Penal ‘lings were strange. Or at least this one was.
Locust rather hoped she wasn’t the only one who thought that.
Pigeon (A rather ridiculous name) guarded (which consisted of sitting and doing nothing) and slept. Until he decided enough was enough and took some of the pitiful amount of sleep he had and used it to wander. Nothing more. Explore. That was it. As far as the 'lings watching him were aware, he wasn't doing anything involving escape or harm. Nothing major, anyway. He walked and talked. Of course, he was often talked to rudely, though that never seemed to effect him.
Well, except that one time... she winced. Pigeon had been much more careful after that.
Though it was when he tried to go outside of the hive that he found out that he wasn't allowed to do that, being watched or not. He likely wasn't surprised.
He still learned things. It wasn't long before he learned why he was the only one with green eyes.
Locust grimaced in an almost violent way. It was an act of desperation, but with it they lost all a remnant of the hives prosperity. All they had left of its former prosperity was a convict. One who likely couldn't remember what he did to become one.
To his credit, he did his job.
At the very least he freed up warriors to do their job and fight the moles. It was almost as though they smelled the state of weakness they were in.
She snorted. She was supposed to be out there fighting alongside the others, but instead she was supposed to order around a coward. A traitor. Was this her punishment for not succeeding? Maybe she hadn't fought as hard as she should have?
She shook her head. No, she had tried her best.
Maybe-
"Oh, hello."
She had been so lost in her thoughts she had almost collided into Pigeon who had managed to evade her in time. He was clutching a rat in his... rather oddly shaped magic levitation. Four things that were like mole feet, but less sharp and more stubby with the inclusion of another of the things on the side, clearly aiding in grasping the squirming creature.
He was looking at it like it was an infinite love supply. She stared at him. His greeting was clearly subconscious.
He acted like he didn't know he could do magic, or just never thought of it.
Wait.
"Pigeon" Locust said slowly "Do you remember being able to use magic?"
He was broken out of his thoughts and turned to her. There was a period of silence.
"No."
Locust stared at him, unsure what to tell him.
"Do you know anything other than levitation?"
"No?"
It was ridiculous.
"Pigeon."
"...yes?"
"Give that rat to a drone so that they can produce more hethicus."
"What's hethicus? I've heard it before, but nothing more than a mention from Commander Pharynx or Thorax."
"..."
"..."
"You don't know what hethicus is?! How much was removed from that mind of yours?! What do you think the entire hive is made of!" There she goes again, not being able to stop her mouth from regurgitating everything she's thinking. She should find a way to stop that.
"The walls are made up of organic matter?"
Ocellus had left the nursery for quite a long time. By changeling standards, she was an adult. It likely should have been a distant memory by now.
She still loved to visit the nursery, but that earned her a lot of ridicule.
"you should have been a caretaker Ocellus, not an infiltrator!"
Nowadays the nursery was guarded by the first penal 'ling in centuries. Possibly before the Queen was born.
Usually she managed to sneak in before his "shift" but today she wouldn't be able to. Hopefully he would let her in. She hoped. She had never met him.
Currently he was talking to Commander Pharynx.
Though it was more as though he was being carefully questioned by the Commander. He was keeping his composure, though it was clear that he would like nothing more than to be in his current situation.
Ocellus couldn't blame him.
Focusing on her mission, she got closer.
"Tell me, how many young 'lings attempted to get outside, convict?"
"Two today... sir" The word appeared to sound foreign, as though he had never expected to use it.
Pharynx nodded, eyes still steadily kept on Pigeon (When she had been told of how he got his name, she would admit she had laughed. A lot. Said child was planning to change the name when he 'became a true changeling'. She hadn't had the heart to utter the saying she had started to hear circulating around the hive. 'No Penal 'ling has ever ascended, just as the dead have never become queens.')
The Commander observed Pigeon closely, then left saying "Well, be sure to attend combat lessons. You have been found to be simply horrible in that matter. A rat could defeat you."
Pigeon grimaced.
Ocellus wasn't sure she was supposed to hear that.
It wasn't important, anyway. She wanted to get through to the nursery. She took a deep breath in and approached Pigeon.
He took notice immediately. "State your purpose."
She stared at him defiantly "I want to enter the nursery."
He looked at her carefully. "Sure."
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
"Seriously? That's it? Just 'you can go in, sure, I trust you completely'"
He gave her a confused expression "Don't you outrank me? As far as I am aware, questioning you wasn't even protocol. I have been told to follow orders from those higher, no matter how strange."
She blinked "I do?"
"I'm quite sure you do, yes. Even if I was a normal guard, with you being an infiltrator and all, you would still outrank me."
"Huh." She had never really interacted with guards, and never really found herself using her rank. Her confidence was boosted now.
"Indeed. You wanted to go in?"
"Yes. Right.. nice talking to you I suppose?" she said awkwardly.
He gave a sigh "I was the one who derived all the pleasure for it. Only ones who talk to me regul are Thorax, Locust and Phary- er, Commander Pharynx. And you now I suppose."
"That's kind of sad. Well, you seem like a nice guy." For a convict.
He already knew what she was thinking. "For a convict?"
"Indeed. You already got punished for guessing what some'ling was to say by doing it to the wrong 'ling, didn't you?"
His grim look, one that hid pain, answered her. Ocellus wouldn't be surprised to find markings on his carapace.
"Right then, excrete your feces here."
"Why do I need to do this?"
"What do you think hethicus is made of?"
"Hethicus?"
"Yes."
"The thing our grey walls are made of?"
"We only have grey walls. All our walls are grey. But yes, that's what it's made of."
"Our walls are made up of poop and dead animals?"
"Yes?"
"How does feces and blood even turn into grey, hard, walls?!"
"We drones eat 'em, spit 'em out and mold 'em while they're wet."
"That's disgusting."
"...Why?"
"What?"
"Why? It makes our walls. Why do see it as disgusting?"
"...I suppose biosolids exist. Food is sometimes made from feces."
"Changelings don't eat solid food. We just eat love and drink water." There was suspicion in his voice.
"No, no, no, just consider food for other species food in the end. They eat it, we eat their love."
"Huh." Still hearing suspicion.
"Seriously? What, do you think I'm another species in disguise? Everyone knows only changelings can disguise as another species so seamlessly." Except me, until I heard it from Ocellus. Thank you, Ocellus. I'll thank you another time for real next I see you.
"Well, you know what they say, Discord was able to cause temporary transformations."
"...Who?"
"Erm.. Discord, you know, that old legend..."
"Your basing this off a legend?"
"Alright, alright, fine! I am just a drone, apologies that I accused you of something impossible, you don't need to embarrass me!"
"Thanks. Here, have my poop."
"Wait. Why do you think it's disgusting to do this? Every changeling knows this."
"...I heard from a friend that excrement disgusts other species. Thus, the idea rooted in my head."
"...You're weird."
"Oh, choke on a rock!"
"You wish!"
He had escaped a close call that time, he decided. Talking was a powerful tool.
Wait. How did he know how to talk "changeling"? There should be no way that human and changeling languages were similar.
Magic perhaps?
Pharynx frowned disapprovingly at Pigeon (ridiculous name.)
"Hitting 'lings with your legs will damage nothing but their pride."
Pigeon was laying on his side gasping. "Damn you..." He managed.
"Oh get up you grub. I didn't tell you to be horrible at combat. And forget all combat spells."
"Give me a chance and I might be able to do something. I am used to the environment being an aid, not a flat space of con- hethicus" Pharynx raised his eye-ridge "And a weapon of sorts. Like a knife."
Pharynx paused and thought. Then he snorted.
He threw him a knife, one that was on one of the nearby tables covered in weapons.
Pigeon caught it in his magical aura. He seemed to stop and observe it. "What?" he asked.
"You wanted a weapon, like a knife, correct?" Pharynx supplied. "Don't tell me the penal spell made you forgetful."
Pigeon studied it for another moment, then got up.
They resumed their brawl. Pigeon seemed to have very good reflexes with a knife. Much better with combat spells, which he knew nothing of. He still beat him easily "What are you doing, keeping that knife so close to your chest? Extend it!" but at least he wasn't horrible. Perhaps he wasn't a lost cause. Just needed training. Lots of training.
They really needed to regain their strength what with the Canterlot massacre, as it was being called by most. For the ponies, it was called the Canterlot wedding incident. To them, it ended happily.
Pharynx forced Pigeon into the ground harshly, letting some of his anger spill. He really needed to have better control over his anger. He would see what he could do about that problem.
They were fools, he thought as he defeated Pigeon yet another time. They left the changelings to starve, and he would do everything in his power to uplift the hive to its former glory, and no pony or 'ling would stand in his way. Not a single one.
It was a bit after the sparring lesson with Pigeon, that he was told the news. Well, he along with the queen.
"What?" The queen said in a low, menacing tone of voice that seemed to have a major effect on everyone. Well, everyone but Pharynx and the messenger. He was simply tired. And if the messenger shivered in fear every time the queen was angry, there would be no more 'lings in the hive to deliver them.
"The ponies are searching for the hive. Well, the ones with a carapace are."
The queen shook her head angrily. "And our infiltrators?"
"Sabotaging it in any way they can. Rest assured, they will not find the hive."
The queen had a snarl etched on her muzzle "Keep it that way."
The messenger bowed and left.
The queen shook her tail angrily retired to her room.
Pharynx sighed. There was no way the hive wouldn't hear of this. He had advised the queen to keep matters more private, but it seemed that was ignored. The hive would be frightened. The queen, could, of course, easily crush any thoughts of anger, but there would be a state of unrest and general distress in the hive.
He turned to his soldiers.
"Keep it down, do your jobs, trust in the infiltrators. They are so deeply rooted the ponies will not be able to find the hive. The moles however, already have and always have. Fight them with your strength and cunning to keep the hive, your family, safer than the throne. Dismissed."
He turned and sat in silence, thinking deeply. The sound of his troops trotting out was the only background noise that tried to distracted him.
How many lives were lost, all because of carelessness, all because of their carelessness.
No. Not theirs. Not Pigeon's.
He knew exactly who to blame it on.