Missing Supplies
Thorax took his leave of Twilight not long after successfully casting the signal flare spell. He had been briefly concerned about it drawing attention, but Twilight had assured him that the flares they had set off had been small enough and close enough to the ground to not attract any undesired attention.
She had then made him recite the process for casting the spell from memory before letting him go. “You have to have it down perfectly!” were her exact words when he had complained that it seemed unnecessary.
But, mercifully, she let him go after that, and he began his return trip to the Hive. All the way, he couldn’t stop grinning to himself. Were he going on hoof, there would be a very pronounced spring in his step.
“Twilight said she’s my friend,” he thought to himself, barely able to keep himself from cheering at the cold night sky. “I have a friend! This is wonderful!”
He kept himself from cheering, but a few giddy giggles did slip past his lips from time to time. It was just such an amazing feeling. He’d sucked up the love of many creatures in his time, most of which had been held in changeling cocoons, rendered catatonic and incapable of feeling the emotions naturally. It made them easy to feed on, but the emotions were often hollow and barely sustaining.
But the affection he was receiving from Twilight? It was staggering. Not only did it taste magnificent, but it was actually enough to decrease the perpetual ache he felt in his belly. It wasn’t enough to totally sate his hunger — nothing could ever truly satisfy the ravenous appetite of a changeling, after all — but it made it less painful. It also filled his chest with this warm bubbly feeling that he never wanted to lose.
After some time, the Hive finally came into sight. Thorax forced himself to flatten his expression and subdue his jubilation. He could celebrate once he was somewhere private. But if he acted too happy around the other drones, it would only draw unwanted attention. “Just go in, report to Pharynx, get to an empty sleeping chamber,” he told himself.
A balcony emerged in the wall of the Hive as he approached, permitting him to come to a landing. Passing through a hole in the wall, he found himself on the edge of a long corridor with many other tunnels branching off of it in every direction. Up, down, left, right, and everywhere in between. One or two other drones were standing around, chatting quietly amongst themselves. They gave Thorax a bored glance before resuming their hushed, chittering discussion.
“Uh, excuse me,” he called out to them, approaching slowly. “I need to report to Pharynx. Do either of you know where he is?”
One of the drones, a female, turned to give him an impatient scowl. “Why are you asking us, pacifist?” she asked.
Thorax flinched from the bitterness in her voice. “...Because I’ve been on lone wolf patrol all night and don’t know where he is?”
“Then try looking in the warrior’s nest,” the other drone, a male, bit back. “And stop wasting our time.”
Thorax shrank back, his ears folding down. “Right… sorry.”
“Tch. Pathetic whelp,” the female hissed under her breath as he made his way farther down the tunnel. The insult stung far more than he was used to, making his expression twist into a pained grimace.
The walls parted around him, allowing him to walk in more or less a straight line for the warrior’s nest. There weren’t very many changelings out and about right now. Mostly guards dressed in beetle-themed dark blue armor. They barely gave him a passing glance whenever they met, but he could see the disapproving glares hidden behind their stoic expressions.
His arrival at his destination couldn’t come soon enough. The wall opened up in front of him, and he was greeted to the same towering chamber where he had found Pharynx before. This time, the chamber was quiet. A few guards were stationed around, some of them standing on the walls or ceiling to get a better look at things, but for the most part, all was quiet.
An uneasy feeling formed in the pit of Thorax’s gut. Someone was watching him. He didn’t know who, but he could feel the eyes boring into him from somewhere in this chamber. Nevertheless, he had to report to Pharynx on time or face serious consequences. He was already almost late.
Taking a deep breath, Thorax leaped from his perch and gently lowered himself down to the ground, passing a few of the chambers in the walls on the way. He glanced in each one for any sign of Pharynx, but only found regular drones. All the while, that feeling of being watched continued to grow worse.
When he finally touched down on the floor of the chamber, his observers decided to make themselves known.
“Well, well, look at who finally came back home,” the sneering voice of Scorpion came from behind Thorax.
Yelping, Thorax spun around to see both Scorpion and Mandible staring at him, emerging from their own little hole in the wall with narrowed eyes and hateful frowns.
Thorax took a few uneasy steps back, a lump forming in his throat. Were they on to him? Did they know about Twilight? “W-well, yeah, of course, I’m back,” he stammered out, struggling to keep his eyes focused on the advancing pair of much stronger drones. “I’m s-supposed to report to Pharynx. I’m back from patrol.”
Scorpion scoffed. “You’ve been taking an awful lot of those solo patrols recently, you know that?” he pointed out skeptically. “Out of nowhere, too. Mandible and I can’t help but wonder why. Are you up to something, you little worm?”
Thorax tried to stand his ground, but their contemptuous glares broke down his resolve with ease. Letting out a withering whimper, he shrank down and looked at the floor. “...I’m just trying to pull my weight,” he mumbled quietly.
Mandible harrumphed in annoyance. “Pulling your own weight. And why the sudden change of heart?”
“Because that worm almost ate my brother!” Thorax finally shot back, his wings snapping open in a display of aggression. “And I almost did nothing! I almost sat there and watched my only family being eaten alive by a monster! And when I did do something, I ran! I can’t keep doing that!”
Scorpion suddenly advanced, cutting any further words from Thorax into pieces. Scorpion towered over him, their muzzle mere inches apart, the larger drone’s contemptuous glare drilling into Thorax’s fearful face and silencing any confidence he had built up. Scorpion’s lips peeled back into a malevolent grin, revealing his sharp fangs. “Oh? What’s this? Finally got a backbone, little whelp? Or is that just a load of bark you’ve been rehearsing on your ‘patrols’?”
“I...I…” Thorax cowered back, his belly pressing into the dirt. His words failed him, and inwardly, he cursed himself for being such a sniveling coward. Shame and embarrassment flooded his system, and he looked down at the ground with a defeated chitter.
Mandible shook his head in mock disappointment. “All bark, then.”
“I dunno, Mandible,” Scorpion said slowly, lifting a hoof and kicking it down hard between Thorax’s wings. “Maybe this crippled pup just needs some incentive to start biting.”
Thorax gasped, his eyes flying wide as the air was driven from his lungs. He squirmed under Scorpion’s hoof, struggling for any purchase so he could stand up and defend himself. He opened his mouth to protest, to ask them to stop, but all that came out was a breathless wheeze.
“What’s wrong, Thorax?” Scorpion demanded in a low, cold growl. He twisted his hoof this way and that, grinding it harder into Thorax’s spine. “Aren’t you gonna defend yourself? Come on, show us some backbone. Show us some bite!”
“THAT IS ENOUGH!”
In a heartbeat, Scorpion’s hoof left Thorax’s back, the tall drone backpedaling and standing to attention beside Mandible. A second later, another changeling slammed into the ground in front of Thorax with enough force to kick up a cloud of dust. Thorax screwed his eyes shut while struggling to catch his breath, the dust sending him into a coughing fit.
When he opened his eyes again, the dust had cleared, and Pharynx stood protectively in front of him, his purple eyes narrowed with disgust. “Both of you. Get out of my sight this instant, and maybe I’ll be nice when I report this to the queen!”
Like magic, Scorpion and Mandible turned and fled, though not before the former shot Thorax one more glare. The two vanished through a hole in the wall that closed behind them with the spine-chilling scrape of stone on stone. Pharynx maintained his defensive stance for several seconds before turning to glare down at Thorax himself. “That was a pathetic showing of self-defense, brother,” he scolded.
Thorax looked down in shame, forcing himself to sit up on his haunches. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled quietly, unable to look his brother in the eye.
A hoof roughly thumped him in the shoulder, making him wince. “Don’t be sorry,” Pharynx chastised him. “Be better. Now, you’re back from patrol. Report.”
Thorax straightened up to stand at attention. “Patrol went as planned. I passed over the ruins of that wagon I reported to you last time. Local wildlife seems to have picked it clean, sir. Other than that, nothing of note to report.”
Pharynx hummed to himself for a moment before nodding. “At ease.”
Thorax relaxed, letting off a quiet sigh.
“There’s something else I need to talk to you about,” Pharynx went on in a quieter voice, one that put Thorax on edge. Pharynx put a hoof on Thorax’s shoulder and guided him to a secluded corner of the room.
The lump in his throat came back with a vengeance. Thorax swallowed heavily in an effort to force it down, but it remained stubbornly in place. What could Pharynx want to talk about? He almost never used that tone of voice unless there was something serious going on.
Once they were tucked away, Thorax finally managed to find his voice. “What is it, Pharynx? Is something wrong?” he asked quietly.
Pharynx nodded before lifting a hoof up to his lips to indicate they should be quiet. “Yes. We have a problem. Supplies kept in the Hive’s communal storage have been going missing as of late. Small amounts, but enough to be noticeable. It’s causing some concern among the quartermasters. There is suspicion of a thief hiding somewhere nearby.”
Thorax’s ears drooped, a surge of guilt swelling in his chest. “There is a thief… it’s me,” he thought to himself. He had been sneaking into the Hive’s storage to bring Twilight food and supplies ever since he found out she had stomach rot. It was far more reliable then scavenging in the wasteland, at any rate. However, it left him with the knowledge that he was in danger of far more than just being discovered consorting with an intruder.
The guilt he felt at stealing from his own kind was intense. More than once, he had tried to convince himself to stop, to just scavenge what he needed from the desert. He had never managed to convince himself, though. Twilight practically depended on him to bring her food and medicine. If he stopped doing that, her odds of surviving would drop dramatically…
“Thorax, pay attention! This is serious!” Pharynx’s voice suddenly cut through Thorax’s guilt-ridden ruminations, along with a sharp smack to the side of the head.
“Ow!” Thorax protested before nodding along. “Sorry, sorry! What did you say?”
Pharynx snarled angrily but was quick to compose himself. “I was trying to ask you if you knew anything about it,” he said after a moment, his eyes staring deeply into those of his little brother.
Thorax swallowed heavily. The way Pharynx had said that… it was if he already knew the answer. It was a voice Pharynx only ever used when he was absolutely certain he had figured something out and was just waiting for the confession. Thorax had seen it in play numerous times when his big brother dealt with insubordinate drones. To be on the receiving end…
He cowered back. “N-no. I’m sorry, I don’t,” he lied, hoping against hope that his words were convincing. He couldn’t afford to let Twilight down now, no matter how much it hurt him to lie to his only family like this.
Pharynx stared at him for what felt like forever, his eyes narrowed with scrutiny. Then, with a slow nod, he took a step back. “...Very well,” he said simply.
Thorax blinked. “Huh?” he asked before he could stop himself.
Pharynx turned away from him. “Very well. I believe you,” came the simple response. “But keep your eyes open. And…” he looked back at Thorax over his shoulder. His eyes had softened, a worried frown on his face. “...Be careful, brother.”
Without waiting for Thorax to respond, Pharynx’s wings spread out and took him into the air. Thorax watched him go, his heart pounding in his chest and his mind reeling with a mixture of confusion, relief, and terror. He had never seen Pharynx do that before, not any time he had cornered a drone about a suspected crime.
A few seconds later, it clicked. Pharynx had given him the opportunity to lie, and when he did, he had accepted it and chose not to punish him. He must have been trying to give Thorax a chance to stop on his own, and spare him Chrysalis’ judgment.
As his elder brood mate disappeared through a hole in the wall, Thorax swallowed the lump in his throat and backed up through one of his own. “I’m so sorry, Pharynx,” he thought to himself in shame. He decided then and there that he would not steal from the Hive again, not unless he was left with absolutely no other choice.
He stepped out of the warrior’s nest, and the hole closed up behind him.
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Well, we all knew it couldn't continue forever. Thorax got lucky today, but he's on thin ice and it's already cracking. Only time will tell how much longer he can keep this all secret...and what might happen to both him and Twilight if and when it all comes tumbling out.
I can only hope and pray that it's Pharynx who's the one who ultimately finds out everything, as he might actually show some mercy. I can't say the same for just about any 'ling else currently.
10073508
The best bet is if he's simultaneously made aware of the marked increase in love production over the "traditional" approach... While that wouldn't change his views of ponies overall, passing up a source like that would be practically sacrilegious if not directly ordered by the Queen.
Wow, another chapter, another great addition to the story, and to this unconventional series! My only note is a grammatical one at the end:
*behind
with correction:
...otherwise, a great read, you've secured my Fav and upvote!
nice work
Honestly, if Thorax starts showing new "tricks" he's learning from Twilight, his perceived value to the hive might improve.
A signal flare cast at point-blank range is a flash-blind spell, after all.
I felt the same way.
Well, it seems like Thorax has to stop raiding the hive’s supplies now. He’ll have to get them from somewhere else.
Pharynx may be harsh, but at least he cares.
I do wonder how much longer it will be until Twilight and Thorax are caught together?
This pilfering of the Hive's supplies makes a logical reason why Thorax was hiding up in the Crystal Empire, although I have to wonder where he was before the Empire returned from the time lock spell... I'm betting he was running away in that direction while evading other changelings that would point him out to Chrysalis for immediate termination.
Scorpion and/or Mandible are going to sneakily follow him on lone wolf patrol one night and get a lot more to tattle on about him than slacking off like they're hoping, aren't they?
And so, the other two cherngelerngs followed Bug Horse to Twilight and then beat him up and made him watch as they drained her to death!
His next visit to Twilight will not go unnoticed...
Ohh dose pharynx knows about what thorax is doing because that last sentence was something like a worry voice oh boy 😥
Knowing that thorax have to go back so the hive doesn't get to suspicious but unfortunately two of the changelings really did a number on thorax they we're trying to hurt him but good thing pharynx came to the rescue even though he can be harsh but he does care for his brother and it's safety but the last sentence he says be careful brother I felt like he knows what's going on but he doesn't want to say it so how long will it for thorax and Twilight keep this up I guess we'll find out
Thorax now knows to be extra careful when he helps Twilight because Pharynx has already noticed something is wrong.
Twilight REALLY needs to find a way to farm something in her cave, otherwise she will starve, without supplies from Thorax.