//------------------------------// // Prologue I: Blood Brothers // Story: Blue Fang, Reignited // by MlpHero //------------------------------// Blue Fang By MlpHero March 17th, 33 H.E.   Good morning journal! Today is supposed to be important. Or so I think… Mother Chrysalis is gathering me, Hive, and Phar to the nursery. Fortuna is also coming, probably to make sure Phar behaves, she’s the only one he listens to. Midnight and Nightbite have decided to join too (well, Midnight anyway, Nightbite probably doesn’t want to come and is being dragged along). Mother Chrysalis hasn’t said why we’re going to the nursery, but it’s probably important. So I better be ready. —Red Fang The young changeling’s eyes left the soft pages of his journal at last, turning to the rough walls of his den. The older changeling workers had attempted to smooth over the jagged edges of the walls, but there was only so much they could do. Besides the craggy walls, a small cluster of luminescent plants hung over the small area, basking the room in a dim, green glow. However, dingy, low quality air filtered through the walls, and it was constantly freezing. Not that the young changeling could feel it, as his blood had long since adjusted to keep him warm. On the walls themselves, there hung several objects of varying types, from weapons to propaganda posters. The floor was littered with books, some open to their last read page while others were stacked in piles in various places. On his desk was a sewing machine, with a single spool of thread sitting at the ready – not that Red had much to sew with most days. Returning his mind back to his current task, Red set the pencil down and laid back. He turned to face his mirror, a thin sheet of reflective silver that hung adjacent from his bed. His red fangs greeted him, as did his right wing, same as always. Sighing softly, Red glanced down at his carapace. It didn’t take a genius to see that Red Fang was a permanently grounded bug, the lack of his left wing was enough of an indicator. It wasn’t by choice either – the appendage had bent in the egg, and when he’d hatched, it was surgically removed. Problem was, ever since Red had learned how to form complex thoughts, he’d always longed to fly, and it showed. His favorite division of the changeling military was the Raging Hornets, for one thing. Propaganda posters for the airborne division hung on every wall of his room, he had an ace helmet on one of his shelves, and most of his small wooden soldier toys were modled after Hornets. Tartarus, a good chunk of the books currently littering the floor were storybooks detailing overly-exaggerated adventures of the Raging Hornets of the past. But, because of his lack of a left wing, Red Fang would never be able to join up when he was older and fulfill his dream of flying. Sure, there were plenty of other divisions to join, but… he wasn’t particularly interested in any of them. The Water Striders worked… well, on the water. Red wasn’t into boats though, they rocked around too much, looked far too unstable. And besides, sailing just seemed boring to the nymph, especially considering that he’d been exposed to several war stories that may or may not have exaggerated the fast paced action of true battles. Why sit on a ship miles away from the fight when you could be on—or well, over—the battlefield itself? The Scorpion Battalion also fell out of favor quite quickly for the youngling. The armored wagons looked cool enough, but Red wasn’t particularly keen on piloting such a slow, giant target. It seemed like an easy way to get killed. And he’d heard the most deaths came from Scorpion Tanks getting blown up, only confirming his thoughts. No thank you. The Wasp Division was just what he was looking for. It promised great adventures for all who joined. A chance to try experimental technology firsthoof and be placed in the middle of the battles. The problem? They only allowed Elites to join. Red huffed at that notion – what good was barring bugs via their castes? They’d just keep good fighters of lower class from fulfilling their full potential (like him, probably, when he got older). Stupid upperclassers flaunting their rank. That left him with one option left: the Devil Horns. The Queen’s Finest, or so the posters claimed. Red did not agree, the Devil Horns were bare minimum to him when compared to any of the other divisions. They were mere cannon fodder, and they didn’t even have any cool tricks, only there to provide bodies to hold the line while the better divisions won the battles. They were simply infantry… but… they promised what he wanted. The ‘Horns were always right at the front, spearheading the charge into combat. Red sighed, looking around at the posters gracing his walls. The pictures of the white suited changelings saluting the sky caught his gaze. The words “Fly High!” and “Aim High, Aim True.” greeted him with big bold letters. Yeah, sure, he’ll aim high. Then fall right back down. Before he could sink too far into that rabbit hole of thoughts, however, there was a knock at the door. The noise snapped the bug out of his trance, and he looked over. “Red! You in there?” “Yeah! He rolled out of bed, landing with a thud onto the ground. “Ow! Oof… Comin’! Gimme a sec!’ ~~~ While Red composed himself, standing outside his door was a familiar older changeling with a pink carapace, pink wings, pink eyes, and a pink bandana round her neck. This was Midnight, and beside her stood her younger friend, Nightbite. Midnight was a wonderful changeling, despite her borderline unhealthy obsession with the color pink – with a preference for some shade called ‘fuchsia’. Despite being only six, she’d already developed what some would call a ‘posh’ attitude. Prim and perfect at all times, but the other changelings knew better than to mock her for it – Midnight could become a proper ‘brute’ if the mood struck her. Nightbite on the other hoof, was quite different. A bit younger than Red, and a very rowdy bug to say the least. Wasn’t exactly amiable, either, his only close friend was the pink changeling currently at his side. Midnight tried her best to teach the young bug to get along with others, but there was only so much she could do. Nightbite was squirming at Midnight’s side, clearly not wanting to be there at all judging by his whines. “Middyyyyy! You promised we’d go see the arena skirmishes!” Midnight smiled with all the patience of someone who remembered acting the same way. “Yes, I know, and we will. But this is important.” “But I don't wanna go to the nursery! It's fulla babies!” “Then you’ll fit right in.” Midnight chuckled a bit as she rubbed his head. “I’m not a baby!” “You kinda are, you’re three,” Midnight teased with a laugh. “Besides, the skirmishes go on all day. There will be plenty of interesting things to see later too.” Nightbite rolled his eyes despite the reassurances, trying to pull his companion away from Red’s door. Midnight sighed and stood her ground, rolling her eyes. “Honestly Nighty, you sometimes make me wish I blew up in a wagon.” Finally, Red opened the door, stopping Nightbite from continuing his whining. “Hi guys!” Red lived in one of the main catacombs, which boasted easy access to basically everything in the Hive. The Academy, the school that taught young nymphs the basics of reading, math, and writing. Later years would see them being trained in things they would need for serving in the military or R&D Department. (Red personally was going for military teaching). Away from that was the main canteen, a nice little place, nothing to complain about. It was usually freezing, even by hive ventilation standards. Finally, there was the arena. A large colosseum where changelings could watch other changelings kill each other and cheer on the winners. It’s barbaric, yes, but dueling, skirmishing, fighting, and warring? It’s in their blood. No shame in following one's instincts. Midnight smiled at the small changeling, snapping him from his thoughts once more. “Hey there Red. You ready?” “Yeah!” It’d been a long while since he was in the nursery, it was such a sacred place. The last time he was there, it had been when he was lucky enough to form a bond with Chrysalis, with the Queen. Or at least had impressed her enough that she had allowed him to have his own den. Unlike Red, Nightbite was more apprehensive about the thought. “But why are we going to the nursery?” Midnight shrugged. “I’m not sure. That’s why we’re going, and we’ll be late unless we leave now, come on.” Red nodded and followed behind as Midnight set off, Nightbite being dragged along. It wasn’t a good idea to keep Chrysalis waiting. ~~~ Hivehunter chuckled as he pinned Pharynx to the wall of the youngling’s room. “Haha! Gotcha, lil’ bro!” Hivehunter declared, his wings buzzing in victory. Pharynx wasn’t easily deterred, however. He was a fierce youngling, and did not like to lose, especially not to his brother. Thinking quickly, he kicked at his opponent’s leg, causing the older nymph to lose his balance, promptly tackling and pinning him to the floor. “Ow! Dangit Phar, that’s cheating!” “There is no cheating! This is war!” Pharynx replied, raising his forehooves in victory. Hive rolled his eyes, before pushing himself off the ground and lifting Pharynx up, displaying the not so subtle height difference between the two. Despite still being a nymph, Hive was impressively tall for his age, not to mention strong. Pharynx squirmed, trying to break free of Hive’s grip with a pout. “Hey! No fair!” “There is no fair in war, Phar,” Hive snarkily replied, before throwing Pharynx back onto the nymph’s bed. Pharynx grunted in response, before sitting up and continuing to pout. “Boys, play nice,” A female voice said cut in. Fortuna had been watching the two as they scuffled, an amused smile on her face. But although she was enjoying it, she had started to notice they may have been taking it too seriously for a play fight. “Pharynx, no biting frills.” “But mooooom! We’re just playing!” Pharynx complained, despite being mere inches away from Hive’s frill. The other youngling yelped and turned to glare at him as he backed away with a sheepish smile. “Phary, you can’t just bite someone’s frill. That’s a coward’s path to victory.” Fortuna stepped over, peeling the two apart, holding Pharynx up by the hoof. “Besides, it was far smarter to try and kick him in the legs or lower body to knock him off balance, like you did earlier. Especially considering the fact that he’s bigger than you.” “Are you calling me short?!” “No, Phary. I’m saying for a bigger opponent, you’ve got to use every advantage you have.” Pharynx stared at the older changeling, shooting her a glare that, in his mind, surely struck fear into her heart. He instead wound up looking more like an upset puppy who had missed treat time. Hive stared at Phar, grinning. “Yeah, she’s calling you short. Also, that glare makes you look like an angry foal.” “Hive, no, I meant… ugh…” Fortuna sighed, before yelping as Pharynx managed to squirm free. Pharynx was just about to lunge again when Midnight stepped into the room, coming between him and Hive. “Ah, ah. Not so fast, bugger.” Pharynx pouted. “Hey! Midnight, I was about to get him!” “Well not now you’re not.” Midnight looked up at Fortuna. “I thought you were getting them ready?” “Errr… I was, but…” Midnight rolled her eyes, Nightbite and Red walking over to join the other nymphs. “Seriously Tuna, you have to be responsible. You could’ve at least straightened Phar’s neck fin, it’s all bent.” Fortuna huffed. “I was trying to, but you know how he is. Too much energy, too little body. And stop calling me Tuna! I’m not a fish!” “No, but you do smell awful, and your mane is filthy. That will not do, we’re about to meet with the Queen.” Midnight grabbed Fortuna and dragged her into the washroom part of the den, slamming the door. The nymphs looked at the door, before looking back at each other. They all bore the same look of boredom and confusion. “This is dumb.” Nightbite complained. “I wanted to see the gladiators!” Hive nodded. “Yeah… who’s fighting today?” “I think… Zesper and Lycore,” Pharynx joined in. “Something about Lycore trying to kiss Zesper’s girlfriend or something.” “Ew,” Red said, sticking his tongue out. “That’s a gross reason to fight. Worse than that stew we had yesterday.” “Who puts moss in chicken stew anyway?” Nightbite agreed. “It’s chicken stew, not moss stew!” “Don’t worry guys!” Hive butted in. “When I’m king, I’ll make all the meals better.” The nymph held his head up proudly, certain he was going to fulfill that promise someday. Red just smiled and shook his head. Hive was the most narcissistic of the group.  Pharynx looked over, doubt written across his face. “What makes you think you’ll be king?” “Cause Mama Chrysalis said so!” Hive replied. “I dunno Hivey, she’s been on the throne for like… a thousand years! No way she’d give it up any time soon!” Red commented. “Besides, what about Phar? What would he be?” It was a quite complex question, as Pharynx was the blood bug of Chrysalis, whilst Hive was simply adopted into the royal family. Therefore, it was hard to say who’d truly be king. Nonetheless, Hive gave Red an answer. “I dunno? A prince?” “Oh! He’ll be ‘Shortest Prince Ever’,” Night suddenly blurted out. “Night, I swear to the Hivemother, I will—” But before Pharynx could finish his threat, the nymphs’ little debate was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by shouting from the washroom. The nymphs looked over, wondering what could possibly be happening as they heard another sound – a loud splash, and an alarmed shriek. A few minutes later, Midnight stepped out with a smile. “Alright boys, we’re ready.” From behind her, Fortuna emerged, now soaked in water, soap, and shampoo. The nymphs stared at her, before collapsing to the ground in fits of laughter. Fortuna huffed, clearly annoyed, before trudging off out of the room. Midnight snickered, but set about corraling the nymphs and quickly followed behind. ~~~ It didn’t take long to arrive at the nursery once the changelings had finally set out properly. They stepped through the entrance that opened for them, and Midnight swiftly led the group over to the area one of the nurselings used as a form of reception desk. Ponies did have some good ideas as to how things should be run – and with things as sensitive as medical/nymph caretaking, it was often wise to steal tactics from the enemy. “Pardon me,” Midnight spoke up to get the nurseling’s attention. “We have an appointment with Her Majesty in the hatchery.” The nurse nodded, before leading them into a hidden hallway off to the side, one that went deeper down into the catacombs. The hatchery was perhaps the nicest room in all of the Hive, despite its underground location. In fact, the setting provided it with natural warmth and protection from the elements. The glowlamps hanging from the ceiling ensured the perfect amount of light (dim, for young ones first opening their eyes), and there was easy access to food and water. All so the many egg clusters laid in the area would develop as perfectly as they could. The nurse allowed them in before vanishing, leaving the group to locate the Queen on their own. It didn’t take long before they found Chrysalis, spotting her tending to a small cluster of eggs. The group walked over, joining the Queen in silence, as was customary. As their Queen, she outranked them all, and thus it was her who was to initiate conversation first, no one else. “You’re late.” “Apologies, Fortuna held us up.” “I did not!” “Yes you did!” “Quiet, please,” Chrysalis silenced them two females, who obeyed and didn’t argue further. Chrysalis promptly stood from her spot by the egg cluster, and with a wave of her hoof, led the group down past the many other clusters surrounding them. The young ones looked around, taking note of the nurselings who were monitoring the eggs with an innocent curiosity. Chrysalis nodded to each nurse they passed, carefully stepping over some of the eggs that had managed to roll out of their clusters. Red paused each time they passed one and bent down to scoop up the lost eggs and placing them back in their original clusters. “Red Fang! Let’s go!” Chrysalis called out when she noticed him lagging behind. The nymph was quick to catch up with the group without protest. When he reached them, he noticed the changelings had spread out around a small cleared area. Hive and Pharynx were standing a few paces apart from each other, watching over an egg each. According to Chrysalis, these were to be their new siblings, both seeming almost ready to hatch. Red smiled faintly at the sight, before seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, and looking up. Chrysalis approached with a gentle smile, holding a third egg. “This one is your new sibling, Red Fang.” She gently passed the egg to the nymph, who cradled it gently. She then stepped away, monitoring another group of eggs with Midnight and Night. Hive scooped up the egg that was his soon-to-be sibling, examining it. Pharynx, meanwhile rolled his eyes as he looked down at the other egg. Chrysalis glanced around at all three nymphs, clearly waiting to see if they were ready for… something. Red wasn’t sure what it was she was looking for, but apparently she found it, because the Queen promptly closed her eyes and began humming softly. As she did, the eggs surrounding the group of changelings suddenly started to wiggle – and crack slightly. The nymphs all paused to stare in innocent amazement at the phenomenon before them. Chrysalis chuckled softly, reopening her eyes to observe. She’d seen this type of childlike innocence many, many times before. She always bet with herself as to how long it’d last before it was drained, and whether it would happen forcibly, all at once, or over years of experience. Slowly, one by one, the cracks in the eggs widened, and each one split open to reveal hundreds of baby changelings, who almost immediately started to crawl towards Chrysalis. Though she was not their mother, each one still felt an instinctive urge deep inside. It was a powerful pheromone of sorts that a Queen emitted, to tell each new addition to the Hive that Chrysalis was someone of great authority, someone to be trusted. Hive looked down when he felt the egg in his own hooves cracking. He watched in stunned surprise as a small changeling with light pink eyes emerged from the shell. Hive stared silently for a moment, but he quickly smiled. “Heheh… hi there…” Hive held the baby up, and it giggled, babbling excitedly. Pharynx huffed, looking pointedly away from the pair. The egg cracked, and the nymph watched as a glorious warrior crawled out… …Of an egg about five steps to his right. From his sibling’s egg, there instead emerged a changeling larvae who looked absolutely terrified at its new surroundings. Pharynx blinked. “This is my sibling?” The larvae looked around, then promptly cowered, retreating back into its egg. Pharynx sighed, leaning down and scooping it out of its egg. “Hi there… I guess…” The tiny nymph wiggled a bit in his hooves, before looking up at Pharynx. It seemed to recognize him as someone it could trust, and began cooing excitedly. Pharynx blinked in surprise and leaned down to get a better look. That was when he felt the grub’s tiny hoof poke his nose, chittering eagerly. Pharynx’s muzzle scrunched in response, and he groaned. Already this youngling was proving to be an exact opposite of him. Red chuckled as he watched his friends meet their new siblings, before looking down at the egg he was holding. He felt the egg twitch, and held it gently, watching as it split at last, and out emerged his new sibling. He smiled, letting the little larvae crawl up his leg with a giggle. “Heheh… Hey there little fell- ow!” Red flinched, looking down as the baby began nibbling at his foreleg, burying tiny little blue fangs into his chitin. “Heh… you’re a feisty little bugger, aren’t you?” Red smiled, lifting the baby, who cooed happily in response.  “It seems he likes you, huh?” Hive teased. Red rolled his eyes and just held the bug up. “Hiya buddy… you’re gonna grow up to be a great warrior.” “Every great warrior needs a name, Reddy,” Pharynx stated as he struggled to keep his little sibling from continuing to mush his face around. “What’re you naming it?” Red pondered. He could tell this little one was a boy – Pharynx’s sibling was too, by the looks of it, while Hive’s seemed to be a girl. So what would be a good name? In his infinite, five year old wisdom, he came to his conclusion. “…I’m gonna name him Blue Fang.” Midnight blinked. “Blue… Fang? That’s not a very creative na–” Fortuna promptly whacked the pink-schemed bug on the back of the head with a hissed “Shut up!” Red hadn’t noticed the exchange between the two older females, more focused on holding his little sibling up. “Blue Fang… yeah. That’s a good name.” Blue cooed happily in his hooves, his tiny azure fangs gleaming in the soft light of the nursery.