The Young Warrior

by Melody Song

The Secondary Character Squad

“Looking for us?” Pharynx glared down at Apex, Thorax standing beside him with an equally stern expression.

“H-Hi Papa Thorax… Avunculus-Pharynx…” Apex mumbled

“What are you doing here? I told you to stay with Sunburst!” Pharynx snarled

“I… I wanna help!” Apex drew himself up, standing firm. “I don’ care how dan’erous i’ is! I wanna be a warrior like you an’ help figh’ the threa’. An’ the threa’ is Chrysalis, so I wanna figh’ her!”

Pharynx blinked, seeming to consider his words, then sighed. He picked Apex up and set him on Thorax’s back.

“I-I can come?”

“Yes, grub. On the condition that if Thorax or I order you to do anything, you obey, no questions asked. That includes telling you to run and leave us behind. Understood?”

Apex hesitated, then nodded. “Okay Avunculus-Pharynx, I p’omise.”

“Good.” Pharynx said, then turned, leading them to the crystal castle in the distance.

---------------------------------------------

They weren’t able to get into the castle itself, but Pharynx noticed a glow from around the side, and followed it. There, they found Starlight Glimmer and another unicorn standing near a travel wagon. The second unicorn, who had a blue coat and blue-white mane, seemed to be having a panic attack. Pharynx crouched down, Apex leaping over to join him. They crept closer, catching the tail end of Starlight’s sentence.

“-best bet is to get to the Crystal Empire before the changelings do. That way we can-”

“It’s pointless.” Pharynx rose and strode out, deeming it safe to say Starlight and this other unicorn weren’t changelings. “There’s no more help coming from there.”

The blue unicorn shrieked and screamed, but Starlight merely put a silencing bubble over her and stared at him.

“Pharynx…?”

Thorax and Apex cautiously stepped out after him, and Starlight’s eyes widened.

“Thorax? Apex? What’s going on? Wait, do your wings look different?”

Pharynx blinked and glanced back at the sparkling wings. “I guess they do.”

“I told you.” Thorax remarked, and Pharynx hissed at him slightly.

“But that’s not the point. There's no help coming from the Empire.” Pharynx added. Starlight hesitated, then narrowed her eyes and ignited her horn.

“How do I know you’re not just some changelings pretending to be them?”

“You were there when Spike defended me to the ponies of the Crystal Empire.” Thorax pointed out, transforming into Twilight. “Princess Twilight said: As the Princess of Friendship, I should set an example for all of Equestria, but today, it was Spike who taught me-”

“Okay, I believe you, we don’t need the whole speech.” Starlight cut him off, and he changed back. Starlight turned to Trixie, removing the bubble of silence. “Trixie, this is Pharynx, Thorax, and Apex. They’re reformed changelings, they’re on our side.”

“Y-Yeah, s-sure Starlight, i-if you say so… but… if they could just stay over there for a bit…?” Trixie asked, pressing against the wagon.

“What are you three doing here?” Starlight asked, turning to face the changelings again.

“The changelings have captured Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. Sunburst sent us here to get help from Princess Twilight.” Pharynx told her.

“B-Bu’ aren’ we too la’e for tha’?” Apex asked Pharynx

“Maybe not.” Pharynx turned to Starlight. “Well? What do you suggest we do?”

“Yeah Starlight, what do we do?” Trixie asked

“Me?!” Starlight glanced around. “B-But… Pharynx, you were a general, right? You have to know what to do!”

“I led changeling troops into battle and trained them for it. That’s clearly not what we’re trying to accomplish here. Besides, at this point my only objective is protecting my brother and… and nephew.” Pharynx told her, as Apex nuzzled up under his hoof.

“B-But there has to be somepony else who can handle this!”

“There is nopony else! Everypony with powerful magic is already gone!” Trixie protested

“You know, whenever ponies talk about powerful magic, they always leave me out. If I weren’t so evolved I might take it personally.” a strange but familiar voice said.

Pharynx looked up at the top of the travel wagon and snarled. Thorax yelped and grabbed Apex, clutching him to his chest protectively. Discord chuckled at their reaction, as well as the somewhat startled looks of Starlight and Trixie.

“Well, isn’t this quite the combination of secondary characters?” Discord then noticed Pharynx, who was standing in front of his brother protectively. “Now hold on, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” Pharynx growled, taking a step forward and tensing his muscles in case the draconequus decided to do something harmful.

“I mean, you’re not supposed to show up until season 7!” Discord reached into his chest and withdrew a large packet titled SCRIPT. “And I don’t believe it mentioned any little changeling nymph at all… ah, I see, someone’s been editing it.”

Discord held up the “SCRIPT” to reveal purple colored writing over black print. He chuckled and tossed the script into a trash can he made appear, which began chewing on the script as it was dropped in.

“I suppose we can let that slide. Another hopeful fanfiction writer, doubt they'll get very far in, might as well roll with it. Anyway, if I’m going along with this…” he pulled out some knitting needles and began to work. “Where are Twilight and the girls?”

“Well... I would ask if you're the real you, but you just proved it’s the real you by doing all of that." Starlight shook her head to bring her attention back to the more important matter at hoof. "Chrysalis and the changelings are back. They’ve captured all the most powerful ponies in Equestria! Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight and her friends-”

“They took Fluttershy?” Discord leaned over to them, suddenly feral.

“Yes! If we could just-”

“Where?”

“I don’t know, the Changeling Hive?” Pharynx said sarcastically.

“Exactly! And with you on our side we can-” Starlight was interrupted by a snap from Discord’s fingers.

In a blinding flash, they were standing on a cliff. Pharynx immediately began patrolling around their group, shaking off the strange gear Discord had put on him. He opened his mouth to taste for any familiar things. Thorax held Apex close to him, as the nymph poked the backpack on Thorax’s back. Trixie and Starlight looked at each other, also suddenly wearing gear.

“Papa Thorax, where ‘re we?”

“Hm, that’s odd…” Discord walked around, pulling out a map that for some reason was marked Portugal on the top. “I was trying to take us straight to Fluttershy, but…”

Pharynx ignored him, stopping at the edge of the cliff and giving off a threatening hiss, followed by an inaudible swear. This got most of the other’s attention, sans Discord, of course. The draconequus in question simply rolled up the map and stuck it in his chest, then leaned down to look under a rock.

“-There is no Fluttershy…” Discord murmured

“I-I think I have a pretty good idea where she might be…” Trixie whispered, pointing at what the ponies and changelings had seen by now, and drawing Discord's attention to it at last.

A large, black structure rose up in the distance, seemingly buzzing as changelings patrolled in and around it. Thorax trembled as Apex yelped.

“I-I had hoped to never see that p-place again.”

“N-Now wha’?” Apex asked, looking at Pharynx. This time, the older changeling barely acknowledged him, staring coldly at the place where the three changelings had once lived.

Comments

[Reality Check]

“I mean , you’re not supposed to show up until season 7!” Discord reached into his chest and withdrew a large packet titled SCRIPT . “And I don’t believe it mentioned any little changeling nymph at all… ah, I see, someone’s been editing it.”

Discord is breaking the 4th wall and is aware that this is not canon... I love it!

[Melody Song]

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Ah, yes, I very much enjoy writing for Discord, and I myself nearly keeled over just writing that scene, so I figured you guys would enjoy it!