A Time to Think

by The Sonic Mage

Chapter 6: Complications

She would not come out. Day after day she did not leave her room. It had become something of a ritual. Every morning a Changeling would walk down to Chrysalis’ quarters with breakfast. When they walked in, she would be sitting on the bed with her back turned to the door, staring at the wall. When they came back to pick up the tray, so little of the food was eaten. The same thing happened with every other meal. And with every meal, there was a cup of tea, which Thorax made himself every time. He meant for it to be an apology of sorts. It came with a little card and everything. And everyday, the cup would be untouched. It was also brought to his attention that Chrysalis had been scratching tic marks onto the wall. There was a new one every day. It had been two weeks since Chrysalis’ arrival, and all this bad news was starting to really eat at him. His desk was cluttered with papers that he barely bothered to look at. What he was most concerned about was Chrysalis.

Thorax planted his face onto the table, “What am I doing wrong?” He thought out loud.

Pharynx, who was going through the papers on the desk, addressed his brother without looking up, “Personally I think it’s more of what you are doing.”

“Not helping here.”

“Listen,” Pharynx said, “I don’t know what to say to you. You have done a lot in the past two weeks. Maybe it’s time to change tactics.”

Thorax picked his head back up, “I’ve been trying to make her feel at home!”

“And yet she’s treating this like a prison.”

Thorax threw his hoofs up, “How can she? I’ve given her a room, made sure she is given respect, and invited her to everything from breakfast to the gardens.”

“Well it’s clearly going to take more then a few hot meals to make her come out of the shell she’s made for herself.” Pharynx continued to look through the documents, when a question came up, “Have you tried giving the invitations in person?”

Thorax shook his head a little, “Nooooo.”

“Thorax you’re going to have to face her some time. It would be better if you invited her yourself.”

“Even if I yelled at her?” Thorax asked.

Pharynx nodded, “You want to show you still care, right? That’s how.”

“But-I,”Thorax sighed, “You’re right. But what am I going to?”

Pharynx put a hoof to his chin, “It would have to be some kind of spectacle. A real site-to-see.”

“I could take her for a tour of the hive.”

Pharynx shook his head, “Too little.”

Thorax went down his mental list, “Throw her a Changeling Gourd Festival?”

“Too much.”

Another one off the list, “Oh maybe the theater club could-!”

Pharynx glared, “NO. Just NO.”

Thorax pouted. There had to be something entertaining he could invite her to. In his deep thought his eyes glanced over a letter from Shining Armor. It reminded him of the fact that he would eventually have to tell everypony else about this. He cringed at the thought. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed that the letter included an interesting detail. A detail that made a light bulb go off in Thorax’s head.

“Pharynx,” Thorax asked, “do you have a new group of trainees coming in tomorrow?”

Pharynx looked up from the documents before him, “From Canterlot and The Crystal Empire,yes. Shining is too busy with politics to train the recruits himself, so he’s sending them over to me. Why do you ask?”

Thorax got a bright glow in his eyes, and a smile formed on his face, “I’ve got an idea!”

Pharynx frowned a bit, “I don’t like where this is going.” he said dubiously.

“Trust me, you will!”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Because…” Thorax leaned over to Pharynx and whispered the idea into his ear. Pharynx’s eyes widened, and jaw dropped in disbelief. He turned to Thorax with that expression still plastered on his face.

Pharynx blinked a few times, “You-you want me to-”

“Yep.” Thorax said with a gleeful smile still on his face.

“A-And you’re letting me-”

“Mhm.”

“And I get to-?”

“Oh yeah.”

The corners of Pharynx’s gaping mouth began to turn upward, “Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?”, he said with a big smile, as he gave Thorax a playful noogie. “Oh you are the best little brother!” It was rare for the general to show his childish side.

“Pharynx, stop!” Thorax said with a bit of laughter in his voice. He managed to get his older brother off him, both of their faces bearing a smile.

“But for real, are you serious about this?”

Thorax nodded, “Yes, as long as you maintain some restraint, you have my permission.” The duo began to walk towards the door, “Besides, I think it would be fun to see their reaction.”

Pharynx raised an eyebrow in a bit of confusion, “The troops’, or Chrysalis’?”

“Mmm,” Thorax pondered for a moment, “bit of both.”

And so, the two set off, excitedly awaiting what would come tomorrow

Author's Note:

And her it is! Chapter 6!

Now, a bit of important information.

First of all, I am not going to have the time to extensively work on this story for all of next week (As if I have the time now). The reason for this is because starting May 7th through all of that week, my school is taking me and a host of other students on a trip to Canada(Yes, my school does that). However, I promise I will take what ever time I can to work on this project. I like working on this, and I have an obligation to you guys to update this and reassure you that this is not one of those stories, where "incomplete" is the equivalent of "canceled/abandoned". So remember: There is still more to come.

Second, I am disappointed that no one got the reference I made in the last chapter, or even attempted to guess. As such, I will make similar references, and I refuse to say what they are referencing until, A: Somepony guesses correctly, or B: The story is complete.

Anyways, have a wonderful day.

Comments

[Macdaverin]

Yes! New chapter!
I hope thorax is thinking what i think he's thinking.
;D

[The Sonic Mage]

8899744
And what might that be?