> Lingering Shadows
>  by NavelColt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Her Ex-Royal Majesty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You know what? I like her. She doesn't take flak from anybody. Guess it's no wonder how even you were able to pick up a thing or two from her, Thorax."

Thorax stretched his legs until his joints gave a satisfying crack. The sharp rocks littering the dragon lands had left his hooves aching, and now he could barely take a step without wincing. Thankfully, the cool evening breeze and the enticing smell of pine needles had begun to fill his senses.

The southwest woods bordering Ember's domain were a vast and welcoming sight. They promised not only relief, but also the fast-approaching coast. Beyond that was the Elysian Strait, separating the hive from the Dragon Lands. It, too, was daunting, but it was a trip Thorax's hooves would not suffer over.

"She has to be tough, leading a species like the dragons," Thorax said. "I've really come to respect her tenacity and her wisdom. There's a lot more to her than meets the eye."

"Yeah, I take back what I said this morning. I think we could be excellent allies with the dragons," Pharynx admitted with a smirk. "I completely identify with their whole 'don't touch my stuff, because I’ll end you' attitude."

Thorax chuckled. "I had a feeling you'd hit it off with the dragons. That's why I'm glad you came along with me; I've wanted to introduce you to Ember for quite a while."

"Still can't believe how friendly she is with you. You could scarcely make friends with changelings before you left the hive, and now you're befriending dragons? Did you conveniently leave out your alias as 'King Cuddlebug, His Lordship of Touchy-Feely Nonsense'?"

Pharynx's grin widened at the sight of his brother's taught brow.

"I mean, that's what I'd have done," he continued. "I hear that guy took all the fun out of feeding and replaced hunting with cuddle parties and sharing feelings. What a dork."

Thorax huffed. "Wow, no wonder you get along with the dragons. You've got the juvenile teasing down and everything."

A mocking mimic of his own voice followed.

"I know you're just trying to get me to react. It won't work."

"Ah, but you are reacting. The little frowns, the eye rolls, the proclamations that I’m not getting to you—it all counts, Thorax."

"...Sometimes I wonder if your egg rolled into my clutch on purpose just to make me miserable."

A dry laugh cracked the air.

"Why hello, Pharynx's brother, I'm Pharynx. Let me explain to you what my purpose in life is."

Thorax pressed a hoof to his forehead. If he was lucky, a magical portal would open up and send him to his bed burrow. "Can we please just focus on reaching the coast and getting over the strait? At this rate, we won't even get back til morning. You might enjoy the dragons' rowdiness, but it tires me out, and you know I'm going to get woken up at the crack of dawn by nymphs."

"Oh, that's right. Poor Thorax has to get up in the morning and then take naps through the afternoon with all of the hive's nym-"

"You have to be up early, too, you know. You have a training regiment with the drones tomorrow."

Pharynx promptly closed his mouth. "...You know what, we should probably focus on getting home."

As evening crept into night, the dim light of the moon reached the ground in serrated patches, casting ghoulish shadows across the brothers' backs as they walked. The evening breeze had become a chilled wind, howling through the branches and causing them to sway. Thorax could see his brother's pace picking up, and every so often, something seemed to move just outside the moonlight's field.

"Um, Pharynx, did you see that?"

Pharynx didn't respond. His violet eyes darted around the darkness. Thorax became anxious. He also looked around, but could only see tree trunks.

"What is it?"

"..."

"Pharynx?"

"Thorax, stop walking."

At his brother's tone, a rush of adrenaline rooted Thorax to the spot. He peered into the dark once again, and this time, something in the dark peered back.

"...What could two young changelings be doing out this late, I wonder?"

A pair of glowing eyes floated among the trees, but they needed no introduction. When a sickly green light lit from a jagged horn, Pharynx's body moved like lightning. He leaped in front of Thorax, his antlers coming to life with a magic of their own. An echoing cackle tore through the forest, and with it, the green magic dissipated.

"You're as quick as ever, Pharynx. I see you’re still protecting Thorax from his bullies."

Pharynx's hooves dug into the earth, his magic a storm of electricity between two curved conduits. "That's 'prince' to you, now, witch. Step out where we can see you."

"A witch now, am I? Such insolence, and from my former head of patrol, no less. How the changelings have fallen."

Chrysalis stepped out into the narrow clearing, her body lithe like a charcoal skeleton. Decayed wings stretched from her carapace, catching the moonlight in a macabre fashion.

"What are you doing here, Chrysalis?" Thorax asked sternly. "You're on the border of Dragon Lord Ember's territory. If you don’t leave this forest, I won't hesitate to-"

"To what, 'Your Highness'?" Chrysalis interjected venomously. "Sic the Dragon Lord on me? Well, that would fit your habit of letting others come to your rescue, wouldn't it?"

Thorax's ears fell, as did his eyes.

"You didn't answer the question," snapped Pharynx. "What are you doing here?"

Chrysalis tossed back her mangled mane, unperturbed. "Nothing of importance to you or the dragons, I assure you. Just on a bit of a nightly stroll. These woods are lovely by moonlight, aren't they? As of late, they're my favorite place to come and think."

"You mean 'scheme'. I know you better than anyone, so quit the act. Your mind never had a thought it couldn't use to better yourself at the expense of others."

Chrysalis scoffed bemusedly. "Well, fair's fair, I suppose. You may look ridiculous now, but you're still the shrewd changeling I remember. Nothing gets by you, Pharynx."

The former queen turned her attention to Thorax, and the two shared a long glance.

"Are you having fun playing castle with your big brother, Thorax?"

Thorax glowered. "Tons of fun. What I'm most enjoying is watching the changelings blossom into something more than your personal army."

Chrysalis's irises glinted in the light. With a devilish smile, she began to pace around the pair of changelings, never once breaking eye contact with her successor.

"Sounds like you're all enjoying quite the little renaissance."

"Everyling has adapted to sharing love, and now we're closer and stronger than ever."

"Yes, being able to self-sustain yourselves must be quite the feeling."

"You'd know that, yourself, if you had accepted Starlight's offer-"

"Starlight Glimmer will pay for what she lost me!" Chrysalis barked. "She had no right to encroach on changeling matters!"

Thorax's composure began to fray. "Starlight was only trying to help me confront you, for the sake of our friends and the hive!"

"I was the hive!"

Three sets of colored magic lit the clearing like torches as another gust of wind howled through the trees. Faced with Chrysalis's blind rage, Thorax bit his lip, his own rush of anger giving way to frustration. The three-way deadlock lasted several moments before Chrysalis withdrew her horn, brushing off her outburst with another laugh.

"Precious little Thorax, so kind and full of love," she spat. "I knew you'd return to be a thorn in my side, but to come back with your own little squad of sympathizing ponies? Clearly, I should’ve tracked you down far sooner and kept you from gaining such troublesome allies."

Thorax watched her like a hawk, his stomach churning as his curiosity grew. "How could you have known I'd come back? For the longest time, I didn't even know if I'd ever come back. Were you that paranoid of being overthrown?"

Chrysalis's sneer widened. "Not at all. I knew you'd return, Thorax, because this routine has happened before. Do you honestly believe you're the first changeling in history to ever dabble in friendship?"

Thorax’s eyes widened. "...What are you talking about?"

"I ruled for centuries, Thorax. There have been dozens of drones throughout the ages who discovered that friendship was able to sustain them. You were simply the only one that managed to get away, transform using that magic, and then successfully infect the rest of the hive with it."

Thorax choked on his own dread. "There were others? There were other changelings that discovered friendship for themselves? What...Chrysalis, what did you do to them?"

"Thorax, stop," said Pharynx. "What good is that going to do? Don't let her in. She's goading you."

But Thorax remained transfixed, mesmerized by the former queen's delighted grin.

"They were exterminated, of course," Chrysalis breathed. "Every one of them undermined my authority with their discoveries and betrayed the hive in the process. I eliminated them before they could spread their toxic ideas to the rest of the swarm."

Thorax's lip quivered; his legs became weights. The corners of his eyes began to sting. "You knew all along that there was a better way? And still, you..."

"There is nothing more important to a hive than strength, Thorax." Chrysalis finally came to a stop in front of the sunken changeling. "The hive must remain strong, vigilant, and focused; those who jeopardize that are traitors. You should know my stance on that better than anyone."

"You...how could you be so heartless!?" Thorax lashed out, his tears blurring Chrysalis's fanged smile. "Changelings lived for you, fought for you, starved for you! You had us attack innocent creatures, dressing it up as 'finding food for our kind', but we never even had to! Are you telling me that you never even cared that there was a better way for us out there? If it didn't benefit your lust for power, it was worthless to you!?"

Thorax lowered his head, his composure crumbling and his tears staining the grass. His legs shook, his chest burned with heat like nothing he had ever felt, and his sobs filled the air.

Chrysalis tilted her head, gazing down at Thorax with what appeared to be concern. "Oh, Thorax, you poor thing. I think I finally understand. Now I see why you fled the hive. You couldn't bear to see your fellow changelings live that way, could you? You always were an unusually sympathetic drone...one who never did find his place in the hive."

Her facade suddenly decayed, and Chrysalis's face glowed with satisfaction. She raised her hoof to pick up Thorax's chin, but a flare of magic sailed by, singing the tip.

"You've done enough," Pharynx hissed. "I think it's about time you took your leave."

Chrysalis's attention flickered from one changeling to the other, and she retreated her hoof. "Please, spare me the bravado. If you were going to attack me, you'd have done it by now. You can't risk leaving yourself open by making the first move, not when you have your dear little brother to protect."

Pharynx scowled. "Mistake my caution for hesitation and watch it be your end, Chrysalis. Give me the incentive, and make no mistake, even if it meant going down with you, I'd love to be the one to turn you to ash."

The forest rang with demonic laughter. "Tempting as that may be, I'm afraid I'm not looking for a fight, either. As wonderful as it's been to see my benevolent usurpers again, I have a greater purpose these days. With or without the changelings, I will exact my revenge on those who cost me everything."

Chrysalis walked over to the clearing's edge, a curtain of shade falling across her back. She paused, and turned to face the brothers one final time as her horn ignited in the dark.

"After I put Starlight Glimmer and her friends in their place, maybe I can give you that challenge, Pharynx. Who knows? Perhaps by then it won't be too late for the rightful queen of the changelings to reestablish her place, as well."

Just as the words left her tongue, a blinding flash blew Chrysalis right off her hooves. She slammed into a far tree, and slumped to the ground like a mangled spider, her mane obscuring her face. Her crown fell off her head and into a pile of fallen leaves.

"I will never let you near them again!" Thorax shouted, shaking violently. Even with tears trailing down his cheeks, his raw emotion had Pharynx at a loss for words. "That crown is no longer yours, Chrysalis, and neither are the changelings! You have no right to them!"

A single eye opened through the veil of hair, and Chrysalis slowly picked herself back up. For once, no sneer or smirk crossed her face. In fact, she stared at Thorax with a sliver of shock and silent fury.

"...You continue to surprise me, Thorax," she uttered, at last, egregiously snapping a neck joint back into place. "It looks to me like your little transformation did more for you than disgrace your heritage. To think that same fragile, little drone would actually manage to hurt me. I dare say, I'm impressed."

The fallen crown was seized by green magic. The grass beneath Chrysalis's hooves erupted into even brighter green flames, hazing her body from view and projecting ghoulish shadows around her. Thorax wiped his face of tears and glanced at Pharynx. Together, the brothers watched as a raging inferno consumed their former queen.

"I'm more eager than ever to see where the future takes us, boys. For the time being, though, it's late, and I have plans that need tending to."

Fading like a dying candle, the lapping emerald flames receded into a burned patch of dirt. Chrysalis had vanished with the wind. The forest grew calm and serene, just as it had been before.

"...Thorax, that was amazing!" Pharynx exclaimed, examining the Chrysalis-sized dent in the tree with a grin bursting with pride. "You freaking bodied her, and did you see her take off? She was tossed like a ragdoll! You-"

Pharynx's train of thought came to a screeching halt. Thorax was sitting on his haunches and staring at the grass at his hooves, his silent tears still flowing strong. Now and again, he gave a weak sniff, rubbing his face with a hoof. With a soft exhale, Pharynx sat down by his side, and without a word, encouraged the bigger changeling to lean against him.

"Pharynx, I feel so much resentment for her. It's frustrating."

"It's called 'hate', Thorax. It's alright, you can say it. She deserves every ounce of it."

"If she was telling the truth, then...changelings lost their lives, just for wanting to make friends with others."

"I'd never assume she tells the truth about anything, but I know. That wasn't easy to hear."

"That could’ve been me if I hadn't fled the hive when I did, Pharynx."

Pharynx rested his snout against his brother's head. "Don't be ridiculous. I'd have turned traitor, built a resistance and overthrown her, myself, if she so much as tried to hurt you, and you know it."

Thorax forced a weak smile. "Did you know anything about this? Did she ever mention anything to you?"

Pharynx's eyes ventured to the burnt dirt. "I knew about her attitude towards those who betrayed her, but I never heard about this before. Assuming she wasn't just trying to mess with you, I'm guessing the last time a changeling got glittery wings was before you and I were even born."

"I don't want to believe her, you know," Thorax mumbled. "You're right. I shouldn't let her get to me. It just seems like every time I try to forget about her and move on from our past, she comes back and shows me how things could’ve been so much worse than I thought."

"She's nothing if not determined. But Thorax, does it really matter?" Pharynx countered. He waited for his little brother to meet his gaze before continuing. "Whatever Chrysalis did or didn't do is behind us now. You said it yourself: that crown is no longer hers, and you'll do everything in your power to keep her from claiming it again. That’s what you said, right?"

Thorax nodded and propped himself back up. The alpha changeling drank in the cold night air and calmed himself. "Yeah, I did. I care about the changelings more than anything. I never want to see them go through something like Chrysalis again."

Pharynx grinned. "Then use her atrocities as motivation to build a better kingdom. Don't let yourself fall to her will, even after she's lost the throne. No matter what she says or does, no matter how she may use the past to try and haunt you, nothing will change the fact that the changelings chose you, Thorax. Let's prosper and show her just how irrelevant she really is."

The scattered clouds overhead parted, and the moonlight illuminated everything, including Thorax's newfound smile. His tears now ceased, he hugged his brother tight, much to Pharynx's immediate disapproval.

"Thank you, Pharynx. Thank you so much."

Pharynx grumbled under his breath, pulling his neck away and patting a half-invested hoof on his brother's back. "...Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. I care about you too, so on and so forth. Now, if you're sure your tear ducts have run dry, can we get going, please? Even I'm suffering from bed withdrawal, at this point."

Thorax laughed and let go, giving the sour changeling a playful smile. "Hold on, now you're tired? You seemed ready to stay up all night and hang out with the dragons not too long ago."

Pharynx cocked a brow. "Let's recap, shall we? On top of negotiations with the dragons and sassing you, I threatened Chrysalis twice, sassed her, had my mind blown from you taking her down, and then had to come off that trip to cheer you up. I'm a warrior, Thorax, but I'm not a masochist. I'm utterly exhausted, and I'm ready for bed now."

Together, the royal pair took to the air. The dull, filtered light from overhead was quickly replaced by open sky and the hushed water reflecting it below.

"Just so you know, I'm going to send Princess Twilight a letter before bed and tell her what happened," Thorax said. "She'll be able to inform her friends quicker than I can. As much as I wish it weren't the case, Chrysalis is as much their problem as she is ours."

"You should send Ember a letter, too," Pharynx added. "I'm pretty sure she'd like to know about our psychopathic ex-queen taking 'nightly walks' along her borders. Heck, she might even take care of her for us."

Thorax cocked his head. "You think?"

"Yeah, maybe all she needs is a good dip in a volcano."

Thorax stifled a chuckle. "I think your ruthless tendencies are showing again, Pharynx."

Pharynx's teeth gleamed. "You're right. Too much. I'm sure scalding water would be just as effective."