being a walking raspberry.”
“I’m uh…” Venom thought for a second… which actually felt more like a minute. He was better than Pharynx at something, right? “I’m uh… a fighter?”
Blue smiled. “Well, why don’t you make a name for yourself with that?”
“A name?”
“Y’know… like... get famous for fighting?” He suggested.
“Dude, trust me; I tried that.”
“Oh?” Blue blinked.
Venom nodded. “I actually tried getting a Head of Patrol rank once.”
“Oh yeah. I remember that… In fact, I remember it like it was yesterday.” Blue chuckled. “Especially when I threw that rock at that General.”
“...You did that?”
“Yeah. I didn’t get a chance to see his reaction since I ran away before he saw me. But as you may know, ‘there’s no crime if you don’t get caught’.”
Venom chuckled, smiling a bit. He looked at Blue. “Hey, you wanna have a quick sparring match?”
Blue stared at the reformed changeling. He laughed a bit. “You can’t be serious, can you?”
“I am.”
“Prove it.” Blue smirked. “Or rather, bring it.”
The two began tussling. Venom started by quickly charging at Blue. Blue jumped out of the way and countered with a kick.
“Oof!”
“Come on, Venom! You can do better than—” he was cut off by a kick to his side. “Aargh!” He got up and dusted himself off. He watched as Venom kicked him again, this time sending him close to the wall.
The reformed changeling smirked at his opponent.
Blue then decided to try and jump at Venom, who attempted to dodge the attack. Blue didn’t land on him, but managed to get a swipe on him.
“Ack!” Venom glared at Blue, before jumping back at him, only for Blue to quickly roll out of the way. He growled threateningly.
Blue merely looked at him with a smirk. “Alright Venom… give up, I’m gonna—” he was kicked hard and was sent flying into a wall, which cracked on impact. He looked up to the wall. “Mantis ain’t gonna like that…”
“Like what?” Venom stopped for a moment.
Blue got up. “This crack in the wall…” He made a slight gesture with his hoof.
Then…
“Blue? What was that noise?”
Blue’s jaw and heart dropped. “Oh boy…” He looked at Venom with an apologetic gaze. “Can I tell you something before we die?”
“Er… what?” he asked.
Blue took a breath. “Well…” Blue took another breath. “...you’re on your own, kid!” With that, Blue quickly teleported away.
“What?! Wait, where are you—”
“Hey Venom? What was—” Mantis stared at the cracked wall. Then he glared at Venom. “WHAT HAPPENED?!”
“I… um…”
“Do you know how long this will take to rebuild?!” he yelled.
“It-it was… I—” Venom stuttered frantically.
“I don’t wanna hear it! You are going to stay here and help me fix this wall no matter how long it takes, Venom Stinger!”
“I-I’m sorry, okay?! It was an accident!”
“An accident?! How was it an accident?!” Mantis yelled.
“M-Me and Blue were sparring, a-and I-I—”
“So it was Blue?!”
“Um…”
“Oh that mother… BLUE FANG!” Mantis ran off, leaving Venom Stinger alone.
“Mantis, wait I—” He sighed, kicking a pebble with his hoof. He walked off, leaving behind the crack in the wall.
Venom stared at the ground as he slowly trotted through the hive as the sky began darkening. He looked up to him and his siblings' room… which had close to nothing, other than a couple of pillows, blankets, and mattresses. It also contained his four siblings and Thistle, of course.
Venom made his way towards his own mattress.
The others looked over. “Something wrong, Venom?” Scorch asked with concern.
The changeling merely buried his head in the pillow.
They walked over. “Venom?” Scorch repeated, kneeling down next to him. “What’s wrong? You can tell us.”
Venom looked up, biting his lower lip. He sighed. “Well, I got yelled at by Mantis after Blue abandoned me to my own devices.”
Spiny gasped. “He did what?! Why?!”
“Well, we were sparring and I kicked him into a wall, which cracked it.” Venom sighed. “I guess he didn’t want to take responsibility… then again, I kicked him into the wall,” he whimpered.
Some of them growled a bit. “Should we… uh… do something about him?” Cricket suggested quietly.
“Maybe later… should I tell Mantis that I kicked him into the wall though?”
“But Blue abandoned you! Let him face the consequences,” Scorch said, growling.
“Uh…”
Scorch sighed. “Sorry, I just… can’t believe that he’d abandon you like that…”
“I still kicked him into the wall though…”
“I guess…” Scorch sighed again.
The changeling pressed his face back into the pillow. The others sat next to him.
Thistle stared at Venom. She frowned a bit, reaching a hoof out to him. She slowly brushed his mane, causing him to look up, his eyes watering a tiny bit. “Venom?”
“...What?” he asked.
“Are… are you okay?”
“...What’s it look like?” he said, annoyed.
“Oh… okay… bad question then.”
“Oh ya think?” He buried his head back into the pillow.
Thistle sighed. She looked at the others, who stared silently. “Should I… let you guys take over?” she asked, sheepishly.
They shook their heads. “We’ll let you have a shot at it,” Flutterwings said.
“Uhh… okay.” She stared at Venom. “Hey Venom? Is there… anything I can do?” She asked.
Venom looked up. “What?” he grumbled.
“Well…” she sat next to him. His sapphire eyes looked into her bright magenta ones. She reached a hoof over, gently caressing his face.
Venom stared at her in disbelief, not saying anything. He tried to hide a blush when she wiped the tears out of his eyes. He blinked. “Uhh… thanks?” He attempted to smile. He sat up.
She smiled a bit. “Maybe we should get some shut eye,” Thistle suggested.
“Good idea. Maybe it’ll help you forget?” Spiny asked.
“I hope so.” Venom laid back and closed his eyes.
<•>+<•>+<•>
The Next Day…
“Mantis… is it done… we’ve been here since four in the mornin’...” Blue yawned.
Mantis stepped back. “Uhh… yeah, it’s done,” he said, satisfied with this job well done, yet he did absolutely nothing.
“Thank Chrysalis!” Blue fell back on his carapace, finally being able to rest.
“You’re free to go.” Mantis smiled
Blue smiled with less enthusiasm and began dragging himself to his room.
Venom Stinger came out of his room. He looked over to see Blue slugging himself across the ground. He thought about whether to say something or not. Why was he debating this? Blue abandoned him, but he himself was the one who knocked him into the wall. He sighed and walked over. “Blue?” he asked in a low voice.
Blue looked up. “Huh?” he said with drowsiness in his voice.
Venom sighed heavily. He didn’t know what to say. “I… I’m sorry I kicked you into that wall,” he blurted out quickly.
Blue smiled weakly. “And… I’m sorry I left you there…”
“Does Mantis even know I kicked you into the wall?”
“Well, I had to explain how it happened, so yeah…” Blue yawned. “But he let you off because apparently ‘it’s your fault for accepting the challenge, Blue Fang’...” Blue said, mimicking Mantis’ voice. He sighed and lazily plopped his head on the ground.
Venom sat down next to him. “What happened? What did he make you do?” he asked with slight concern.
“Well… we, or I, stayed up since four in the morning fixing the wall…” Blue said, yawning again.
“Geez…”
“Yeah… Mantis hates it when things get broken. Example, that wagon…”
Venom looked down.
“Something wrong, Venom?”
“Well, it’s…” he sighed. “Where is he anyway?”
“Probably in his room mapping out new gadgets and what not… something about a hoof-held automatic crossbow or something.”
The reformed changeling folded his forelegs.
“What?” Blue asked, tilting his head slightly.
“I… I don’t think I like him,” Venom admitted.
Blue shrugged. “Sorry about him… he has a heart… but he is sometimes easily angered…”
“Are you sure he has a heart? Because I don’t see it.”
Blue nodded. “He can be a great friend… he just… needs some time to get to know you guys…”
“Hmph.” Venom looked around. Some of the others were gathered nearby. He looked at Blue, who simply shrugged back at him.
“Go on. Don’t you have somewhere better to be than sit here and look at my sorry carapace?” Blue asked.
“...Okay then.” Venom stood up, walking towards everyone else. “Hey guys.” He forced a grin at them.
“Hey Venom,” Scorch greeted in return.
They looked over to Blue, who went back to shamefully dragging himself across the ground. They stared at him.
“What happened to him?” Flutterwings asked aloud.
“I was worked to death!” He called back.
“What?! Why?”
“Ask Mantis!” he called back again. “Or Venom!”
“Venom, what’s he going on about?” Spiny asked.
Venom smiled sheepishly. “Well I may or may not have kicked him into a wall, causing said to crack...”
They stared blankly.
He chuckled a bit. “Yeah…”
“Why?” Flutterwings asked.
“Well, we were um… sparring, and uh…” He ran a hoof through his mane. “Well… I guess we got a bit carried away. Like, really carried away.”
“We can see that,” Spiny said with a roll of his eyes.
“Uhh… is he gonna be okay?” Thistle asked.
“I dunno. I hope so.”
“Meh. He’ll walk it off,” Scorch quipped.
They stared at him.
“What?” he asked. “He will, won’t he?”
“I dunno. I mean, he did hit that wall pretty hard,” Venom replied. “I don’t even know where Mantis is.”
“Isn’t that him over there?” Cricket pointed somewhere.
They all looked in that direction, where they saw Mantis walking with Dagger, and Broken.
“Hmm…” Spiny scratched his head. “What is he holding?” he asked, pointing at the wrapped object Mantis was carrying.
Venom squinted. “No clue. Maybe we should just follow them and find out,” he suggested.
The others nodded a bit, and followed the three. “What do you guys think it is?” Flutterwings asked. “And why’s it wrapped like that?”
They looked at the cloth covering the object. “Dunno. But it must be important if it’s wrapped,” Thistle said.
The group kept walking for a while.
Then they found the three changelings, who met up with Hive and Zen. “Is that it Mantis?” Hive asked excitedly.
“...What’s ‘it’?” Flutterwings whispered.
“Let’s watch,” Venom replied.
Mantis unwrapped it, revealing a…
...wooden stick?
The six changelings’ jaws dropped.
Hive on the other hoof started hopping up and down like he had won the lottery. “Woohoo! It’s here! It’s finally here!” he picked it up and pointed it at a few bottles nearby.
Cricket blinked. “What in Equestria is he doing?”
Then, a few arrows rapidly flew from the ‘stick’. Okay, a lot of arrows flew from it, shattering each and every bottle.
“...Oh.”
They listened to what Mantis started saying.
“Iron, Night Vision and Thermal sights, light and maneuverable, holds up to fifty arrows, and you don’t even have to crank it like the old ones,” Mantis said, proudly.
Venom glared at Mantis, letting out a slight growl at him. The others stared at him. “Are you okay?” Flutterwings asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You know you can tell us.”
“Well, I’m still pretty ticked off at him.”
“Oh. Is there anything we can do?” The nymph tilted her head.
“I… I don’t know.” Venom looked at them.
Mantis turned his head towards the group. “Oh. Hey guys,” he waved a hoof with a smile.
None of them said anything.
He tilted his head. “Uh… guys..? What’s up…?”
They stared at him. Especially Venom, who stepped away from him.
Cricket cowered behind Venom. “I’m scared,” he whispered.
Broken looked over, before making his way to the group. “What’s wrong, fellas?”
“Well uh, you see… Blue and I… well…” Venom stuttered.
“Lemme guess, you two were sparring, and you kicked Blue into a wall, causing it to crack?”
Venom sputtered. “Wha- did Mantis already tell you?”
“Oh, I have my ways.” Broken winked, before his eyes flashed yellow for a brief second.
The reformed changeling shook his head as soon as he saw that. “What the-?”
Broken smiled. “So let me guess, you’re holding a grudge against Mant, aren’t you?”
“Well… uhh…”
Broken looked at the others. “Well?”
Cricket shuddered slightly.
Broken held a hoof up. “Hold that thought.” His eyes flashed yellow again. “Hey, Cricket?”
“Y-Y-Yeah?”
“Would you mind stepping a few feet to the left?” Broken asked, calmly.
“Uh… okay.” Cricket stepped away.
A few apples and other fruits landed right where Cricket was originally standing.
Cricket jumped a bit. “Uh… What was that?”
They looked up to see Kydra flying; carrying a basket of fruit. “Oh! Sorry! Is anyone hurt?” she called out.
Broken waved. “No! We’re all good!”
“Okay! I’ll carry these to the nymphs' area!” Kydra said, flying away.
Cricket stared in awe. “What was that all about?”
“What? The falling fruit?” Broken asked, acting oblivious. “Or is it something else?”
“The fruit, obviously!”
Broken chuckled. “Heh. So, it’s not the fact that I just predicted the future?” he asked.
“Wait? You can do that?” Venom asked. “How?!”
“Yeah. For example, Dagger’s gonna trip over something right about…” he paused, and another flash of yellow came through his eyes. “...Now.”
“Ahh! Oof!”
“See?” Broken said.
“...” Venom glanced around frantically.
Broken chuckled. “It’s an old ability called ‘Foresight’, appropriately named by Captain Foresight. It allows the user to see into the future.”
“Er… You’re trying to change the subject, aren’t ya?”
“Heh. What do you mean?” Broken smirked.
“I don’t see what this has to do with Mantis.”
“Well, my Foresight already told me about your grudge. So, I wanted to try and help.”
“What do grudges have to do with the future?”
“Well, that’s what I don’t know… so I want to fix it before it gets worse.”
“...Don’t you have a date, Mister?”
“Oh buck!” Broken looked around frantically. “I forgot about my date with Rose! What time is it?!”
“Uh… about seven,” Spiny informed him.
Broken started panicking even more. “Oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot oh shoot! I’m gonna be late!” He quickly ran off, heading towards his room.
They stared quietly. “Uhh… what was that?” Thistle asked. “Did time really pass by that fast?”
“I mean, you were stalking me all day!” Mantis called out.
Cricket recoiled. The others gulped a bit.
Hive walked over. “Calm down Mant. Take a chill pill.”
Mantis whirled around to face him. “Like you should be talking,” he snapped back.
Hive sighed and pulled out a syringe. “Alright Mant, you need some sleep.” With that, Hive stuck Mantis with the syringe.
“Wha—” Mantis started wobbling, before falling on his side, asleep.
“...Uhhh—”
Hive looked at the six changelings. “Don’t worry. He’ll be asleep for a few minutes or so. You’ll have a lot of free time,” Hive chuckled.
The reformed changeling let out a huffy breath.
“What?” Hive asked.
“It’s… nothing.”
“Uhh… okay.” Hive began carrying the sleeping changeling to his room.
Venom stared as the pair of changelings departed. He sighed a bit, before turning the other direction and trotting slowly, the others closely behind him.
Meanwhile…
“Come on! Come on! Come on! Where is it?!” Broken continued going through drawers as Blue watched.
“Where’s what?” Blue asked, tilting his head.
“That ring I bought! Argh! I need it so badly!” Broken lifted Blue up, then sat him down.
Blue smiled. “You’re already wearing a suit, you don’t need to bring a ring.”
“But… but…”
“Broken. A ring won’t make a difference. If you try to buy love, you’ll never truly be happy.”
“...”
Blue walked over to his brother and rubbed his carapace. “She’ll be happy to see you, I’m sure of it. Maybe—”
“I found it!”
Blue facehoofed. “Dang it Broken…”
“Sorrygottaheadtothecafenowbye!” Broken called out, before running straight out of the room.
Blue looked at him. “Good luck?”
Broken continued running until…
“Hey Broken! What’s the rush?”
He stopped and sighed. “...Hey Mixer…” he groaned. “I… I can’t talk right now.”
“Where are you off to?”
“A date with someone beautiful.”
Mixer smirked. “Beautiful? Maybe I should pay her a visit.”
“Wait, what?!”
“You heard me,” Mixer snarled with a grin.
Broken stared at Mixer. Before punching him in the face. “Yeah! Take that Mixer!” Broken spit on the unconscious changeling. “Say something now!” He started to run off, but came back. “And I’ve seen how you park your wagons! You take up two slots! You park like a jerk!” He ran off again.
Broken ran until he found Dagger. “Hey, can you teleport me to the café In Manehattan?”
“Uhhh…”
“Please?!”
“Okay, okay, here.” He lit up his horn and teleported Broken to the café.
“Thanks!”
“No problem. Now, I’ll be getting back. I need to tell everyone Mantis got tranquilized.”
“What?!”
“Bye Broken! Good luck!” With that, Dagger teleported back.
Broken stared. “Thanks…” he turned to the entrance. He took a breath. Here goes nothing. He took a breath, opened the door and walked in.