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There's already a butt ton of story to dig into, so let's just get this show on the road-

1. To say that Thorax is famous would be an understatement. His reputation as the defeater of the *Old Queen, the bringer of a new changeling era, the leader in crossing the bridge between the two races, and an excellent tenor singer spread far beyond Equestria's borders after the transformative event. Pharynx, compared to his brother, is, well, a nobody. A glorified Commander, if anything. Even the head Princesses of Equestria barely knew anything more than his name. This all changed during the Grand Galloping Gala after the *Old Queen's defeat. For the first time in recorded history, the Princess invited the entire changeling kingdom to the celebration as a public demonstration of their new friendship. The event went off without a hitch thanks to Celestia, who, being the social butterfly that she is, stayed in the spotlight all night, enjoying every minute of it. Luna on the other hoof. . . eh, not so much. As much as she flourished during the late night hours, Luna didn't care for such parties like Celestia did, so as soon as the petty hoof-shaking ritual concluded (finally), she snuck quietly away to her favorite spot in the Royal gardens for some peace and quiet.

Unfortunately, her plans screeched to a halt when, to her shock, she stumbled across Pharynx interrogating a vicious enemy squirrel who dared to threaten him in broad moonlight with his ammunition of eye-piercing acorn shells. When the changeling finally noticed the mare in the shadows, he proudly presented the captured foe he found while patrolling the castle grounds. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the regal mare double over in laughter. Once she calmed down enough to explain he was levitating a nothing more than a harmless rodent, he defensively claimed that he wouldn't apologize for doing his duty and stomped off sullenly. His huffy display didn't offend Luna in the slightest. Rather, it piqued her interest all the more and the alicorn trotted after him, determined to know more about this strange soldier.

At first, he kept his mandibles shut tight, only grunting in response to her attempts at conversation. It wasn't until she inquired as to his soldierly life that she struck gold. He perked right up, in his own gruff way, and before long he was rattling off on his combat days. Luckily for Luna, her history of fighting and commanding troops in Equestria's early days made her an expert on the topic, and she thoroughly enjoyed discussing battle tactics- especially the ones used in Old Ponydom. Pharnyx, equally pleased to meet a pony who appreciated fighting as much as he, found ponies' use of swords particularly intriguing. So much so that Luna even offered to show him how to wield the weapons right then and there. But before she could summon the swords, instead she was summoned by a servant, who requested her appearance at the bidding of Celestia. Although they cut their conversation short, the two agreed to put a raincheck on their duel until another day. When the two finally parted, each left with an unfamiliarly warm, jittery feeling- the kind you get when making a new friend.

2. A month or two flew by without a word from the Patrol leader. Until one evening, as Luna finished rising the moon for yet another night, Pharynx suddenly appeared on her balcony. With his usual blunt, uncouth manner, he said that he was passing it by and asked her if she was prepared to duel. Under any circumstances, the request would sound more like a threat than an invite. Luna initially refused, but after a little bit of persuasion from Pharynx, she finally reasoned that it couldn’t hurt to spar for a few minutes, right? Three hours later, both were panting, covered in dusty, sweat-soaked bruises, and having the time of their lives.

At first, Pharynx struggled to get a grasp of the technique. A changeling's greatest weapon is their body, whether it’s for transforming into defensive monsters, or in the old times, to wheedle their way into some fools trust with their innocent looking figure. So to grip a piece of metal and wildly swing it at the opponent was not his forte. But by the end of Luna’s training session, he managed to hold his own and even land a few strikes on the mare, impressing her. As much as the two would have loved to spend the whole night sparring, Luna had duties to attend to and had to cut their combat short. But not before Pharynx left with the promise of more duels and a curiously deep longing to spend more time with this Princess of the Night.

3. Although their times alone together were sparse, it didn't hinder the progress of their new snarky, passive-aggressive friendship. With every shrub-destroying duel, every late night flight along the border, and every painstakingly long diplomatic dinner she suffered through, Luna grew increasingly fonder of the headstrong changeling- and it scared her. Aside from Celestia, she never let herself feel vulnerable around others and for a while, she remained somewhat distant from him. Pharynx, on the other hoof, had fallen hard for the mare since their first duel. However, having some walls up himself, he understood her hesitancy and gave her the space she needed, figuring she'd open up in her own time.

Sure enough, not six months since the night of the Gala, the two were having their routinely night discussions atop a mountain peak overlooking Equestria ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶g̶e̶l̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶f̶i̶n̶i̶t̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶p̶y̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶l̶d̶ ̶d̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶. As Phayrnx described his time with Thorax as foals, he remarked how things had since reverse; he used to be the top dog, but now that Thorax is the leader, Pharynx admitted to feeling a bit swallowed up in his shadow. This triggered a flood of memories and emotions for Luna, and before she knew it she was pouring out her similiar experience and downfall as Nightmare Moon. Although this was the first he heard of the story, he felt more somber than stunned. As they continued to discuss their past, they discovered they had more in common than they thought. Both struggled to a degree with a sibling that overshadowed them. Both were monsters in their grim past and still carry the scars. And both chose a different, brighter path and built a better life for themselves. Realizing this, they each felt their connection deeper, as if they were briding a gap together, bringing them closer. As the two part for the night, Luna left with a sense of secure intimacy with Pharynx, who in turn, had an even firmer belief that they were meant to be. Sure, it was just one talk, but there was no doubt that it was the next step forward in their blooming relationship.

4. As time flew by, it became increasingly clear to not just the couple's siblings, but to the entire two nations, that their leading commander and Princess of the night were head over hooves for each other. Which made it all the more infuriating that the two had yet to realize it themselves. Well, Pharynx knew, but even though he fell hard for Luna, he wasn't great at conveying his feelings and he wasn't about to make the first more. All he needed was a little forced shove. This push came in the form of changeling with some deviant beliefs. Like every other Changeling, Lyranx accepted the hives new way of life and was more than happy with it. However, even though he no longer viewed pony kind like food, he wasn't about to be all 'buddy-buddy' with them. As long as they stayed on their turf and left the hive alone, he was perfectly happy. So when Commander Pharynx decided to betray his kind and fall in love with a pony princess, he wouldn't stand for it.

That's why, when he found the changeling chief alone on patrol one evening, he seized the opportunity to sow some tension in the relationship. Disguising himself as his alicorn lover, Larynx approached Pharynx in a huff, declaring 'she' was upset with him. When he asked why, 'she' only yelled more insults, declaring 'she' didn't want to see him. Pharynx, hurt, angered, and confused, took the bait and agreed that he didn't want to see her either. Larynx's plan had worked, and he might have succeeded in causing greater damage, had not the actual Princess of the night shown up for their nightly flight. Held tight within Luna's grip, Larynx bitterly confessed to everything and exclaiming in the heat of his emotions that Pharynx was a traitor to the hive! Calmly, with his blood boiling, the changeling turned to Luna and asked her to be his mate- partly to spite the frothing bug, and partly because if he didn't ask now, he might never have the courage again. To the surprise of both, Luna agreed. And while Larynx waved madly midair and screamed enraged insults at them, the two were lovingly embracing each other with their first passionate (if a bit awkward) kiss.

Upvotes at import: 90 | Stars at import: 70
Posted previously at: 2019-03-13T22:55:18 | Posted previously by: Mildgyth