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Previous >>3317206

After Thorax’s retelling of how his encounter went with his brother, Pharynx, followed by the brief fight with the rest of his scouting party, Elytra, Gaster, and Haltere, Pharynx and his team were not welcomed back into the swarm. In fact, having shown too much compassion towards Thorax, as well as his subordinates, on top of failing his mission, Pharynx had lost all hope of returning. However, when his honor and dedication towards his subordinates rivaled that of what his Queen demanded, his fate was sealed, along with those he was entrusted to lead.

Their punishment was death.

Then, only a dim disturbance of green light reflected off the walls gave any hint of their demise. There were no sounds of splashing or screams. Nothing could be heard over the laughter, and that wouldn’t do for Chrysalis.

“Quiet! All of you!” She shouted her orders, then looked over to Pharynx. “Too bad. Now you’re a hive of… Well, I suppose one doesn’t exactly make you a hive at all, now does it? Only I hold that title.” She giggled to herself; the pleasure she took in the execution was enough to make anyone nauseous. “If it makes you feel any better, we can let you join your little hive when Thorax is finished with you. Hmm? No? No better? Oh, well. Any last words?”

More than disgusted, hurt, and betrayed, Pharynx was seething with anger. His nostrils flared, huffing and snarling as he stared down his once-favored Queen.

“I… gave you… everything. I… EXUTED the changeling way! Sacrificed my integrity to try and save Thorax in a way he would understand. And even with my mistakes, whether you approved of them or not, I provided for the swarm. But we are the hive. All we have is the hive, and all the hive has is us.” His eyes narrowed as he crouched lower, baring his fangs. “And you know what? My mind has become more clear over these past few days as well. From here on out, I’ll take care of my hive the way you never could.”

While the short speech was delivered with enough bravado to impress Chrysalis, she still laughed at his claims.

“Ha! Your hive? Pharynx, we’ve been over this. I am the hive. You’re not even a part of the swarm any longer. You. Are. Alone.”

Pharynx drew a deep breath and hissed, waiving his forked tongue at his former Queen in the most disrespectful fashion he could to show his retaliation.

“I may not be a part of your swarm any longer, but you’re wrong about my hive. Even from the start of things. You said I was a hive of three…” His purple eyes flashed with violent brilliance, and his horn flared defiantly with magic despite being outnumbered and surrounded. “I’m still a hive of four.”

Suddenly, it dawned on Chrysalis that she might have overlooked something if not failed to witness something important, and she turned to the edge where Elytra had been tossed over.

“You fools! Where are the bodies!”

Next >>3333901

I’m not sure why I stress myself with these changeling pics. Dear, God… The original started off looking virtually nothing like this. There was so much rework required that the Pharynx’s front left leg is the most untouched portion of this image. I had to change his head entirely, and like the previous changeling images, they never seem to come with a shell on their back (makes me wonder how I’m going to show them flying in the future). The lighting effects for his glowing eyes and horn were not too difficult, though I’m now sure I got much of any of the ambient light to show. Same with the shadow, as originally, I had it going in the wrong direction.

Also, not all the holes in his legs wanted to show up clearly, given all the low lighting. So… a lot of work for not a lot of payout. Then again, the pose itself was hard to portray correctly.

I dunno. I’m still learning on the job. Maybe for the next chapter I can work in some more dynamic poses.