//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Language Barriers // Story: The Side Character is a Deer // by Deergenerate //------------------------------// The young changeling sat in a carriage seat across from Aeternum, his head lowered. Bags sat under his eyes, but he was in no way tired. Instead, he was trying to process the events that had unfolded only an hour before. He let in a shakey inhale as he looked up, staring up at the massive alicorn. The alicorn's golden, silver and copper mane swirled through his side of the carriage, completely obscuring the wall behind him as he smiled down at the changeling. "Why so glum child?" Aeternum asked, leaning forwards, looming above the young one. "This is a new golden opportunity for you." "O-opportunity?" The changeling asked quietly. Aeternum's eyes widened for a second before a smile returned to his face. "Ah wonderful, you can speak Equish, I was worried I'd have to teach it to you." The alicorn said with a laugh before sitting up. "Yes! An opportunity. You are my new... test subject if you will. You are going to be used to determine if your species can be taught to... unlearn... their 'customs' and be educated in our ways. The right ways." The changeling looked down again when Aeternum said this, gulping. The silence returned for a couple of minutes before Aeternum cleared his throat. "I never did ask your name, did I?" Aeternum asked as the carriage started to move, heading northwards. "U'val" The changeling said, looking away from the alicorn. "Hmph, typical," Aeternum said with a sudden frown. "I've always hated your species names. Too many apostrophes, not enough syllables. I think the first order of business will be finding you a better name." Aeternum rubbed his chin for a second. "Well, your species does have an obsession with that ghastly metal." Aeternum shuddered for a second. "Blech, gold is such a better color. Even silver and copper are superior to it in a way." Aeternum perked up. "That's it. Your new name. Platina." He said with a laugh. "Yes, sir." 'Platina' said as he looked up at the alicorn, misery rapidly building in his eyes, but Aeternum merely shook his head, grabbing the changeling by the chin with a hoof. "I told you, son," Aeternum ordered, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I am your new father, refer to me as such." Aeternum instantly sat up chuckling. "Of course, you won't be an only child, I have two other sons for you to bond with and a future daughter! My eldest is betrothed, how wonderful, yes?" Platina merely looked out the window, staring at the destruction of his home as the carriage started to lift into the air. The castle looked as though it had been smashed, there were barely any walls left standing. And that didn't even cover the blood. A slick coating of cyan liquid covered the stones and grounds he had been raised in. Fires burned through the courtyards he had played in. Towers he had jumped off of when he was trying to fly sat collapsed on the ground. The Atashgah he had prayed in every Tuesday since the day he could walk was the last resting place of his mother, and his father was nowhere to be seen. It didn't take a genius to tell that he too had been killed. Platina felt it hard to breathe as he turned back to Aeternum. "A-and what are their names... f-father?" Aeternum laughed, a proud smile coming to his face. "The princes, Solaris and Auream." Ocellus and her siblings said nothing in regards to what they assumed was a question. They merely stared, fearfully, at the tall armored changeling in front of them. It merely stared back at them, his helmet completely obscuring any emotion. For all they know, he could have been staring daggers at them, smiling friendly, or even crying maybe... For minutes on end, the two groups stared at one another. Ocellus dared not make the first move. Slowly changeling's helmet tilted as he looked from them to the sparkly white puddle at his hooves, then back to them. Finally, a metallic reverberation ran through the room, a distorted sound that almost resembled someone clearing their throats. "Ah, krah ann tzal tek uriah." He spoke cocking his head to the side. Then he placed a hoof on his chest. "Uriah Ka'Rel. Ann veran Kes'kel?" "W-what is... he saying Ocellus?" Lumbar whimpered hiding behind his sister. Instantly, after the words left his mouth, the armored ling seemed to recoil, taking a step back. "Equish?" He said, staring down at them, they could almost see a look of pure confusion behind his visor. "Ann ack-es Equish?" "I recognize that word." Ocellus suddenly said, with a gulp. "Y-yes, we are speaking Equish..." She slowly took a step forwards. "My name is Ocellus, and these are Lumbar and Axilia." She said, pointing to herself, then to her siblings. The armored 'ling started to look around, tapping one of his hooves almost... nervously. "Ach... tel uriah ult Kes, parte." He said, a new desperate tone filling his voice. Slowly he started to walk forwards. He paused at the edge of the puddle, before very carefully stepping over it. Then he continued his slow walk towards Ocellus. The three changelings flinched as he bent down to be eye level with them. "O-ocellus what do we do?" Axilia suddenly said as she visibly shrunk. "We can't understand a single word this guy is saying, b-but he clearly wants something. D-do we run away?" Ocellus gulped. "I-I don't kn-" She was cut off by a grumbling. It sounded like... a stomach rumbling. The three siblings instantly snapped their eyes to the changeling as he let out a groan, a hoof coming to his stomach. Lumbar suddenly smiled. "Oh I get it!" He said with a laugh. "The poor guy is just hungry! We should take him back to the hive so he can eat!" Ocellus looked back at him, concern growing on her features. "A-are you sure about that? W-what if he's dangerous?" "W-well we did see his face, he is reformed like us, that means he shares love, right?" Axilia filled in for her brother. Lumbar's smile widened. "Yeah, he was probably a guy who discovered how to do it centuries ago, and Chrysalis sealed him in here!" Ocellus gulped, she shook her head. "King Thorax is away, so I guess we will have to show him to Pharynx if we do bring him back. He probably won't be happy with us bringing a stranger to the Hive." Ocellus cleared her throat, turning back to the ling. "Excuse me, sir?" She asked. The armored creature looked back to her, his lense glinting in the light of the room as he craned his neck downwards. "C-can you transform? Like this?" She exclaimed before she disappeared in a flash of light and cold fire, and in her place stood a field mouse. Both of her siblings did the same. The ling cocked his head to the side before there was yet another flash in the room. Like Ocellus and the others, cyan fire engulfed the armored ling, though it was tinted with white lines that almost gave the flame a spiral appearance. When the burst of fire was done, they were joined by a cyan armored mouse. Ocellus chuckled. He actually looked kinda cute like that. Ocellus wasted no time in gesturing for the other mice to follow her as she went into the crack in the wall. After a rather long walk through the dark, they finally returned to the cave the nymphs had been sheltering in. As soon as they were out, the changelings all dropped their mouse disguises at once. "Ocellus! Look!" Lumbar suddenly cried with a smile, pointing to the cave entrance. The rain had stopped. The three siblings let out sighs of relief, they would be able to get back to the hive before nightfall, even by foot... er... hoof. The armored ling, however, merely cocked his head to the side staring at the monolithic pile of rock and dirt that constituted the changeling hive. He turned his head to stare at the nymphs before looking back. He seemed... distressed. Ocellus didn't pay him much mind, he must have just been confused at the fact that the hive was overgrown with nature now. As far as she knew, the hive was all the changelings had ever known. Instead, she walked forwards, putting a hoof outside of the cave. She let out a small sigh. "The air outside is still a little too damp for us to fly, so it looks like we are going to have to walk." She said, shaking her head. Both Axilia and Lumbar instantly groaned. "Awww, can't we just wait in the cave until we can fly?" Axilia grumbled. Ocellus shook her head. "Nope." She said. "Mom and Dad must be super worried about us, and the hive must have already sent guards looking for us! We have to get home asap!" The eldest ling started walking. Initially, her two siblings stayed still, pouting, but they quickly started to follow their older sister when the armored ling walked past them. The four lings began their hike through the forests that surrounded the changeling hive. The walk was quiet, every so often Ocellus would glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still following after them. Eventually, their hike took them into a small clearing. The leaves and trees around them looked tattered, bites and scratches ripped through several of them, and more than a couple looked dead. Ocellus let out a small whimper of sadness. "Aww, these poor trees. They must not have healed from the Maulwurf yet." Ocellus said, approaching one of the trees with a sigh, rubbing her hoof along the bark. She opened her mouth again to say something, but she was interrupted by a deep gravelly yell. "HEY!" A voice cried out to them. Instantly the four lings turned their gaze to the other edge of the clearing, to see a tall deep greenish-blue changeling with red antlers and red highlights marching towards them, anger written in his purple eyes. The three nymphs instantly turned white. They didn't notice as the armored ling started to shake. "Where the heck were you three! Everyone in the hive is freaking out and forced me to come out here looking for you!" Pharynx roared as he stomped towards them, eyes narrowing. "And who the heck is that!?" Ocellus hung her head and sighed as she started walking over to Pharynx to meet him midway, her brother and sister following after her. The armored ling merely stood still, his gaze frozen on Pharynx. "We're sorry Pharynx." Ocellus whimpered, "We were just exploring and we lost track of time and-" "That's not an excuse. I just hope you weren't in the rain long, because everyone is probably gonna blame me. If you catch a cold or something." Pharynx hissed, sitting down and crossing his hooves over his chest. "And you still didn't tell me who this guy is." "Oh uh..." Ocellus said, looking back at him. He was frozen in place still. "We found him in the cave we were hiding from the rain in. We don't know his name or anything b-but he seems nice..." "Did you're parents not tell you that you shouldn't talk to strangers?" Pharynx said with a roll of his eyes. Just then a voice rang out from the armored ling. "What is going on?" He asked as he shook. Instantly Ocellus's jaw dropped. "Y-you could speak equish this entire time?" She asked, confusion ripe in her voice, but he ignored her. "You speak the language of the Equines. You live in a hive." He said, sitting down, looking down at his hooves. He looked up, pointing to Pharynx. "You are a vurion, but you wear no armor!" "I'm a what now?" Pharynx asked with a raised eyebrow. Again he was ignored. "How long... How long did my imprisonment last? How long has it been since the end of the Platinum Empire? Please, tell me!" He asked, standing up and walking towards them, his legs shaking uncontrollably. Pharynx turned his gaze down to Ocellus, before taking a step forwards. "Uhhh look, I'm not very good at this consoling crap, but you need to calm down. We don't know anything you're saying, but if you come with us to the hive, I'm sure my brother or someone could answer some of your questions." He said, holding up his hooves. The armored ling turned back to him, his visor once again glinting in the light. "Y-yes. Pl-" He started, but he was interrupted when the ground started to rumble. The lings all looked down at once, horror filling their eyes. Pharynx and Ocellus knew exactly what that rumbling meant. In a single movement, Pharnyx grabbed Ocellus, while the armored one did the same to Lumbar and Axilia. No sooner did they jump out of the way, than did a massive mole-shaped monster, larger than even a manticore, burst out of the ground with a rain of stone and dirt. They were both sent flying. Pharynx flew back first into a tree. There was a loud snapping sound as he smashed into it. He let out a scream of pain as he dropped Ocellus to the ground. She barely managed to dodge out of the way when Pharynx hit the ground, the trunk of the tree following after him. With a crash it hit the dirt, pinning the changeling prince to the ground. The armored ling on the other hand managed to slow his flight through the air, slamming one of his forehooves into the ground while the other remained wrapped around Lumbar and Axilia. The ling left a large trench in the ground as he skidded to a halt, landing in a crouched position. He quickly set both of the nymphs down. Ocellus gasped as she turned her gaze to the purple and blue mole-shaped monster before them. Two yellow eyes scanned the area before they settled on Pharynx, pinned under the tree. It suddenly slammed both of it's arms onto the ground, claws digging through the dirt as it let out a violent roar. It was then that Ocellus noticed a very large scar on it's arm... one that resembled a bite mark that perfectly resembled the creature's own teeth. "The Maulwurf never left!" Ocellus cried. Then it charged directly at Pharynx. Somehow, the creature recognized the ling. And it didn't like him, not one bit. "Get into cover." The armored creature hissed, standing up. A slot opened near the back of his armor, and he pulled a cyan metal rod out of it. With a single movement, he extended the rod, and a pure white halberd blade shot from the tip. He twirled it slightly before charging forwards. Ocellus and Pharynx both flinched when the Maulwurf reached them. With a roar, it raised both of it's claws into the air and brought them down towards the two changelings. Ocellus screamed and looked away, while Pharynx let out a grunt as he tried to push the log off him. Then there was a sudden crash. Both of them looked up to see the armored changeling standing on top of the log with his back hooves, his forehooves holding up his halberd horizontally, which had blocked the Maulwurf's downwards strike. With a grunt, the armored ling, pushed the Maulwurf away, which stumbled back. He quickly lept off the log with a side flip and ignited his horn and antlers. The entire log was wrapped in an aura of cyan energy, before lifting into the air. It then swung through the air like a club, slamming directly into the Maulwurf's chest, knocking it over onto it's back. While the Maulwurf struggled to catch it's breath and sit up, the armored ling reached a hoof down for Pharynx to take. "Stand with me, Vurion. It is battle time." Pharynx blinked twice before nodding, grabbing his fellow ling's hoof and standing up next to him. "Thanks... uh... never caught your name." Pharynx said as he ignited his own horn. "I was named Ka'Rel, brother." The armored ling said as he rolled his neck and adjusted his grip on his polearm. The clearing shook as the Maulwurf slammed it's arms down and stood up, another roar leaving it's maw. The two changeling warriors stood side to side as it turned towards them. Like a charging gorillia it ran towards them, slamming it's arms down as it charged. Pharynx took the initiative, quickly transforming into the four-legged five-eyed beast he referred to as his combat form, while Ka'Rel braced himself readying his halberd. Ka'Rel was the first to spring into action when the Maulwurf tried pouncing at them. The armored changeling used the blunt pommel of his halberd to stab into one of the Maulwurf's eyes. The creature cried out, coming to a stop and grasping at it's eye. The mole-shaped monster cried out in pain, before stumbling back when Pharynx rammed directly into it's chest knocking it over. "How many times do we have to teach you this lesson!" Pharynx roared in a bestial tone as he rose into the air, before dive-bombing directly into the creature's stomach. The Maulwurf let out a gasp as the breath was once again knocked out of it's lungs. It grunted and wheezed as it rolled onto it's stomach, desperately trying to rise to it's feet and claws. The Maulwurf barely could do sit up before Ka'Rel jumped into the air, sticking a leg out in a flying dropkick directly into the Maulwurf's face, knocking it over. The beast landed on it's back once more, as it finally opened it's wounded bloodshot eye to see Pharynx hovering in the air above it. The combat formed ling landed on the mole's chest with a growl. "Find somewhere else to eat already!" he roared violently. The Maulwurf let out a whimper, not dissimilar to one you'd hear from a dog before it desperately spun around and started to dig, fleeing underground. Pharynx let out a sigh of relief as he transformed back into his normal form, wiping sweat from his brow. "I hate those things." He said, shaking his head as he saw a mound of dirt rise into the air, quickly speeding off through the forest away from the hive. "Waaay to stubborn for their own good." "When I was but a nymph those beasts kept themselves to the western badlands, past the fringe of the Empire. I am thankful for that, their ceaseless digging would have no doubt weakened the foundations of our cities." Ka'Rel said as he landed next to Pharynx shaking his head. "Some engine of destruction must be at work to push them this far east." Pharynx paused, turning to look at Ka'Rel. "Uhhh... we are in the western badlands... I think." Ka'Rel instantly straightened up. "What?" "Ehhh, at least I assume as much. We are pretty far west, at least on Equestrian maps, and we live in a forest surrounded on all sides by wastelands. If that doesn't say 'western badlands' I don't know what does." Ka'Rel was silent for a second as he turned his gaze back to the hive. He ignored Lumbar as he suddenly cheered out to Pharynx, shouting things like 'that was so cool!' and 'How did you guys beat that thing?!' "Things have certainly changed."