Cocooned Until Further Notice
Fluttershy gazed worriedly towards the shorter table, watching as Thorax quietly stepped out. The party was beginning to end, as she could hear Pinkie starting to shut the music off. She mostly tuned out everything around her, opting to focus on her changelings.
Specifically, she was focus on where the red changeling had disappeared off to. Pharynx had decided to hide out the entire party, Thorax joining him at two separate times during to duration of the party.
Quick hoofsteps sounded from behind her, turning to see an orange mare approaching her. “Oh, hey Applejack.”
“Evenin’, Fluttershy,” AJ replied, her southern accent seeming less pronounced now. Green eyes followed to where she had been staring at, mild concern etched into her face. “Ah take it Pharynx hasn’t come out yet?”
“No...” she sighed, her wings flittering at her sides. “It’s strange...I thought I would have to be worried about Thorax...not Pharynx...”
“Why’z that?” The farm pony tilted her head.
“Well...Thorax has been scared or at least nervous when a new situation pops up...I wasn’t expecting him to take this party so well...” Teal eyes became saddened as the realization hit her like a rock. “...I guess Pharynx was always more adamant about not going out...”
“Well, I’m sure everythin’ will work it’s out eventually,” Applejack smiled towards the worried pegasus, tipping her hat off of her head. “Pharynx will come out of his shell when he’z ready.”
“I...hope you are right,” Fluttershy didn’t want to admit it, but she feared that it was much more than that. Thorax was already refusing her help...and Pharynx would probably refuse it, too...
Shaking herself, she quietly got to her hooves, trotting over towards the covered table. “Pharynx? The party is almost done, we are going to leave soon,” she tried to say in a comforting voice, try to coax the hiding changeling into coming out.
There was a few moments of silence, before a slight ruffle came from under the table. Slowly, a white hoof pushed the draped cloth out of the way, revealing familiar purple eyes, though not compound ones anymore.
“...Over soon...?” He quietly asked, his voice seeming small and shaky. Her heart aches for the little nymph, but kept her composure and smiled.
“Yes, it’ll be over soon,” she cooed. Again, more silence, Pharynx seemingly thinking about whether or not coming out was a good idea.
“...are the other’s gone...?”
“...no,” she winced, flattening her ears as Pharynx dropped the drapes and hid again. “I’ll go talk to the others about it...if you’d like...”
The disguised changeling didn’t answer, only quiet tapping could be heard. Slowly, she slid onto her hooves, making her way to the stairs as her friends descended.
Approaching the host, she sighed. “Pinkie? I need to talk to you...”
“What is it?” She asked, her voice naive and bubbly as always. Fluttershy’s almost regretted asking her friend for this, but she needed to do it.
For her changelings’ sakes.
“I...ok...I want you to stop bringing the changelings wherever you want to go, is that okay?” She asked, her voice as assertive as she could muster. Pinkie tilted her head, confused.
“Was this not the party they wanted?” She asked, before smiling as she picked up her alligator. “I can always make more cake or change up the decorations-“
“No...no I mean stop taking them to the parties...” she winced, the words escaping her mouth hurt to say. Pinkie loved throwing parties and socializing, it hurt to say that to her.
The pink pony was about the object to that statement when she momentarily glanced over towards the hiding spot the nymph had taken. Realization dawned on her. “Ohh...okay! Maybe it wasn’t smart of me to bring them along, huh?”
“Well...I wouldn’t say that...but, it’s would be appreciated if you didn’t...I was also told I should be keeping them inside...”
“Okie dokie!” The tips of the curled mane reached into her hair, pulling out a pencil and a clipboard. Writing down on it momentarily, she smiled.
Fluttershy sighed, the relief that poured down onto her unimaginable. She was about to turn back to Pharynx when another thought crossed her mind.
“Oh, and don’t say anything to anypony else, okay?”
“What but-ah well, fine,” she pouted dramatically, her hoof to her forehead. “I’ll keep this secret of yours.”
“Pinkie promise?” She prompted, knowing full when what was to come after.
With a loud gasp, Pinkie began to recite her favorite line. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
Fluttershy giggled, nodding a thanks towards her friend. With quiet hooves, she trotted back to Pharynx’s hiding place. Thorax sat patiently next to the table, seemingly having a one-sided conversation.
“Pharynx, almost everyone is gone, you can come out now...”
...
“...that’s just being paranoid...”
...
“H-hey! It’s not that bad...is it?”
“Thorax, Pharynx,” Fluttershy started, gaining the cyan nymph’s attention. It was unclear if Pharynx was listening to her or not, but she decided to press on. “We are going home now, okay?”
“Got it!” Thorax chirped, before prodding at the draped cloth. “Hear that Pharynx? We are going-“
“I heard...” a tired voice cut him off with a sigh. Slowly, the disguised nymph stepped out from beneath the table, wincing as his eyes readjusted to the light. Fluttershy took a moment to look at his chosen form, tilting her head.
Instead of a chitinous changeling, he opted for a white pegasus with a crimson mane, similar to his crest. Violet eyes trailed down of the floor as he flattened his ears, a low growl barely audible.
Concern filled her body as Pharynx seem to sway on his hooves. “Pharynx..? Are you alright?”
The disguised nymph shook his head slightly. “I...I think so...” he muttered quietly. Before he could take another step, he collapsed onto the floor, green flames engulfing him as he groaned.
“Pharynx?!” Her voice was panicked, as she carefully picked up the nymph, holding him in her hooves. The red-hued changeling pushed her away, wincing as he placed his hooves to his head. “Pharynx, are you okay?!”
“...think so...”
“...I told you to stop exerting yourself...” Thorax mumbled, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. Pharynx gave a glare at his younger brother before wincing in discomfort.
“...b-buzz off...”
Fluttershy frowned, dipping head to give a quick examination of the nymph. “...maybe I could carry you home today...?”
“...I said I didn’t want your cod-“
“This isn't coddling,” she said firmly, teal eyes gazing over the shaking nymph’s body. “This is the make sure you don’t faint on the way home.”
“...but-“
“No ‘buts’, mister,” she said, surprised by her motherly tone. She was never really assertive in anything, so to hear herself sound like that was odd, to say the least.
Carefully, she placed the exhausted nymph onto her back, unfurling her wings to make sure he didn’t fall off by mistake. This did mean that Thorax had nowhere to hide...
“It’s getting pretty late,” she acknowledged, turning to look at the cyan nymph. “If you can stay behind or next to me, I don’t think many ponies will notice...”
“Hm...that....works...” Thorax didn’t seem all that pleased with the compromise, but didn’t complain. Sighing. Fluttershy trotted down the stairs, meeting up with everypony downstairs.
Rainbow was the first to approach. “Hey, Flutz...” she greeted awkwardly, eager eyes landing on the practically passed out changeling sprawled onto her back. “I...I guess I kinda owe you an apology, don’t I?”
She rolled her teal eyes. “Don’t apologize to me, apologize to Pharynx and Thorax.”
The rainbow maned pegasus coughed, looking towards the pair of changelings. “Er...sorry for being such a pain...”
Thorax chirped up from behind her. “Apology accepted,” he smiled towards the mare, his jaw clicking slightly.
Pharynx had a different answer. “...go away...”
“Pharynx, that’s rude,” Thorax scolded, his voice a whisper as he looked up at his older brother. The crimson changeling didn’t answer back, burying his head into Fluttershy’s mane.
Rainbow seemed a little taken aback, but didn’t seem too offended. Fluttershy gazed with concern towards the Pharynx, but didn’t comment on it. “...he isn’t feeling well right now, so maybe when he’s in a better mood...”
“Ah...”
They stood in awkward silence for a moment, before Rainbow cleared her throat and pushed open the door. As if on cue, everyone started to walk out, with Pinkie staying behind with her alligator. “Thanks again for coming to the party!”
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Rainbow piped before dashing off.
“Not that we had much of a choice,” Applejack chuckled, waving towards Pinkie.
“Lovely evening,” Rarity said simply.
“Great party,” Twilight nodded, trotting off in a different direction from the rest of them. “Maybe we can do this again sometime!”
“Bye Gummy!” Thorax waved excitedly towards the alligator, who stared blankly at him. He giggled happily before quickly following after the yellow pegasus, a skip in his step as he chirped. “I like the party.”
“Oh?” Teal eyes down at the nymph, pride swelled up in her heart. “Did you have fun?”
“Mhm! Um...something ‘apples’ and I helped get Gummy to the purple liquid. ‘Cake’ tastes good, too...and Miss Twilight-“
“Alright, I get it,” she chuckled, rubbing his head affectionately. Seeing the nymph having so energetic made her briefly forgot how worried she had been.
“Though...I don’t think I wanna go to one again,” he mentioned quietly, looking up at her as his ears flatten. Eyes trailed towards the nymph across her shoulders, who had most definitely fallen asleep against her. “...you know...for him...”
“I know. I’ve already talked to Pinkie about this.”
“...Oh...okay.”
They continued down the barren street. Most everypony was already asleep, and the few that were still out paid no attention to the wandering pegasus and changeling. Fluttershy hummed slightly and the chilly air settles around her, cold wind rushing through her hair. The sound of leaves scraping against the pavements made her wince, but she ignored them.
“Does Pharynx usually pass out like this...?” she asked after a while, her wings shifting as Pharynx restlessly slept.
“Not usually, but it isn’t uncommon,” Thorax informed, his voice monotoned like when he had unintentionally threatened everyone at the party. “Usually caused by overexertion on the body. In this case, stress coupled with a prolonged disguise strains the body more, making Pharynx all tired and weak.”
Fluttershy eyebrow shot up. “...I never knew you knew so much about this stuff...”
It was then Thorax blushed, a tint of blue rushing to his cheeks as he smiled awkwardly. “I...um...’Health and Healing’ was the only class I remember anything about...okay?”
She giggled. The nymph was adorable when he got all flustered. Sighing with content, she lead them home in peaceful silence.
“Angel, I need you to go to bed,” Fluttershy said sternly as she carried the squirming rabbit by the scruff. Angel desperately tried to push her off, whining pitifully. She sighed. “You should have been asleep an hour ago...”
After a while of struggling, Angel yawned. His energy for a longer curfew dwindled as she carefully laid him down in his sleeping basket. Within minutes, the rabbit had fallen asleep, sprawling out onto his back.
Quietly, Fluttershy tucked her bunny in with a giggle. That’s everyone, right?
After a moment, Fluttershy determined that everyone within her cottage’s vicinity had been accounted for. The ferret twins, Elizabeak, everyone! The winged mare sighed tiredly, the exhaustion creeping into her body slowly wearing down onto her.
Before she could collapse onto her couch, however, a thump and a crash could be heard overhead. A surge of worry clouded her thoughts as she looked up at her ceiling that held her second floor.
“...Thorax? What are you doing?” She called to the only changeling that could be up. She trotted up her stairway, clicking her door open as soon as she reaches the top.
Confusion was the first thing to cross her mind.
In the middle of her darkened room was an empty bed, and hanging from her ceiling was some sort of cocoon. Pink liquid filled the chrysalis, casting a flaming glow to her walls and floor, Pharynx floating inside of it.
“What’s going on?” Fluttershy asked tentatively, to which a small nymph crawled out from behind her bed. In his hooves was a broken lamp, a guilty expression plastered onto his face.
“Um...I d-didn’t mean to break it...” he said shakily, his wings buzzing with nervous energy. “I-I can replace it! Lanterns aren’t that hard to make-“
“No, I mean what’s this?” Stepping deeper into the room, she pointed towards the hanging cocoon. It reminded her of caterpillars she would help raise and release back into the wild, only much lager than that.
Thorax tilted his head. “It’s a cocoon...”
“I can see that, what is it doing here?”
The question made Thorax perk his ears. “Oh! Um...It’s a healing cocoon. Healers would make them for injured or exhausted changelings in the hive....” he tapped against the hardened material softy. “Um...it’s supposed to help energize the changeling inside...Pharynx should absorb most of it’s fluids by tomorrow...”
Fluttershy eyes softened as she looked down at the nymph. “So Pharynx should feel better then? How will he get out?”
“Mhm!” He chirped, his ears flicking. “He can break it when he gains enough strength. If I don’t use the cocoon he might take longer to recover because of the stress...”
“I see...” despite how intrigued she was, she was beginning to feel the gray fog that was exhaustion creeping back into her head. With a heavy sigh, she picked up and tucked him into her bed. “Now, it’s late, you should really get some sleep.”
“Ok!” Thorax smiled up at her as he curled into her pillow, soft thrills audible from the back of his throat. The pegasus cast one last look at the hanging cocoon, watching Pharynx heal from within.
“...Getter better soon, Pharynx,” she whispered, before whisking out of her room. With a final click, she shut the door, promptly collapsing onto her couch once was back in her living room.
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Aww, poor Pharynx!
I don't hate you, you should see the stuff I put adult Pharynx through in the Patrilineality sequel...
Oh Pinkie Pie I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt their feelings and scared them you just get too excited to think
Again, you did a really good job with the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up. Loved the chats between Fluttershy and Pinkie as well as Rainbow and the changelings. Also enjoyed the detail of Fluttershy even surprising herself with how assertive she was being here (as this is MONTHS before "Putting Your Hoof Down"). Thorax actually remembering Changeling medicine was another beautiful detail.
All in all, very certainly looking forward to more of this.
Makes sense that Pharynx wouldn't handle the party very well, so no surprise that he was so exhausted by the end that Thorax had to resort to somewhat drastic measures
Also, that chapter title is oddly familiar
10632325
I...may or may not have seen that title somewhere-
10632326
Aww at least thorax had fun at the party I mean it started pretty Rocky but it turned out pretty well for him at least
Okay so the party was coming to a close but Fluttershy wanted to see how pharynx doing especially hiding this whole time but it looks like is disguising power kind of drained him so Fluttershy decided to take him home along with thorax because he's starting to feel kind of sick so when they got home it looks like pharynx made himself a cocoon so he can heal himself hopefully he gets better but I wonder they're going to do something for pinkie Pie's surprise birthday party and hopefully she doesn't go Pinkamena lol but anyway I did like how Fluttershy being a little bit assertive to pharynx but nothing too bad just a start talked that he needs to know that she is going to help him I wonder how this whole situation turns out I guess we'll find out next time
Was wondering when he'd crash. He's been so stressed trying to take care of Thorax it's a testament to his fortitude he's lasted this long. But! It also shows he's beginning to trust Fluttershy's hospitality and safety.
Looking forward to more Pharynx depth actually.
Found a typo!
"... when he's ready."
She really needs a better sleeping condition. She can’t stay on the couch forever…