//------------------------------// // Change Of Plans // Story: Imperial Revision // by The Sound of Loneliness //------------------------------// General Pharynx sat down on a bed. Some poor fellow is sleeping elsewhere again, the General chuckled once. The guest rooms weren’t a fit for a soldier, a pampered soldier is no good. Pharynx considered staying for a few more days, to whip these capital sissys into shape. It wasn’t surprising they were this way, considering how weak their Captain was. Who put a captain in command of a regiment anyway? A door suddenly creaked open, making Pharynx lift a brow, “What in Tartarus do you, pony yokels… Thorax?!” The General cried in surprise. “Hi… brother,” the changeling in the doorway shuffled his hooves. “Oh, dammit, Thorax, where’s your damn uniform?! You are going to embarrass me again!” Pharynx quickly recovered. “Sorry, Pharynx. I lost my uniform some time ago, sorry.” Thorax lowered his eyes. Pharynx sighed. "Well, alright..." he gave up. "I remember you used to love doing this thing." Pharynx extended his foreleg in invitation. Thorax immediately perked up and leapt over to his brother and embraced him by the neck. Pharynx awkwardly frowned over Thorax's shoulder, "Yeah, there we go. Just like old times." "Pharynx, I missed you so much! It was so lonely!" "Heh! Regretted running away, did you?" Pharynx chuckled. "Told you it was a bad idea. Did ponies treat you bad?" "No, Pharynx!" Thorax rapidly shook his head, "Princess Cadance was very welcoming." "Ah! So that's where you've been hiding." "Crystal Empire is a wonderful and quiet place! The ponies were friendly, I didn't even have to wear any disguises!" Thorax excitedly began his tale. "They even were nice enough to let me have some love once a few days!" "Just like that?" "Yes! It turns out ponies have no qualms just sharing! As long as it is not enough to hurt them." "You are pulling it!" Pharynx mocked disbelief, just to get Thorax to talk more. General knew full well of how prone are ponies to defying expectations. To their stunned bewilderment, the Imperial Army didn't round them up in POW camps, but instead simply left them be. They did not even disarm the leftover units. More to it, they are even attempting to help restore vital infrastructure and offer them to feed off volunteers. If only it was enough. "-so that's how I ended up in the Crystal City," Thorax concluded. Pharynx felt slightly guilty of missing the whole story. "Okay, enough with the hugging," Pharynx said, his legs already hurting. "So you were in Crystal Empire?" General sat back on his bed. "Yes?" Thorax uncertainly responded. "Oh, Thorax, for the love of... eh... how the hell do the ponies say it?" "Celestia," Thorax prompted. "Yeah! For the love of Celestia, Thorax, can you stop being a dweeb, sit down and tell me something?" Thorax swiftly dropped on the bed next to Pharynx, waiting for his next instructions. Pharynx rolled his eyes, "Thorax, if you were in Crystal Empire, how in Tartarus did you end up here?" "I am on a mission!" Thorax proudly explained. "What mission?" Pharynx asked in bewilderment. "I can't tell you, Pharynx. It's a secret mission." Pharynx proceeded to loudly facehoof himself. "Okay, fine," Pharynx gave up, he remembered this game too well. "Who gave you the mission? Princess Cadance? Did you come with her?" "No, Pharynx. The Princess only arrived recently. I was here for months," Thorax then frowned for a moment, "Well, not exactly here. Her Majesty only let me live in the palace recently, I used to live in Princess Twilight's Castle, together with Sir Spike." "Uuuh..." Pharynx stretched. This game suddenly got a lot more interesting, "Thorax, did I get you right? You said Nightmare Moon herself let you live in her palace?" "Of course," Thorax responded, slightly confused with the question. "Who else could have?" "Huh, yeah, really. No one else could," Pharynx propped his head. "You know her very well?" "Well... no, not really. I only managed to talk to her a couple of times, she is always very busy with royal business. She seems kind though, even if a little... stressed." "Kind?" Pharynx sharply turned towards his brother. "Thorax, just for the record, you know there was a war between us and her ponies, right?" "Well, Chrysalis provoked her, didn't she? Her Majesty just did what she had to do." Pharynx cocked his brow at Thorax calling the Queen by name. "And... Chrysalis? Have you seen her?" Thorax suddenly twitched and began violently coughing. "Choked on your own spit again?" Pharynx sighed, "Well, you need a slap anyway." Having said that, Pharynx gave his brother a heavy pat against his back. "T-thank y-you," Thorax shakily said. "Take a second to recover. So, what's with our Queen?" “Our Queen is dead, Pharynx!” Thorax suddenly blasted out. “...What?” dumbstruck Pharynx gasped. “Did this pony scum...” “No, no, no, Pharynx! Ponies didn’t do it! It’s Shadow.” “Who in Tartarus is that?!” “She is… an Imperial agent. She is a changeling too.” “Hmm… an alias… You know her?” “I met her during one of her missions,” Thorax reluctantly nodded. “Chrysalis left us no choice, the Empress released her out of her cell and she attacked us during our stay in Ponyville.” “What do you mean ‘us?’ So you were serious about that whole secret mission thing?” Thorax reluctantly nodded again. “Haha! I’ll be damned!" Pharynx suddenly laughed. "Well, brother, looks like you just proved us all wrong! Before anyone saw it you made a monarch’s henchling! If only it did us any good,” Pharynx's joy ended as fast as it appeared. “If our Queen is dead that means we are done for, all of us,” Pharynx stated straightly, in military fashion. “I expected a different reaction,” Thorax carefully noted. “What? You thought I am going to explode and strangle you, or something?” Pharynx sighed before continuing, “I kinda want to, to be honest. But what’s the point now? And... I sort of expected this to happen anyway at some point, Chrysalis had it coming for a long time, there's a lot of creatures in the world who'd see her dead. Maybe it’s better this way, at least she didn’t die from the hooves of these pony maggots,” Pharynx said bitterly and made a long pause to think/ “Gather your things, Thorax. We’ve got nothing more to do here,” Pharynx said. “I fear this will not come to pass, General.” In the doorway now stood a mare with fiery mane and determined expression, “Your service is still required.” Thorax jumped back to his hooves and immediately bowed deeply. “Ma’am, I am afraid I have to decline. I must bring the news back to our people and decide on what to do next,” Pharynx recovered. “I am sure you can understand.” “Dearest General, it is clear to me that it is you who would have to understand. You are not being asked.” The mare stepped into the tiny room. “You,” she gave Thorax a glance. “Make yourself scarce.” Thorax mechanically made a step towards the door. “Halt!” Pharynx ordered. “He isn’t going anywhere. You want me? It's happening on my conditions.” The mare gave the General a long and heavy stare. The Princess suddenly grinned to the Pharynx, "I suppose you have the right, dearest General, if you wish to endanger your own brother by drawing him into royal matters, who am I to stop you?" "What do you want from me?" Pharynx finally lost his patience. "Oh, nothing special," the mare dropped dismissively. "I am sure you will understand, this is a matter of family. You see, my sister has a certain... interest in you," she proceeded to theatrically roll her eyes, “Poor filly spent the entire night watching you bark at her Guards, not even important guests would be a reason for her to pull away.” “Princess, is this some sort of a prank?” Pharynx asked straight. “General, I am long past ‘pranking’ now,” the Princess dangerously lowered her voice, dropping her act immediately. “You will remain here until my sister decides otherwise.” “And what do I get? You no longer have our Queen, you have no chips to bargain.” “Once again, General,” the mare lit her horn, space beginning to warp inside the room, “I fear you misunderstand. You. Are. Not. Being. Asked.”