Ocellus paused, hesitating. What was she supposed to do? She could not betray them like this… and when she looked at the gaunt frames of Thorax and Apex-discipulus, she felt nothing but pity. She was a medic’s apprentice. She was taught to treat all creatures. She didn’t have the supplies to treat Thorax and Apex-discipulus. But she could help them.
“...Leave now and I will pretend I have seen nothing.” Surprisingly, her voice came out calm, no trace of the fear she felt. How was she suddenly so confident? “I wish you luck, Pharynx-dominus.”
With that, she turned and left, hearing none of the three changelings making to follow her. Ocellus breathed a heavy sigh of relief and shook herself, holding the herb basket steady with her magic as she did. She straightened up and walked back towards the base camp, mentally trying to come up with a convincing lie as to having not seen Pharynx.
---------------
It had been about a year since the ‘traitors’ left the Hive. After Pharynx-dominus’s disappearance, the battle in Ponyville ended in a stalemate. Ocellus had been right to mentally call Pharynx-dominus the reason behind their earlier equal ground with the ponies. Without him, their strategy crumbled.
Worse, Queen Chrysalis had not elected a replacement for Pharynx-dominus. Typically, the Head General’s replacement would be their deputy or apprentice. But Pharynx-dominus had no deputy and Apex-discipulus had left with Thorax before Pharynx-dominus joined them. So there was an essential power vacuum for the position of Head General. Most changelings seemed to agree Hunter-eques would make a good replacement, but Queen Chrysalis still remained stoically silent on the matter.
Ocellus found this to be a rather concerning thing to think of as she carried her siblings to the medic’s infirmary, what with had recently occured. Without a General to ensure plans went smoothly, Queen Chrysalis had went ahead and launched a scheme to replace all of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. Ocellus could only imagine how that would go, and sighed to herself at the thought as she took her baby siblings into the infirmary.
“Hello Ocellus– oh, you brought your sister and brother!” Cilia rushed over and scooped the boy up, cooing to him. He laughed and batted at her nose. “Have they had their naming ceremony?”
“Queen Chrysalis did it a couple days ago, as is tradition. Scorpia-puella and Capillarie-puer.”
“Wonderful names for two adorable nymphs.” Cilia said, smiling, then seemed to notice Ocellus’ distressed look. “Ocellus? Is something the matter?”
“I just… am concerned that Queen Chrysalis’ plan is not going to work. Especially not without a General to ensure it succeeds.”
“You’re not alone. I have similar concerns.” Cilia assured her. “But we must trust the Queen knows what she is doing, and that this will, as promised, give us more love.”
“I know.” Ocellus sighed, as a couple warrior drones she did not know by name burst in. She yelped and whirled to face them, her wings buzzing on her back.
“What’s the trouble?” Cilia asked them.
“Intruders in the Hive.” One spat. “Keep a lookout for them.”
“We shall.” Cilia responded calmly, and the drones left.
“I-Intruders?”
“It will be okay, Ocellus.” Cilia assured her. “They’re likely pony guards, looking for their Princesses, which you know are in the throne room.”
“B-But that would mean the plan has failed.” Ocellus said.
“I am aware.” Cilia responded. “But I am sure that whatever happens, they will not hurt innocent changelings. We can prove we are mere medics easily and your siblings are too young to even understand the concept of war. We will be safe.”
Ocellus nodded fearfully, wanting to agree with her mentor, but she still clutched her siblings close in worry. Though the halls were silent, the small group dared not venture out from the shelter of the infirmary. Ocellus and Cilia stayed seated on the ground with Needle-medicus, keeping Ocellus’ siblings in the middle of a protective circle made of their own bodies.
After a long while of terrible waiting, there was a great explosion that shook the entire infirmary.
“The herbs! Ocellus, quickly, help me secure them!” Cilia called, and Ocellus ran to help her mentor.
Needle-medicus grabbed one of the heavy boulders they used as a work surface, then with a combination of his magic and body, shoved it in front of the entrance. Ocellus turned at the sound of the rock scraping against the ground to see what he was doing, eyes widening in alarm as he blocked their only exit. There were no hole-windows this deep in the Hive, and for some reason the holes that formed random entrances had stopped appearing.
“W-What was that for?!” Ocellus shrieked at him.
“If that was a bomb we don’t want them finding their way down here.” Needle-medicus pointed out.
“Deep breaths Ocellus, it’s okay.” Cilia told her gently. “Needle-medicus and I have a plan, just in case.”
“Y-You do?” Ocellus asked, as Cilia turned and pulled out a small, pony-made container.
“Get the nymphs out of the way, and don’t touch what I’m about to show you.” Cilia told her, and Ocellus quickly did as asked. “Good, now…”
Cilia opened the container to reveal small, red berries. They looked edible, but if her mentor was being this cautious about showing her, Ocellus guessed they were not good.
“Changelings call them Bacas Somni Aeterni.” Cilia told her.
“Berries of Eternal Sleep…” Ocellus translated, eyes growing wide as she shifted nervously on her hole-covered hooves.
“They can kill any creature in a matter of minutes.” Cilia explained, closing the container tightly with her magic. “Elysium forbid we ever have to use them, but if those creatures up there come down here with every intent to kill not us, but the nymphs, then we will have no choice.”
“U-Us?”
“Myself and Needle-medicus.” Cilia told her, and Ocellus gasped. “Shhh. Ocellus, we need to be quiet.”
“But Cilia–”
“Ocellus, you must understand. Needle-medicus and I are adults, more than that, we may be only medics but we have been involved in war. But you are still a nymph. Still young, still innocent.”
“B-But you’re innocent too!”
“Not in the eyes of pony law. If they attempt to kill us they will have every right. But if they hurt children who have never seen a war…”
“But I have seen war, t-the skirmish–!”
“You are a child, Ocellus, and you never even saw that battle. You stayed at the camp.” Cilia objected softly. “No more arguments now, we need to be as quiet as possible.”
Ocellus, tears in her eyes, waited for Cilia to put the container away before hugging her.
“I’ll protect you too… y-you’ve trained me in battle.”
“You only know self-defense, Ocellus, same as us, it’s all that’s required of a medic. You haven’t had enough training to protect anyone properly.”
“But I also trained for a brief period as a warrior. I still remember some of the lessons, I can fight, and as long as I can fight I will protect you.” Ocellus said, voice growing stronger the longer she spoke. She could feel a fire growing in her chest, and she knew she would not let herself give in so easily. “You are like family to me, Cilia, I will not let you sacrifice yourself on my behalf knowing I did nothing to aid you.”
Cilia observed her for a moment, then sighed and nodded. “As long as you promise only to join the fight if Needle-medicus or I are injured.”
Ocellus nodded. “I promise. I care for you Cilia. I just want to keep you safe, as you have kept me.”
As Ocellus said this, she felt something inside her. A kind of spark. She looked down and gasped, seeing a strange, white magic weaving its way around her. Cilia cried out in alarm and reached to grasp her hoof, but Ocellus, surprisingly, felt no fear. She closed her eyes and let the magic wash over her, not even noticing when she heard the soft, grinding movement of the boulder Needle-medicus had used to hide them.