> Blue Fang, Reignited > by MlpHero > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue I: Blood Brothers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Fang By MlpHero March 17th, 33 H.E.   Good morning journal! Today is supposed to be important. Or so I think… Mother Chrysalis is gathering me, Hive, and Phar to the nursery. Fortuna is also coming, probably to make sure Phar behaves, she’s the only one he listens to. Midnight and Nightbite have decided to join too (well, Midnight anyway, Nightbite probably doesn’t want to come and is being dragged along). Mother Chrysalis hasn’t said why we’re going to the nursery, but it’s probably important. So I better be ready. —Red Fang The young changeling’s eyes left the soft pages of his journal at last, turning to the rough walls of his den. The older changeling workers had attempted to smooth over the jagged edges of the walls, but there was only so much they could do. Besides the craggy walls, a small cluster of luminescent plants hung over the small area, basking the room in a dim, green glow. However, dingy, low quality air filtered through the walls, and it was constantly freezing. Not that the young changeling could feel it, as his blood had long since adjusted to keep him warm. On the walls themselves, there hung several objects of varying types, from weapons to propaganda posters. The floor was littered with books, some open to their last read page while others were stacked in piles in various places. On his desk was a sewing machine, with a single spool of thread sitting at the ready – not that Red had much to sew with most days. Returning his mind back to his current task, Red set the pencil down and laid back. He turned to face his mirror, a thin sheet of reflective silver that hung adjacent from his bed. His red fangs greeted him, as did his right wing, same as always. Sighing softly, Red glanced down at his carapace. It didn’t take a genius to see that Red Fang was a permanently grounded bug, the lack of his left wing was enough of an indicator. It wasn’t by choice either – the appendage had bent in the egg, and when he’d hatched, it was surgically removed. Problem was, ever since Red had learned how to form complex thoughts, he’d always longed to fly, and it showed. His favorite division of the changeling military was the Raging Hornets, for one thing. Propaganda posters for the airborne division hung on every wall of his room, he had an ace helmet on one of his shelves, and most of his small wooden soldier toys were modled after Hornets. Tartarus, a good chunk of the books currently littering the floor were storybooks detailing overly-exaggerated adventures of the Raging Hornets of the past. But, because of his lack of a left wing, Red Fang would never be able to join up when he was older and fulfill his dream of flying. Sure, there were plenty of other divisions to join, but… he wasn’t particularly interested in any of them. The Water Striders worked… well, on the water. Red wasn’t into boats though, they rocked around too much, looked far too unstable. And besides, sailing just seemed boring to the nymph, especially considering that he’d been exposed to several war stories that may or may not have exaggerated the fast paced action of true battles. Why sit on a ship miles away from the fight when you could be on—or well, over—the battlefield itself? The Scorpion Battalion also fell out of favor quite quickly for the youngling. The armored wagons looked cool enough, but Red wasn’t particularly keen on piloting such a slow, giant target. It seemed like an easy way to get killed. And he’d heard the most deaths came from Scorpion Tanks getting blown up, only confirming his thoughts. No thank you. The Wasp Division was just what he was looking for. It promised great adventures for all who joined. A chance to try experimental technology firsthoof and be placed in the middle of the battles. The problem? They only allowed Elites to join. Red huffed at that notion – what good was barring bugs via their castes? They’d just keep good fighters of lower class from fulfilling their full potential (like him, probably, when he got older). Stupid upperclassers flaunting their rank. That left him with one option left: the Devil Horns. The Queen’s Finest, or so the posters claimed. Red did not agree, the Devil Horns were bare minimum to him when compared to any of the other divisions. They were mere cannon fodder, and they didn’t even have any cool tricks, only there to provide bodies to hold the line while the better divisions won the battles. They were simply infantry… but… they promised what he wanted. The ‘Horns were always right at the front, spearheading the charge into combat. Red sighed, looking around at the posters gracing his walls. The pictures of the white suited changelings saluting the sky caught his gaze. The words “Fly High!” and “Aim High, Aim True.” greeted him with big bold letters. Yeah, sure, he’ll aim high. Then fall right back down. Before he could sink too far into that rabbit hole of thoughts, however, there was a knock at the door. The noise snapped the bug out of his trance, and he looked over. “Red! You in there?” “Yeah! He rolled out of bed, landing with a thud onto the ground. “Ow! Oof… Comin’! Gimme a sec!’ ~~~ While Red composed himself, standing outside his door was a familiar older changeling with a pink carapace, pink wings, pink eyes, and a pink bandana round her neck. This was Midnight, and beside her stood her younger friend, Nightbite. Midnight was a wonderful changeling, despite her borderline unhealthy obsession with the color pink – with a preference for some shade called ‘fuchsia’. Despite being only six, she’d already developed what some would call a ‘posh’ attitude. Prim and perfect at all times, but the other changelings knew better than to mock her for it – Midnight could become a proper ‘brute’ if the mood struck her. Nightbite on the other hoof, was quite different. A bit younger than Red, and a very rowdy bug to say the least. Wasn’t exactly amiable, either, his only close friend was the pink changeling currently at his side. Midnight tried her best to teach the young bug to get along with others, but there was only so much she could do. Nightbite was squirming at Midnight’s side, clearly not wanting to be there at all judging by his whines. “Middyyyyy! You promised we’d go see the arena skirmishes!” Midnight smiled with all the patience of someone who remembered acting the same way. “Yes, I know, and we will. But this is important.” “But I don't wanna go to the nursery! It's fulla babies!” “Then you’ll fit right in.” Midnight chuckled a bit as she rubbed his head. “I’m not a baby!” “You kinda are, you’re three,” Midnight teased with a laugh. “Besides, the skirmishes go on all day. There will be plenty of interesting things to see later too.” Nightbite rolled his eyes despite the reassurances, trying to pull his companion away from Red’s door. Midnight sighed and stood her ground, rolling her eyes. “Honestly Nighty, you sometimes make me wish I blew up in a wagon.” Finally, Red opened the door, stopping Nightbite from continuing his whining. “Hi guys!” Red lived in one of the main catacombs, which boasted easy access to basically everything in the Hive. The Academy, the school that taught young nymphs the basics of reading, math, and writing. Later years would see them being trained in things they would need for serving in the military or R&D Department. (Red personally was going for military teaching). Away from that was the main canteen, a nice little place, nothing to complain about. It was usually freezing, even by hive ventilation standards. Finally, there was the arena. A large colosseum where changelings could watch other changelings kill each other and cheer on the winners. It’s barbaric, yes, but dueling, skirmishing, fighting, and warring? It’s in their blood. No shame in following one's instincts. Midnight smiled at the small changeling, snapping him from his thoughts once more. “Hey there Red. You ready?” “Yeah!” It’d been a long while since he was in the nursery, it was such a sacred place. The last time he was there, it had been when he was lucky enough to form a bond with Chrysalis, with the Queen. Or at least had impressed her enough that she had allowed him to have his own den. Unlike Red, Nightbite was more apprehensive about the thought. “But why are we going to the nursery?” Midnight shrugged. “I’m not sure. That’s why we’re going, and we’ll be late unless we leave now, come on.” Red nodded and followed behind as Midnight set off, Nightbite being dragged along. It wasn’t a good idea to keep Chrysalis waiting. ~~~ Hivehunter chuckled as he pinned Pharynx to the wall of the youngling’s room. “Haha! Gotcha, lil’ bro!” Hivehunter declared, his wings buzzing in victory. Pharynx wasn’t easily deterred, however. He was a fierce youngling, and did not like to lose, especially not to his brother. Thinking quickly, he kicked at his opponent’s leg, causing the older nymph to lose his balance, promptly tackling and pinning him to the floor. “Ow! Dangit Phar, that’s cheating!” “There is no cheating! This is war!” Pharynx replied, raising his forehooves in victory. Hive rolled his eyes, before pushing himself off the ground and lifting Pharynx up, displaying the not so subtle height difference between the two. Despite still being a nymph, Hive was impressively tall for his age, not to mention strong. Pharynx squirmed, trying to break free of Hive’s grip with a pout. “Hey! No fair!” “There is no fair in war, Phar,” Hive snarkily replied, before throwing Pharynx back onto the nymph’s bed. Pharynx grunted in response, before sitting up and continuing to pout. “Boys, play nice,” A female voice said cut in. Fortuna had been watching the two as they scuffled, an amused smile on her face. But although she was enjoying it, she had started to notice they may have been taking it too seriously for a play fight. “Pharynx, no biting frills.” “But mooooom! We’re just playing!” Pharynx complained, despite being mere inches away from Hive’s frill. The other youngling yelped and turned to glare at him as he backed away with a sheepish smile. “Phary, you can’t just bite someone’s frill. That’s a coward’s path to victory.” Fortuna stepped over, peeling the two apart, holding Pharynx up by the hoof. “Besides, it was far smarter to try and kick him in the legs or lower body to knock him off balance, like you did earlier. Especially considering the fact that he’s bigger than you.” “Are you calling me short?!” “No, Phary. I’m saying for a bigger opponent, you’ve got to use every advantage you have.” Pharynx stared at the older changeling, shooting her a glare that, in his mind, surely struck fear into her heart. He instead wound up looking more like an upset puppy who had missed treat time. Hive stared at Phar, grinning. “Yeah, she’s calling you short. Also, that glare makes you look like an angry foal.” “Hive, no, I meant… ugh…” Fortuna sighed, before yelping as Pharynx managed to squirm free. Pharynx was just about to lunge again when Midnight stepped into the room, coming between him and Hive. “Ah, ah. Not so fast, bugger.” Pharynx pouted. “Hey! Midnight, I was about to get him!” “Well not now you’re not.” Midnight looked up at Fortuna. “I thought you were getting them ready?” “Errr… I was, but…” Midnight rolled her eyes, Nightbite and Red walking over to join the other nymphs. “Seriously Tuna, you have to be responsible. You could’ve at least straightened Phar’s neck fin, it’s all bent.” Fortuna huffed. “I was trying to, but you know how he is. Too much energy, too little body. And stop calling me Tuna! I’m not a fish!” “No, but you do smell awful, and your mane is filthy. That will not do, we’re about to meet with the Queen.” Midnight grabbed Fortuna and dragged her into the washroom part of the den, slamming the door. The nymphs looked at the door, before looking back at each other. They all bore the same look of boredom and confusion. “This is dumb.” Nightbite complained. “I wanted to see the gladiators!” Hive nodded. “Yeah… who’s fighting today?” “I think… Zesper and Lycore,” Pharynx joined in. “Something about Lycore trying to kiss Zesper’s girlfriend or something.” “Ew,” Red said, sticking his tongue out. “That’s a gross reason to fight. Worse than that stew we had yesterday.” “Who puts moss in chicken stew anyway?” Nightbite agreed. “It’s chicken stew, not moss stew!” “Don’t worry guys!” Hive butted in. “When I’m king, I’ll make all the meals better.” The nymph held his head up proudly, certain he was going to fulfill that promise someday. Red just smiled and shook his head. Hive was the most narcissistic of the group.  Pharynx looked over, doubt written across his face. “What makes you think you’ll be king?” “Cause Mama Chrysalis said so!” Hive replied. “I dunno Hivey, she’s been on the throne for like… a thousand years! No way she’d give it up any time soon!” Red commented. “Besides, what about Phar? What would he be?” It was a quite complex question, as Pharynx was the blood bug of Chrysalis, whilst Hive was simply adopted into the royal family. Therefore, it was hard to say who’d truly be king. Nonetheless, Hive gave Red an answer. “I dunno? A prince?” “Oh! He’ll be ‘Shortest Prince Ever’,” Night suddenly blurted out. “Night, I swear to the Hivemother, I will—” But before Pharynx could finish his threat, the nymphs’ little debate was interrupted by a loud crash, followed by shouting from the washroom. The nymphs looked over, wondering what could possibly be happening as they heard another sound – a loud splash, and an alarmed shriek. A few minutes later, Midnight stepped out with a smile. “Alright boys, we’re ready.” From behind her, Fortuna emerged, now soaked in water, soap, and shampoo. The nymphs stared at her, before collapsing to the ground in fits of laughter. Fortuna huffed, clearly annoyed, before trudging off out of the room. Midnight snickered, but set about corraling the nymphs and quickly followed behind. ~~~ It didn’t take long to arrive at the nursery once the changelings had finally set out properly. They stepped through the entrance that opened for them, and Midnight swiftly led the group over to the area one of the nurselings used as a form of reception desk. Ponies did have some good ideas as to how things should be run – and with things as sensitive as medical/nymph caretaking, it was often wise to steal tactics from the enemy. “Pardon me,” Midnight spoke up to get the nurseling’s attention. “We have an appointment with Her Majesty in the hatchery.” The nurse nodded, before leading them into a hidden hallway off to the side, one that went deeper down into the catacombs. The hatchery was perhaps the nicest room in all of the Hive, despite its underground location. In fact, the setting provided it with natural warmth and protection from the elements. The glowlamps hanging from the ceiling ensured the perfect amount of light (dim, for young ones first opening their eyes), and there was easy access to food and water. All so the many egg clusters laid in the area would develop as perfectly as they could. The nurse allowed them in before vanishing, leaving the group to locate the Queen on their own. It didn’t take long before they found Chrysalis, spotting her tending to a small cluster of eggs. The group walked over, joining the Queen in silence, as was customary. As their Queen, she outranked them all, and thus it was her who was to initiate conversation first, no one else. “You’re late.” “Apologies, Fortuna held us up.” “I did not!” “Yes you did!” “Quiet, please,” Chrysalis silenced them two females, who obeyed and didn’t argue further. Chrysalis promptly stood from her spot by the egg cluster, and with a wave of her hoof, led the group down past the many other clusters surrounding them. The young ones looked around, taking note of the nurselings who were monitoring the eggs with an innocent curiosity. Chrysalis nodded to each nurse they passed, carefully stepping over some of the eggs that had managed to roll out of their clusters. Red paused each time they passed one and bent down to scoop up the lost eggs and placing them back in their original clusters. “Red Fang! Let’s go!” Chrysalis called out when she noticed him lagging behind. The nymph was quick to catch up with the group without protest. When he reached them, he noticed the changelings had spread out around a small cleared area. Hive and Pharynx were standing a few paces apart from each other, watching over an egg each. According to Chrysalis, these were to be their new siblings, both seeming almost ready to hatch. Red smiled faintly at the sight, before seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, and looking up. Chrysalis approached with a gentle smile, holding a third egg. “This one is your new sibling, Red Fang.” She gently passed the egg to the nymph, who cradled it gently. She then stepped away, monitoring another group of eggs with Midnight and Night. Hive scooped up the egg that was his soon-to-be sibling, examining it. Pharynx, meanwhile rolled his eyes as he looked down at the other egg. Chrysalis glanced around at all three nymphs, clearly waiting to see if they were ready for… something. Red wasn’t sure what it was she was looking for, but apparently she found it, because the Queen promptly closed her eyes and began humming softly. As she did, the eggs surrounding the group of changelings suddenly started to wiggle – and crack slightly. The nymphs all paused to stare in innocent amazement at the phenomenon before them. Chrysalis chuckled softly, reopening her eyes to observe. She’d seen this type of childlike innocence many, many times before. She always bet with herself as to how long it’d last before it was drained, and whether it would happen forcibly, all at once, or over years of experience. Slowly, one by one, the cracks in the eggs widened, and each one split open to reveal hundreds of baby changelings, who almost immediately started to crawl towards Chrysalis. Though she was not their mother, each one still felt an instinctive urge deep inside. It was a powerful pheromone of sorts that a Queen emitted, to tell each new addition to the Hive that Chrysalis was someone of great authority, someone to be trusted. Hive looked down when he felt the egg in his own hooves cracking. He watched in stunned surprise as a small changeling with light pink eyes emerged from the shell. Hive stared silently for a moment, but he quickly smiled. “Heheh… hi there…” Hive held the baby up, and it giggled, babbling excitedly. Pharynx huffed, looking pointedly away from the pair. The egg cracked, and the nymph watched as a glorious warrior crawled out… …Of an egg about five steps to his right. From his sibling’s egg, there instead emerged a changeling larvae who looked absolutely terrified at its new surroundings. Pharynx blinked. “This is my sibling?” The larvae looked around, then promptly cowered, retreating back into its egg. Pharynx sighed, leaning down and scooping it out of its egg. “Hi there… I guess…” The tiny nymph wiggled a bit in his hooves, before looking up at Pharynx. It seemed to recognize him as someone it could trust, and began cooing excitedly. Pharynx blinked in surprise and leaned down to get a better look. That was when he felt the grub’s tiny hoof poke his nose, chittering eagerly. Pharynx’s muzzle scrunched in response, and he groaned. Already this youngling was proving to be an exact opposite of him. Red chuckled as he watched his friends meet their new siblings, before looking down at the egg he was holding. He felt the egg twitch, and held it gently, watching as it split at last, and out emerged his new sibling. He smiled, letting the little larvae crawl up his leg with a giggle. “Heheh… Hey there little fell- ow!” Red flinched, looking down as the baby began nibbling at his foreleg, burying tiny little blue fangs into his chitin. “Heh… you’re a feisty little bugger, aren’t you?” Red smiled, lifting the baby, who cooed happily in response.  “It seems he likes you, huh?” Hive teased. Red rolled his eyes and just held the bug up. “Hiya buddy… you’re gonna grow up to be a great warrior.” “Every great warrior needs a name, Reddy,” Pharynx stated as he struggled to keep his little sibling from continuing to mush his face around. “What’re you naming it?” Red pondered. He could tell this little one was a boy – Pharynx’s sibling was too, by the looks of it, while Hive’s seemed to be a girl. So what would be a good name? In his infinite, five year old wisdom, he came to his conclusion. “…I’m gonna name him Blue Fang.” Midnight blinked. “Blue… Fang? That’s not a very creative na–” Fortuna promptly whacked the pink-schemed bug on the back of the head with a hissed “Shut up!” Red hadn’t noticed the exchange between the two older females, more focused on holding his little sibling up. “Blue Fang… yeah. That’s a good name.” Blue cooed happily in his hooves, his tiny azure fangs gleaming in the soft light of the nursery. > Prologue II: Ballad of the Broken Wings > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red Fang felt a sharp pain in his right leg, and he shot up from his bed, looking around. He then sighed, looking down.  “Ugh… Bluey…” Red leaned down, picking up the nymph. Or well, he tried to. Attempting to move the nymph shot a bit of a sting down his leg. He winced, sighing. Blue had been teething for a few days—Not that Red knew that—and he seemed very content with using his brother as his chosen teething object.  Red examined his brother’s fangs. Sure enough, dabs of green blood were on his little blue fangs. Looking down at the source of his pain, he noticed two small holes in his leg. Blue had somehow managed to break through his chitin. Red carefully set Blue down, before heading towards his desk. No bandages, or really anything to put on the bite mark. Blue watched his brother, before attempting to follow him. Unfortunately, he came across his biggest obstacle yet. Getting off the bed. Changeling larvae weren’t particularly stupid. Unlike their Equestrian counterparts, they at least knew basic self-preservation skills. In other words, maybe throwing themselves off an elevated position isn’t exactly an efficient way to get attention. So, in their infinite, baby wisdom, they’d do the one thing that can signal their caretaker. “…WAHHHHHHH!” Red jumped slightly, turning to look at Blue. The larvae cried, reaching its small foreleg out. Red shook his head, stepping over.  “I’m here, I’m here! Calm down!” he whispered, scooping the baby up. “Shh… shh…” he nuzzled the little nymph, who soothed. “There you go… you oka—” Red suddenly found Blue’s fangs buried in his muzzle. He recoiled, shaking his head. “Owowowowowowow!” He scrunched his muzzle, before looking back at Blue, who simply stared, seemingly confused. Red rubbed his muzzle, before sighing. “Let’s uh… let’s just go get breakfast…” ~~~ Red carried Blue into the cafeteria. It was still early in the morning, and most bugs weren’t up. Well, minus the military. Red soon found himself watching as the Devil Horns went marching by, with their armor and large bolt-throwers on their sides. They had just finished eating by the looks of it and were being marched out to training As they marched, their voices echoed off the walls of the cafeteria. Red watched, almost mesmerized. His head bobbed side to side as their in-sync marching created an almost drumming-like effect. Their booming voices and click-clacking equipment only made them seem bigger than they were. Blue Fang began to fuss. The loud “singing” wasn’t exactly calming to the larvae as they were to Red. The older changeling looked down. “Oh, sorry Bluey!” He stroked his brother’s head gently, shushing gently. “We’re getting breakfast now.” Red walked over to the counter, looking over. One of the cookbugs looked over, smiling at the two brothers. “Hey Red, hold on.” She started making a plate. “Hey Grubber! Your friend’s here!” she called out. A small nymph peeked over the counter. “Reddy Bear, hey!” he said, smiling. “Hold on, I’ll get your usual and meet you at table uh…” he checked a list, carefully reading down. “Ah, four!” He then disappeared behind the counter. Red giggled, before heading towards table four. It wasn’t much a singular table, but a line of tables, much like a school cafeteria. Table four wasn’t too crowded, but it sat right in the middle of the cafeteria, thus it was still quite loud. Blue began fussing again. Red smiled, nuzzling him. “Shh… it’s okay. We’re getting food.” Blue looked up, before wiggling free of Red’s grasp and climbing on his shoulder. Red squeaked, looking over. “Hey!” he giggled, trying to grab his brother, who then crawled onto his back, and then onto his head. “Hmph…”  Soon, the small nymph walked over to the table, smiling at the two. On his back set a plate of food, one Red had ordered several times before. Squirrel with rock salt. Setting the plate on the table, Grubber sighed. “Consider yourself lucky, Reddy Bear. Meat itself is already hard to come by. But squirrels?” “I know, I know.” Red smiled. “But it’s really good!” he argued. “I hope so…” Grubber rolled his eyes, taking Blue Fang off Red’s head. “How’s this little one doing?” “He’s biting stuff again…” Red returned dejectedly. “And not just his toys. He’s biting me!” Red stated, pointing to his new leg bite mark. Grubbed rubbed Blue’s chin carefully, though immediately retracted his hoof when Blue attempted to put even more holes into the young bug’s foreleg. Grubber merely stared, a bit surprised. “Goddess above, is he hungry?” “I uh… I don’t know…” Red shrugged, taking Blue off his head, and placing him on the stone table, where he immediately tried nibbling at the table, though failed due to basic table geometry, also known as it was a flat surface that couldn’t be easily bit into. “Even after I gave him his bottle, he still likes to bite me.” “He must be fanging,” Grubber stated. “I think momma has something for him to nibble on.” Grubber stood, gently lifting and placing Blue on his back.  Blue, for the most part, was more confused if anything. He had seen Grubber nearly every day, so he knew he could trust him. But at the same time, he didn’t want to leave his brother. Thus, he began to whimper. Red nuzzled his brother gently, careful to avoid his maw. “Shh… it’s okay.”  Blue quieted, looking at the back of Grubber’s head. Grubber chuckled. “Come on, let’s go see momma.” With that, the two left, Blue Fang surprisingly not crying. Red smiled, before sighing. As much as he loved his brother, little Blue was a hoof-full. He continued to eat the cooked squirrel, looking around. He soon noticed something. He was alone. Well, not alone. There were other bugs happily… moderately eating their food. However, they were all sitting in groups, conversing. Red, as far as he could tell, was the only one sitting alone. And he was saddened by it. He was never one for conversing. The only friends he had were Grubber, Nightbite, Pharynx, and Hivehunter, and even then, those were more or less friends Chrysalis pushed him to make, with Pharynx and Hivehunter themselves being Elites. Thus, he was only able to make friends due to Chrysalis. Speaking of Chrysalis, Red looked up to be greeted by the mighty changeling Queen herself. She gave him a small smile as she sat in front of him, peering down at his plate. “Squirrel meat. That’s a rare dish you’ve got.” Red nodded. “Yeah… I still feel strangely… empty.” He looked up. “Like… I’m still hungry, even though I ate.” “You haven’t had any love. That’s why.” She sighed, a rare hint of remorse gleaming in her eyes. “Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do right now. Our scouts can’t find any good towns to raid.” Red huffed again. “Why can’t we just… feed off of each other? Like… can’t we love each other and have a constant supply?” Chrysalis opened her mouth to respond but paused. She’d considered the idea many times before, and it sure seemed like a hell of an idea. But, she always brushed it off as a stupid one. They were changelings, born and bred for war and conquering. If they needed love, by the Goddess, her sister above, they’d take it by force. She was often a stickler for the old ways and hated when either times had changed, or her way of thinking was challenged. With a remorseful shake of her head, she answered. “It just won’t work that way, little one. I’ve tried many times.” She lied. Red finished the squirrel, sighing. “I guess… I still feel a bit hungry… and kinda lonely…” Chrysalis nodded and began to think. She’d remembered that members of the lower caste occasionally held a sort of gathering every so often, usually used to let changelings mingle amongst each other. Thus, she had an idea. “Hm… there’s a little meetup planned near the nursery. A lotta hatchlings are gonna be there. Maybe you can bring little Blue there?” Red’s face almost lit up like the first light of June. Chrysalis would’ve probably been blinded if his face was made of light. “Okay!” Chrysalis chuckled. “Speaking of which. Where is Blue Fang?” “Oh uh… Grubber’s ma is getting something for Blue to chew on because he keeps biting me,” Red replied. “Ah. Well, alright.” Chrysalis was all too familiar with fanging. Not unnatural, but was mildly annoying. And painful. But alas, with that conversation done, Chrysalis stood up, having to leave due to work. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to supervise a training exercise. The Devil Horns are shooting each other with paint-slingers later.” Red’s eyes suddenly glowed with excitement. “Can I come watch?” Chrysalis couldn’t help but smile in amusement. “Sorry Red, but you’ll have to stay with Blue at the meetup. Besides, I don’t want you or Blue to get struck by a stray bolt.” Red Fang sighed. “Alright…” Chrysalis nodded, stepping out of the cafeteria, leaving Red to his thoughts. ~~~ Red carried Blue down the hallway, toward where the meetup was said to be. On his head, sat Blue, who was nibbling on a bit of sugarcane. Grubber’s mom has thankfully given Red a few sticks of sugarcane because Blue was probably going to go through them unnecessarily fast. The two rounded a corner, noticing a large crowd of changelings. Red pulled Blue close, walking into the crowd. There were two areas, one for the nymphs and one for adults. Red smiled, setting Blue down with the grubs.   Blue looked around, seemingly confused by all the new activity. He crawled around, sniffing at the other nymphs. The other nymphs watched him with mild confusion and annoyance. Some of them even snapped at him, growling at him. Blue, however, was persistent, continuing to sniff around the nymphs. Red watched his brother wander around. Blue was always curious about the other changeling. From behind, Pharynx, Hive, and Nightbite approached, Pharynx holding Thorax and Hive holding Kydra. “Hey Red,” Hive greeted, setting Kydra down. “Hi guys, what’s up?” Red returned, smiling at his friends. “Well, they’re letting the nymphs go play with the others,” Nightbite bit back. “This is dumb, why can’t we go play war games with the other nymphs?” Pharynx rolled his eyes, setting down Thorax. “Night, can you pull your tail outta your mouth for a bit?” “Why should I be forced to hang out with a buncha babies?” he whined, letting out an annoyingly long sigh. “Well you’re not… you’re hanging out with us,” Hive retorted. “And last I check, we’re not babies.” Nightbite simply pouted again, clearly not enjoying the fact that he was essentially forced to be here. Meanwhile, Blue was still on his little adventure. He was looking for… something. He wasn’t exactly sure, but he continued looking. He soon crawled towards a smaller larvae, one with larger fangs. Must have been an early bloomer. Blue moved over, nuzzling against him. The smaller changeling looked over, sniffing at Blue. Blue Fang. Dagger. Blue chittered happily, nuzzling against Dagger, to which Dagger chittered back happily. Thus, they began to crawl around together. Whereas Blue was a bit more naturally cautious, Dagger seemed a bit more hot-headed, ready to take risks wherever possible. As they crawled around, they soon found another changeling, one that appeared to be a little blind, as he was squinting. The two larvae crawled over, nuzzling against him. The other larvae were surprised by their sudden appearance, squinting at them, before chittering happily. Blue Fang, Dagger. Mantis. Mantis nuzzled against the two larvae, before attempting to lead them on. Though, considering his lack of eyesight, Blue Fang decided to lead, with Mantis behind him, and Dagger behind Mantis to keep the bug from accidentally wandering off. The three bugs continued crawling around, before finding themselves at a group of doctors. The doctors were talking about something. However, on the table beside them was another larva, one with a non-curved horn that resembled a bee stinger, and his wings seemed to be blooming earlier than the others. The three larvae crawled over, chittering up at him. He chittered back, before attempting to get down. “Woah woah, hey buddy!” one of the adults yelped, quickly picking up the larvae. “You wanna play with the others?” they asked, to which the larvae chittered. The adult smiled, placing him down, before turning back to the conversation. The three larvae again, nuzzled against the new larvae.  Blue Fang, Dagger, Mantis. Stinger. Stinger chittered happily, before crawling with them. Their little group happily crawled around, simply exploring. They soon rounded back to the older changelings. There, the group met two new changelings. One with pink accents, Kydra; and one who looked ready to jump out of his silk wrappings, Thorax. They nuzzled against each other, introducing each other. However, Blue nuzzled against Kydra a bit gentler than he usually did. Actually, he nuzzled her a bit longer. The larvae themselves were rarely exposed to the opposite gender of the same age. Blue especially, as he and Red never really took time to play with others. To Blue, Kydra was sort of a half-mystery. Up until now, the only females he’d seen were older, like Chrysalis or Grubber’s mother. The older group watched Blue’s little display of affection, with Night chuckling a tad bit. “Aww, he’s in looooove~” he teased, leaning towards Hive and Pharynx. Hive and Pharynx huffed, not exactly amused by Blue’s gesture to their younger sister. In fact, they seemed to take offense to it, murmuring something under their breaths. Red seemingly noticed, picking up his little brother, who whined as he was taken from his new friends. Red rubbed his head gently. “You can play with them later…” Red soothed, silently insulting Hive and Pharynx under his breath. Best not to let the little ones hear it, he thought. “I’ll uh… I’m gonna take Blue back to our den really quick.” “You sure?” Nightbite asked caringly, which was strangely out of character for the annoyingly whiny nymph. “Blue seems to be enjoying the company.” “I just have to run home. I’ll be back.” “Errrr… right.” Red sighed, carrying Blue ahead. “Come on Blue…” he murmured, placing Blue back on his head. He then carried his brother back to his room. ~~~ “Those annoying… No good… Sons of…” Red murmured, pacing his room.  On the bed, little Blue watched his elder brother pace the room. Of course, the little larvae hadn’t a clue as to what his brother was upset about. Then again, he hadn’t a clue about most things. Except food. And maybe nibbling on things that shouldn’t be nibbled on. Like rocks. Red looked over at Blue, who was silently staring in confusion. The older changeling sighed, stepping over to his younger brother, who babbled excitedly. Sitting down beside him, he picked him up and placed him atop his head carefully. Blue let out a few squeaks, before grasping onto his brother’s horn with his tiny forelegs. Red chuckled a bit, before standing. He then started prancing around carefully, causing Blue Fang to babble excitedly. “Heh… you like that?” Red asked, smiling happily. Blue gave an excited babble that turned to a raspberry in response. Red chuckled, continuing for a few rounds. To little Blue, it seemed like he was atop the world, and nothing could take him down. He continued his tiny babbles, simply happy to be alive. As the two played, there was a knock on the door. Red halted carefully to not fling Blue off his head. Red stepped over to the door, lazily sweeping toys out of the path. As he opened the door, he found himself greeted by Chrysalis and Kydra. Red smiled, staring at the two. “Hi, Mother Chrysalis!” “Hello there Red Fang. I came to check up on you.” She stepped in, looking around the room. “And I will say… maybe it’s a good idea to clean up this den.” Her horn illuminated the room, her magic lifting the toys off the ground and placing them along the shelves and in boxes. Red and Blue watched in awe as the objects lifted off the ground and magically placed back in their proper places. Red sat on the bed, letting Blue crawl off his head and land on the bed. Chrysalis chuckled, also sitting down on the bed, and placing Kydra down beside Blue. As Red Fang and Chrysalis talked, Blue Fang crawled over to the royal larvae. Kydra herself gave off a… Well, Blue wasn’t entirely sure. She gave off a feeling akin to Chrysalis, someone who was meant to be respected, holding great power. Despite this, Kydra didn’t seem to act high and mighty.  Blue had seen Elites before. They lived at the very tippy top of the hive, and thus were at the top of the caste, barring Chrysalis herself. And most Elites were simply that, bugs at the top, most of whom had little to no care for the regular bugs. They were mostly high-ranked officers, highly trained doctors, heads of Research and Development, political figures, descendants of changeling heroes, families of the aforementioned, and most just got spots because they had extra space. Being top of the chart more or less bred a “holier than thou” mentality amongst the Elites, most of whom had no real compassion for the lower members of the hive. In fact, most were often offended if the lower caste tried to interact with them. Even the larvae were often rude to lower caste members. Despite this, Blue didn’t sense any of that about Kydra, who sniffed at him curiously. Kydra herself hadn’t rightfully seen a lower caste changeling. Today was her first true exposure to a bug lower on the chain, both in status and floor. Being dubbed the Princess of the Changelings, many changelings, including the Elites, held great respect and even fear for the baby bug, especially since she was being raised by Chrysalis herself, and everybug feared Chrysalis. This was because Chrysalis was pretty ruthless, even to the changelings. Behind that grace and beauty, Chrysalis was essentially a tyrant. Even the Elites weren’t safe, as Chrysalis, despite how vain she was, didn’t discriminate. In the face of this, however, Kydra found herself not really wanting special treatment. Most changelings would’ve killed to get her position, and yet she didn’t find herself liking her royal title. She cared more for the few friends she had than she did attempting to boss others around. Of course, her friends were all Elites, so interacting with this blue-fanged bug was more than just foreign, it was completely alien to her. She raised her forelegs up, babbling while making movements of slipping a ring on her hoof with her tiny legs. “Riches?” She then brushed her hoof backward against her head. “Vanity?” Blue shook his head, crawling to the edge of the bed, pointing down at the toy chest. Kydra crawled over, examining the box. It wasn’t too large, nor was it fancy. It was just a simple box that held the changelings’ toys, which included blocks, wooden soldiers, models of weapons, amongst other things. Kydra was a bit confused. Her toys were made of more expensive materials, metals, plastic, fabrics, those sorts of things. She’d never seen wooden or stone toys like these. However, she found herself intrigued by the artifacts. Blue sensed her curiosity and wanted to show the regal larva the toys. He looked around, before noticing the nearby soft feather pillow. Suddenly, his brain had some kind of thought, as if a candle was suddenly lit. He crawled over to the pillow, biting down into it. He then began dragging the pillow back to the edge of the bed, though with some visible effort. After some time, Blue managed to push the pillow off the bed, the pillow landing on the floor with a “pomph!” Blue looked down at the pillow, then looked up at Kydra, then down at the pillow, then right back at Kydra. Then he threw himself off the bed. ~~~ Red looked up at Chrysalis, who stared merely down with a curious gaze. She was, to most changelings, a goddess alive. She’d been around for thousands of years, she’d seen kingdoms come and go, seen wars tear through the lands. If anyone wanted to learn anything about everything, Chrysalis surely had the answer.  In this case, however, the Queen herself had a question for the young Red Fang. With a soft, curious voice, she asked, “why do you want to fly?” Red’s mind went a bit blank. He hadn’t actually thought about why he wanted to fly, he just knew he really wanted to touch the skies. He reached deep into his brain, trying to figure out why he wanted to fly. Eventually, he found a sort of valid reason. “I suppose… I just want to see the world from above…  y’know, touch the clouds and such.” “But do you think that would bring you joy?” she asked, looking down at Red. “What if you could fly? What then?” she straightened out her posture. “I mean… there’s got to be more to life than just a short-term goal.” Red looked around, a bit saddened. Despite his age, he sensed a sort of… truthfulness in her voice. But of course, he wasn’t quite sure how to answer. He had to think a bit.  Before he could think up his answer, there was a thud, causing the two changelings to jump a bit. They turned to see Kydra on the edge of the bed, but no Blue Fang. Kydra stared at them, a bit confused. After a bit, she pointed a forehoof down to the floor. The two older changelings’ gazes slowly slid over to the floor, noticing a pillow that had been squished inward. They then noticed Blue attempting to climb up the toy box, his tiny hooves scritching and scratching at the stone box. Chrysalis stared in mild amusement, whilst Red stared in shock. He immediately got up, running over and picking up the little larvae, who whined as he was taken away from his toys. “Bluey, you can’t throw yourself off the bed like that! You could’a hurt yourself!” “And yet he didn’t…” Chrysalis chuckled a bit, rubbing the little ling’s head. “Bravery can carry one far… But he’ll still need guidance, Red. That’s why you’re here,” she stated, her face baying a sense of seriousness. Red looked down at Blue, who chittered in annoyance as he tried to wriggle free. He could see it as well as Chrysalis could. Blue had the spirit, but was more of a raging torrent with little control “Yeah… I know, but how can I help him when I can’t fly?” Chrysalis shook her head, placing a hoof on his shoulder. Though mildly annoyed at Red’s constant nagging want of wings, she managed to calm herself just enough. As vain as she was, she still had a little love in her heart, though strained it may be. Alas, she managed to utter, “You can still guide someone, regardless of if you have a shattered horn or a pair of broken wings, Red.” Red thought for a bit, his little brother still wriggling around, getting ever so annoyed at his “genius” plan failing. Then, it hit Red, much like an oncoming train. He looked up at Chrysalis, a bit of gleam in his eyes. Without missing a beat, he asked, “Mother Chrysalis? Can I change my name?” Chrysalis tilted her head, a small smile forming on her face. This was a surprise, not many bugs had ever asked to change their names. The process was difficult, with lots of hoops to jump through, and most times it would be with a rope tied around your legs. But alas, she nodded. “I can try to, but why?” “I think… I think I wanna change it to something that helps me remember why I’m watching  Bluey…” he smiled down at the now very angry bug, who was hissing like a snake, though Red hadn’t noticed. After a while, Red came up with his new, very creative name. “How about Brokenwing? Y’know, because I only have one wing?” Chrysalis’ smile simply grew, and she merely stared at him in amusement. Rarely had someone changed their name, let alone to match their injury. “Well, I could probably work something out. But uh… are you sure you want to change your name?” she asked. “It’s hard enough as is, and if I do, I probably won’t be able to change it back.” He nodded happily. “Yeah!” he smiled, holding his brother. “You hear that? I’m gonna get a new na—” Blue suddenly bit down on the newly named Brokenwing’s hoof, causing him to yelp out in pain, as the now angry Blue sank his fangs into his hoof. Chrysalis stifled a chuckle, watching the very one-sided fight. Heh… These two are gonna be just fine…