“Pharynx, don’t you dare-!”
“Will you stop treating me like a foal, Thorax! I can walk and that’s enough!”
“But you’re still sick!”
“And we’ve confirmed that pony and changeling biology is different enough that it’s not a problem for them. You and Apex have been with me this whole time so you’re not going to get sick eithe-” he broke off, coughing.
Pharynx was trying to walk down the hallway, Thorax tailing him. Apex had gone ahead to breakfast, wanting to play with Flurry Heart a bit. They’d been living at the Empire for a week, and Pharynx was nearly back to his normal self. Though it seemed his attitude had returned with his health.
Thorax and Pharynx bantered for a bit as they made their way down the hallway. The servants and guards paid them no mind, already used to the sight of Apex or Thorax wandering the halls. Since Pharynx was clearly not at his full strength and thus not a threat, the sight of the new changeling was nothing worthy of a panic. They'd gotten used to it anyway, as all the changelings had agreed to remain in their natural forms unless given permission by the princess or Shining, and so far, this rule had not been broken.
They entered the dining room, where Apex was sitting in a chair next to Flurry Heart’s high chair. Sunburst also dined with the royal family, and sat opposite Flurry. Shining and Cadence sat on Flurry’s other side.
“Good morning Thorax! Oh, and hello Pharynx, this is a surprise.” Cadence greeted the purple-eyed changeling with amusement as he sat down beside his brother, the two clearly frustrated with each other.
"What's going on?" Sunburst asked, noticing the glares the two were giving each other.
“Pharynx decided he was feeling well enough to join us.” Thorax remarked, the dryness to his tone telling them these were Pharynx’s words, not his.
"Thorax is acting like he's older than me and knows better." Pharynx added, glowering at his younger brother. Shining laughed.
"You two remind me of how Twily and I used to act."
"You constantly argued and could only agree on a couple things that were usually insignificant enough that they don't count?" Pharynx asked, and Shining shook his head.
"Well, no. We never had fights like you two. We did compete pretty often though."
"Thorax knows better than to compete with me." Pharynx responded, grinning. Thorax rolled his eyes -- though it was hard to tell -- and nudged his brother. The two exchanged glances for a moment, before Thorax huffed.
"Just because you're older doesn't mean you're smarter than me!"
"Um... where did that come from?" Sunburst asked, and Thorax blushed.
"I didn't think I said that out loud..."
"Well, you did." Pharynx turned to face the others. "Changelings born in two-egg clutches; or twins, as ponies call them; usually have an ability to mentally transmit emotions and occasionally thoughts if they put enough effort into it. It also helps us sense when our twin is in danger."
"Fascinating! So it's like a sort of... intuition?" Sunburst asked.
"Yeah. For example, when we were looking at each other before, Pharynx was transmitting smugness and authority, which told me that he was mocking me because he thinks since he's older he's automatically smarter than me. I was trying to transmit my response mentally but I guess it didn't work." Thorax added.
"Because you're an idiot." Pharynx said.
"Pharynx!"
"Well, I can transmit them, and you can't, so who's better at it?"
"Yeah, well... you... uh... you snore."
"...That was a pathetic attempt, Thorax."
Thorax glowered at him for a moment, before the two smiled at each other. Shining, Cadence, and Sunburst stared at the two for a moment as they suddenly seemed much friendlier.
"...Did you do that mental thing again?" Shining asked.
"Yes. Don't worry about it, Prince, if you don't like us having private conversations I'll just mimic Thorax and say whatever I'm thinking." Pharynx grinned at him. "I'm sure you'd love to hear about how I intend to prove I'm a better warrior than you."
Shining scoffed. "As if. It's fine if you want to have privacy like that, just maybe tone it down in public? It's a little awkward seeing you two just staring at each other."
"We will. I can see how that would look weird." Thorax said, and Pharynx mumbled something that sounded like an agreement.
Having finally stopped their bantering, the brothers turned to greet Apex, who hadn't noticed any of their conversation despite being right next to them. He was too busy babbling to Flurry, who was giggling and laughing from her position in her high chair. They had discovered the nymph was still young enough that he could comprehend most of what she said, and respond.
“Good morning Apex.” Thorax said, smiling at the nymph, who beamed back.
“Morning Papa Thorax. Morning Avunculus-Pharynx.”
The room went silent as Pharynx choked on the water he was drinking.
“A-Avun… what?!” Pharynx glared at the nymph, slamming his glass back onto the table. Apex merely giggled and watched him.
“Do… we want to know what that word means?” Shining asked
“It just means ‘uncle’.” Thorax translated, smiling at Apex.
“Grub…” Pharynx snarled, and the nymph giggled innocently. “Ugh. Did you put him up to this, Thorax?”
“He asked. All I did was tell him what Uncle was in the old tongue.” Thorax replied
“Ugh…”
“So, I take it that you…?” Cadence looked at Thorax expectantly.
“Mhm. Apex took it well, though, so I suppose I was nervous for no reason…” Thorax said, pulling Apex closer.
“Nearly gave me a cavity from the sugary sweetness those two were pouring out after Thorax told him.” Pharynx coughed slightly before punching Thorax in the shoulder. “Not that I mind, was taking him way too long to just tell the grub already.”
“Er… did I miss something?” Sunburst asked
“Pater doesn’t mean friend, it translates to ‘father’.” Pharynx explained, taking a large sip of water. “So now, we have ‘Papa Thorax’ instead of ‘Pater-Thorax’.”
Apex giggled and hugged Thorax. “Bu’ can I call you Avunculus-Pharynx?”
“I… well…” Pharynx stammered, making Shining snort in amusement. “I… just don't do it in public.”
“Yay!”
“And it never leaves this room.” Pharynx added, glaring at everyone else.
“I’m sorry, who died and put you in charge?” Shining quipped, eyes flashing with amusement. Unfortunately, Pharynx was unable to tell it was a joke in time.
“Oh please, mother would never relinquish her throne to a traitor of a son like m-” Pharynx broke off, eyes widening as he glanced at Thorax, who stammered.
“U-Uh…” Thorax flinched as the room grew quiet, and even Flurry stopped squirming in her high chair.
“Excuse me?” Shining's eyes narrowed as he eyed the two. “Are you saying that you two… you're the children of…”
Thorax and Pharynx hung their heads, looking away from the ponies, and Thorax gave a brief nod of confirmation. Cadence put a hoof to her mouth in shock.
“I… I wasn’t aware she had sons…”
“We grew up alongside all the other nymphs, treated as normally as they were.” Pharynx replied tonelessly. “We have differences from them, such as our color schemes, but otherwise we grew up like normal drones. Besides, I would hardly call the queen a suitable mother.”
“What do you mean?” Sunburst asked
Thorax hesitated, then spoke. “I… I don’t believe we should discuss this out in the open… Pharynx and I would be happy to explain to you in private, but… it’s a lot of things that Apex and Flurry Heart…”
“Understood.” Shining nodded “If you wouldn’t mind us perhaps discussing in private during a lunch meeting or something like that?”
“That would be fine.” Pharynx replied, and Thorax nodded nervously.
“Alright. But sometime soon, we will have to talk about it.” Cadence said, but she smiled softly at them. “But I think you two shouldn’t have to worry about it at the moment.”
“Thank you, your majesty.” Thorax said, giving her a hesitant smile.