Thorax smiled as he flew towards the Hivelands -or, as close to as smile as his beak would allow without him having to use magic, at least. This visit had actually gone quite well! Sure, the negotiations and other diplomacy-related stuff had varied between being nerve-wracking and so boring he’d had to thank the stars he could sleep with his eyes open… But it was nice to see Spike (Though it was always a little weird how he was still a kid when Thorax just grew closer and closer to being middle aged), Starlight and Trixie again. And Pharynx had even been somewhat amicable this time! He usually didn’t come along on these visits; Thorax told him it was because they shouldn’t leave the hive completely defenseless, and Pharynx was better at this whole flighting business. But in actuality, Thorax would be the first to admit that his brother was a bit… abrasive… and he wanted their continued cooperation with Equestria to go well. This time Pharynx had demanded to join (“So you don’t get pushed around and actually get us a good deal, you wimp”), and Thorax had been so worried about it, but-

<<What the &%&%??>>

Pharynx’s exclamation over the hivemind shook Thorax out of his thoughts. He snapped his head to face his brother, about to reprimand him, when he saw the furious and disturbed look on his face. So he instead followed the direction Pharynx was glaring. The ground beneath them was dry and sandy, covered in small, grey, shrubs. He trailed his eyes over it, and eventually saw a galloping… wait. Oh, no. Nono, &%&% was right.

They exchanged looks, and dove.

The brothers quickly caught up to them, Pharynx landing with a ‘thump’ right in the path of the gallop, causing them to have to rear up in order to not collide with him. Thorax landed more carefully behind, wings still out, ready to take off if they fled.

“Hey there! Now, what do you think you’re doing?” Pharynx clicked his beak in time with his movements, as he shifted his body in the changeling’s visual language. The clicks gave the words a playful tone, but the jerkiness of his Dance betrayed the tense anger underneath. “Last I checked, mimicking real people is forbidden.”

Thorax felt the need to add “-Exception. Permission from pony-”. Considering who they were mimicking, he wouldn’t be too surprised if they actually did have consent to use their image. He spoke using the simpler vocal language, as they were facing away from him. Their ears twitched back at him with each click and hiss he made.

The extremely pink ‘pony’ didn’t respond initially. Their eyes moved from a now still Pharynx, to glancing behind them at Thorax. Then back to the changeling in front of them again. Their legs and body started to shift and they Danced… “No, no, you, move, no, you, move.”

“What?” Pharynx had dropped the playful clicks. Stared them down, as his mandibles started to extend in a threat display.

The ‘pony’ took a step back. “P-please, don’t…”, they trailed off, shaking a bit, staring at Pharynx’s open mouth. Thorax involuntarily blinked -he’d always been bad at not using the pony ticks when not transformed- because they’d decided to speak Equestrian. He couldn’t fathom why -were they hurt? That’s the only reason he could think of to explain they would decide to waste magic on altering their voice to the other language. He knew many changelings didn’t like to speak their vocal language due to how simple and imprecise it is, and if they were too hurt to Dance then…

“Don’t what?” Pharynx Danced back, his movements short and clipped.

“I… please, I don’t understand what’s…” They were still speaking equestrian.

Pharynx sighed with a bit of a grinding noise in his throat. Then tucked his mandibles back into his mouth. “..Okay, fine. I’ll play along then. What are you doing? Why are you pretending to be somepony we know exists?”

The impostor now looked confused on top of their already scared expression. They opened and closed their mouth a few times, but no words came out.

“…I’m still waiting on an answer here, and it better be a good one.”

“..I don’t… um. I am-”

Pharynx interrupted. “Good try. We just spend the last hours being forced to listen to her incessant yammering, six trots away from here. So. How did you get here so fast, ‘Pinkie Pie’?”

‘Pinkie’ snapped their mouth shut again.

“Look, just tell us what you’re doing?” Thorax added, when ‘Pinkie’ just went back to being silent. “If you’re just wanting to sneak…” He paused. He tried to reach out to them, but… “Oh! Wait, you’re not in our hive?”

That was concerning. If they’d been a member of his hive, he could always use the hivemind to force them to detransform and stay that way. He didn’t like doing it, but he would have if it meant not increasing tensions with Equestria. But if they were a rogue…

“…&%&% great! ¤%¤, #%¤”&, another %¤%& rogue to &%¤ track and-” Pharynx had the same thoughts as he did evidently. Stomping the ground and shaking a bit in anger, so much the Dance came out garbled.

“Pharynx, please”, Thorax sighed. The apparent rogue hadn’t dropped their wide-eyes expression, but had gained a small shaking to their legs. “Look. You don’t have to join our hive, but Equestria is our territory. You’re either gonna have to follow our rules or move somewhere else. Or we’ll have to, um…”

“Pod you until you starve”

“No-”

“Feed you to the grubs?”

“Pharynx, n-”

“Lock you up in the dungeon!”

“No, th- wait, no, yes. That, we’ll do that. We can convert the old storage in the east wing to be one I think, but…”

The rogue’s entire body had started to shake now. Tears were welling up in their eyes, and their eyes darted around looking for some kind of escape. Thorax trailed off, starting to feel bad over how much he and Pharynx were scaring them.

“Oh, %&%%¤, cut it with the crocodile tears.” Pharynx had other thoughts about the situation apparently. “We know you’re not the real Pinkie, I can feel the magic wrapped around you right now. And we know you know the rules. Just cause you left doesn’t mean we’re just gonna roll over and let you do what you want. Now.”

Pharynx leaned in, pressing his beak against the illusion of a soft pony nose. “Drop the illusion, and maybe we’ll be nice.”

The rogue shook, and whimpered, and sniveled. Thorax stood there, feeling more and more awkward, and not sure what to do, when..

“I-I… do-o-n’t know -sniff- ho-o-ow!”

Their voice was hard to make out through the crying, but the brothers eventually figured out what they said in the sobs.

“…what do you mean, you don’t know how?” Pharynx sounded just as incredulous as Thorax felt. “You… you don’t have to do anything, you just stop.”

“I do-o-n’t understand, pl-lease don’t hu-u-rt me.”

Pharynx seemed like he was about to go off again, so Thorax decided to intervene. “We’re not going to hurt you! Just drop the illusion and we can talk this over, alright? If you’re injured, we can take you back to our hive and…”

“I don’t understand! I don’t understand what you’re talking about!” The rogue was getting louder, and pulled at their mane, curling into themselves. Huh, that hair-pulling looked really realistic; Thorax wondered what they actually looked like, he was suspecting they were actually grabbing something real there….

Something wasn’t right here. Thorax tasted the rogue’s emotions. He’d been dismissing them until now, as it would be fairly simple for the other changeling to absorb back any malice or deception before it reached Thorax or Pharynx. Now he gagged involuntarily at the fear that permeated the air. It was the type of fear a creature has in life or death moments, the pepper-burning salt of someone who is so afraid they cannot think of anything else. That type of intensity’s pretty hard to fake. Thorax decides to try a different approach.

“Alright…”, he spoke softly, and walked around a bit so he’s next to the rogue, rather than behind them. Pharynx glared at him, but moved accordingly so he’s on the other side. “It’s alright. Let’s just be calm and take it easy. Why don’t you…. take a moment to calm down, okay?”

They waited in silence for a bit, Thorax continuously having to nudge Pharynx through the hivemind to keep him from interrogating the rogue further. Pharynx sent him annoyed feelings back, and Thorax had to fight to not show the disgust on his face. That particular combination of bitter and sour was incredibly gross.

After a while, the rogue seemed to have calmed down just a bit. Enough to uncurl themselves a bit, and take some deep breaths. “I-I don’t understand… what you are talking about. I’m… not under an illusion? …I think”

Pharynx opened his mouth to say something back, probably involving some harsh words. Thorax kicked him through the hivemind.

“We know… that you are not Pinkie, okay? You can stop trying to convince us of that. How about… do you have a name?”

The rogue looked down. Then shook their head slowly. “…do you?”

“…have a name? You… you don’t know who we are?” Thorax was a bit disbelieving. Everyling knew of him! He was the ruler of the Equestrian hive, even those who’d decided to leave after Chrysalis’ defeat knew who he was. Even if someling had been kicked out by Chrysalis before then, how could they not have heard the news??

“…Wait.” His eyes widened. That would explain why the pseudo-mane would be long enough to grab, and… “Wait! Are you not from our hive?”

Pharynx couldn’t remain silent at this. “We’ve already established that! We’re getting nowhere with-”

“No, I mean! Are they from another hive?!”

His brothers eyes widened as well, and they both turned to look expectantly at the rogue. Or drone. Thorax wished with all his might that they were a drone, that some other hive had finally decided to reach out to them. Pharynx dulled his excitement by sending him some scepticism.

The other changeling had paused again, and just stared with wide eyes. ….Thorax was getting a bit tired of them doing that.

“I’m not from your, uh, ‘hive’”, They finally said. “And… not from another one either?”

“That’s not possible,” Pharynx snapped. He walked to their front again, his mandibles starting to emerge.

The changeling quickly followed up with a nervous, “…I, uh. Maybe I’m forgetting it? I’mverybadatmemorystuff!”. They spoke hastily, the words tumbling out.

“So, you are from our hive?” Thorax asked.

“No!”

“But you’re not from another hive?” Pharynx growled.

“I don’t know! My memory is bad! Pleasedon’tbemadatme!”

“…but if you’re having memory-issues. Then how do you know you’re not from our hive?”

“I just know, alright! I’m one hundred percent sure I’m not from your hive”

Thorax nudged Pharynx through the hivemind when his brother seemed like he was about to say something else. He nodded off to the side when he got his attention. Pharynx glared at the smaller changeling between them. “Stay here. If you run, I swear I’ll crack your chitin so hard it’ll scar.”

They walked to the side, keeping an eye on the cowering pink figure as they did. Once they were a bit away, and the other hadn’t made a move to run, Thorax put up a magic shield that distorted the light passing through it. He knew they’d want to Dance this conversation, and didn’t want the other changeling to be able to see what they said.

“What the %¤&% is going on with this &%#%¤”, Pharynx immediately Danced as soon as the shield was up.

“They say they’re having memory issues? Maybe that’s why they’re so…”

“Weird? Freaky? Come on, you’re not buying that drivel are you?”

“I’m just saying, it’s not impossible. That could be why they’re unable to drop the illusion too, if their memory is messed up… it’s like how we make grubs keep illusions on.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“They don’t know how to feel their own magic, so they can’t tell they’re even using some to power the illusion. If this one doesn’t remember their own magic…” Thorax’s movements were small and hesitant.

“I still think this whole thing is %¤#. They’re just some rogue who got caught, and are now trying to squirm out of consequences.”

Thorax turned to look at the blob of pink visible through the shield. They still hadn’t moved from their spot in the sand.

“Maybe.” He turned to look at his brother again. “So, I think we should bring them to the hive. We’ll keep them under supervision, and can try to see what’s really going on”

He didn’t say it, because he knew Pharynx would just scoff at him, but he also hoped that the changeling was telling the truth. Then, maybe, they could help them to remember and control their magic. And, maybe, possibly, hopefully, get in contact with some other hives.

“I get to post guards with them at all times” Pharynx’s response brought him out of his thoughts. “…even if they are from some other hive, which I doubt, they can have any number of reasons for wanting to hurt us”

“Deal. And, I think they are actually. Their emotions don’t taste familiar at all, and their mane has substance; I can’t think of anyone from our hive whose pseudo-mane is long or thick enough to work for that.”

He watched as Pharynx tasted the air. “You’re right on the taste part at least. Even rogues from our hive I’ve never met before taste at least a little similar to the rest of us. Not sure about the mane though, that could just be them wearing something.”

“…we’ll just have to make them detransform and see for ourselves I guess.”

Pharynx nodded, and Thorax lowered the shield. The other changeling looked up again as they returned.

“Alright, we’ve made a plan.” Thorax spoke gently as the changeling shied back a bit. “We’re not gonna hurt you. We’re all gonna go back to our hive, to-” he shot his brother a look. “-see if we can help you remember and detransform, okay?”

Pharynx plastered an incredibly forced smile on his face. “Yes. Help you.”

The other changeling gave an equally fake smile back. “Oh, thanks. But that’s not necessary, I don’t-”

“You don’t get a choice” Pharynx’s mandibles scraped against each other with each word, his expression never changing.

“…Ooookay, then. Hive it is, haha..” Their eyes were wide and darted around wildly. Their forced ‘smile’ spread even wider on their muzzle, stretching to almost comical dimensions. If it weren’t for the magic Thorax could feel absolutely drenching them, he could almost believe they actually were Ms. Pie, considering the impossible expressions he’d seen on her face before.

Thorax smiled back (it was fake, but looked like someone seeing their first born child in comparison to the ones Pharynx and the other changeling wore.) “Good! Then let’s go!”

He and Pharynx opened their shells and flew a few hooves up into the air. The changeling just stared at them.

“…you, ah. You can’t fly can you?”

They shook their head mutely.

Pharynx sighed, and flew over to grab them around their barrel. They squeaked as he hoised them up, and twisted to grab his front legs in a chitin crushing grip. Pharynx just grunted, and muttered curses under his breath as they started to fly off.

The other changeling… no, he was getting sick of referring to them as that in his head.

“So, what do we call you!?” Thorax spoke loudly over the wind.

“I DON’T KNOW”

“Oh, right, memory issues! Um… well… we need to call you something!

“I DON’T CARE”

“How about…” Thorax paused to think. “Oh, how about Katydid! It sounds pretty, and they can be pink I think, and you’re, uh.. stuck being pink right now..?

“How about #¤#%” Pharynx muttered.

“SURE, ANYTHING YOU WANT, JUST DON’T DROP ME!”

Thorax decided that he should stop speaking now, so Katydid wouldn’t have a heart attack. It was later than they said they’d be back; he was hoping the hive wasn’t too worried about them. He kept looking at Katydid as the sky grew darker and darker. There were still so many things that didn’t add up with them -why would a changeling from another hive be in Equestria? How and why did they even meet and transform into Ms. Pie? And this whole memory business….He’d never heard of a changeling being losing their memory and being stuck transformed before. He made a face. Then again, he didn’t know much about changelings at all.

Katydid was still shaking, but had shifted their head to look with an unreadable expression at the ground rushing past under them. Pharynx was still muttering something, as he flew with an angry expression towards home. Thorax knew he was also a bit worried about their lack of knowledge. But, and this with an internal sigh, he knew his brother’s worries were a lot more focused on them not knowing how to fight other changelings.

He looked away.

They needed help. His hive depended on him to know what to do. And he always felt like he’d been given a manual where all the pages had been ripped out, so he was just guessing based on the images on the cover. The gems in their chests sometimes fell out, and he couldn’t tell his hive why. One of the older members of his hive had developed a whistling sound when breathing, and he couldn’t tell her if it was dangerous. They all got sick if they ate too much physical food, but got tired if they ate too little, and he had no idea where the balance went. …Chrysalis had told them some things, but they could never know what had been true or just another one of her lies.

Katydid said they didn’t remember any other hive. Thorax hoped he could help them. He glanced at the stars; please, please, let him be able to help them. His hive needed it.